tycoonjack
06-16-2002, 10:26 PM
Winter's Frustrations Linger for U.S. Airline Industry (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/15/business/15AIR.html)
Gordon M. Bethune usually struts with enough Texan swagger to stave off the clouds of gloom and doom. He drives a Porsche, rides a Harley and takes spins in the Boeing jets flown by Continental Airlines Inc., which he happens to run.
But lately, Mr. Bethune has been reduced to throwing up his hands. "We're a stupid industry led by stupid people," he said, his face twisted somewhere between a grimace and a smirk.
Mr. Bethune turned Continental from a near-bankrupt airline into the country's most successful full-service carrier. But that is an empty superlative in a profitless industry, and like some other top airline executives, he admits that he is running out of ideas on how to breathe life into the business.
Gordon M. Bethune usually struts with enough Texan swagger to stave off the clouds of gloom and doom. He drives a Porsche, rides a Harley and takes spins in the Boeing jets flown by Continental Airlines Inc., which he happens to run.
But lately, Mr. Bethune has been reduced to throwing up his hands. "We're a stupid industry led by stupid people," he said, his face twisted somewhere between a grimace and a smirk.
Mr. Bethune turned Continental from a near-bankrupt airline into the country's most successful full-service carrier. But that is an empty superlative in a profitless industry, and like some other top airline executives, he admits that he is running out of ideas on how to breathe life into the business.