Word: putnam
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Putnam: 366 pages...
Braniff President Howard D. Putnam, 44, had been publicly optimistic to the end. He told shareholders at the annual meeting three weeks ago that the changes he had made had turned Braniff into a "viable airline on the operating cost side...
Last week, though, events moved quickly. The company's last desperate effort to win passengers by slashing prices was not working well enough. Braniff flights had less than half of the seats filled. Early in the week, M. Philip Guthrie, the company's chief financial officer, told Putnam that Braniff did not have enough cash available to pay bills for food, jet fuel and salaries. Airline officials held last-minute talks with other carriers, reportedly including United and Northwest, exploring the possibility of mergers, and solicited new cash from investors...
Just before midnight Putnam and Lawyer Michael Crames went to the home of Judge John Flowers in Fort Worth. The judge had been in bed, but he got up, donned an L.L. Bean shirt and gray slacks and ushered the Braniff executives into his living room. Flowers signed three bankruptcy petitions in all-for Braniff International, Braniff Airways and Braniff Realty-and was paid $600 on the spot for his services. Said Braniff's boss later as he fought back tears, his voice cracking: "What we had to do was very difficult, and I'm sorry...
...went deeper into debt. Its obligations nearly doubled from 1978 to 1979. Losses mounted, ballooning to $131 million in 1980 and $161 million in 1981. In December 1980, Lawrence resigned as Braniffs boss. He was replaced first by John J. Casey, Braniffs vice chairman, and in September by Howard Putnam...