Moreover, pressure and fear often make managers do erratic, inconsistent, even irrational things. One of our techniques was to find people who were in a number two position in their current job and ask them to join Continental in the number one spot. Choose travel cost protection and take your trip with confidence. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. In our business, revenue comes from credit card receipts. Departure time came and went, and people continued to trickle on board for another 40 minutes. Talk about sending a message about who matters and who doesnt. The Continental jet dropped a strip of titanium alloy from its thrust reverser on the runway during takeoff. Continental lived upor perhaps I should say downto my expectations that day in May. But even with all these obstacles, Continental pulled out of its nosedive, just before it hit the ground, and it soared. January 1988: BA plane leaving Heathrow lost 10 bolts from its landing gear wheel. File your flight plan and track your progress. The hard news about a turnaround is that you have no choice but to sweep out the old to make way for the new. Nineteen items of luggage, weighing some 500kg (0.5 tonnes) were loaded onto the aircraft at the last minute without being included in the aircraft's manifest, giving the aircraft a weight of 186 tonnes, which exceeded the aircraft's certified maximum structural weight by one tonne. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . We hit it off from the start. Visit Fly.com to know about some amazing deals on Continental Airlines. Moreover, the measures had to be aligned with the Go Forward Plan. They kept telling me I could be the only 33-year-old to run a $6 billion company. You will see the word we a lot as you read this article. Of course, when you are bleeding cash, its hard to think about anything but tourniquets. To put an end to Continentals strategic wandering, Gordon and I introduced the Go Forward Plan to our coworkers. Filter your search by airline. [33][50], At the same time, charges were laid against Henri Perrier, head of the Concorde program at Arospatiale, Jacques Hrubel, Concorde's chief engineer, and Claude Frantzen, head of DGAC, the French airline regulator. I never denied that Continental had been a terrible airline. At the time, I was a partner specializing in corporate turnarounds in Bain & Companys Dallas office. In October 1994, Continentals CEO resigned. Little wonder it had churned through 10 presidents in as many years. They created a model that works when you have little time and less moneyas well as when you have more of both. Large amounts of fuel leaking from the rupture ignited, causing a loss of thrust in the left-hand-side engines 1 and 2. In addition to changing when we served food, we also changed the food itself. [3]:17,170, At 16:38 CEST (14:38 UTC), five minutes before the Concorde departed, Continental Airlines Flight 55, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, took off from the same runway for Newark International Airport and lost a titanium alloy strip that was part of the engine cowl, identified as a wear strip about 435 millimetres (17.1in) long, 29 to 34 millimetres (1.1 to 1.3in) wide, and 1.4 millimetres (0.055in) thick. That meeting was hostile, to put it mildly. The airline is operating the Hong Kong route since 1967, and operates in 161 destinations in 29 countries/districts, as of 31 DEC, 2018. No, says British Airways", "Press release, 16 January 2002 Issue of the final report into the Concorde accident on 25 July 2000", "Concorde crash remains unresolved 10 years later", "Concorde crash 'a disaster waiting to happen', "New improved Concorde cleared for take-off", Perception of Risk in the Wake of the Concorde Accident, "Final Concorde flight lands at Heathrow", Iconic Concorde Could Return for 2012 Olympics, "Judge places Continental under investigation in Concorde crash", "Continental denies responsibility for crash as Concorde trial begins", "Concorde crash manslaughter trial begins in France", "Continental Airlines faces manslaughter charges over Paris Concorde crash", "Continental responsible for Concorde crash in 2000", "Concorde crash: Continental Airlines cleared by France court", "Paris Court Finds Continental Responsible for Concorde Crash", "French Court Overturns Convictions in Concorde Crash", Families mark 10 years since Concorde crash, Un mmorial pour les victimes du crash du Concorde La zone commerciale s'agrandit Participez au concours Pep's Star La mairie propose de parler de tout Dbattez du logement avec Marie-Nolle Lienemann, "The Concorde SST Web Site: History of the aircraft that would become Air France Flight 4590", "Synth-pop trio Le Couleur explore beauty through tragedy on Concorde", "Le Couleur Explore Death Through Dance on 'Concorde' | Exclaim! But honesty and the rest dont just sprout up like weeds in a cornfield, especially when there has been a long drought. No one in the company trusts them any more. The same team that leads a company into a crisis is rarely able to get it back on track. [18][19], A few days after the crash, all Air France Concordes were grounded, pending an investigation into the cause of the crash and possible remedies. I know most of them thought we were on drugs. But real trust is a 365-days-a-year commitment. My goal that day was to sell Bains consulting services to Continentals CEO and new owner, a leveraged buyout firm that had just rescued the airline from its second bankruptcy in nine years. So advertising lesslying lesswas another way of saying we were sorry. In short, they forget to think about money in, or good old revenues. And finally, Working Together was the people plan: we were going to change Continentals culture to one of fun and action and restore employees trust. How? [55][57], A monument in honour of the crash victims was established at Gonesse. They felt pressured to do so, they said. Gordon had just left a cushy job, or at least one where he could sleep soundly at night, at the Boeing Company to become president and COO of Continental. Things were much calmer. Gordon and I each took our share of the letters. [6][36][37], In November 1981, the American National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sent a letter of concern to the French BEA that included safety recommendations for Concorde. With the exception of safety, where Continental had always had a strong record, we were failing miserably on all counts. In addition, Gordon records a voice mail each Friday that summarizes the activities of the week. Drag marks left on the runway by the left rear landing wheels show the Concorde was veering to the left as it accelerated toward takeoff. Continental's air operator's certificate was later merged with the certificate of United Airlines on November 30, 2011, with both airlines merging into the same passenger service system on March 3, 2012. ", "How the Crash of Flight 4590 Destroyed Concorde's Mystique", "Why the Concorde crashed and what happened next", Accident on 25 July 2000 at "La Patte d'oie" at Gonesse, Accident survenu le 25 juillet 2000 au lieu-dit "La Patte d'oie" Gonesse, PlaneCrashInfo.Com Data Entry on Flight 4590, Doomed The Real Story of Flight 4590: Special Investigation, All 109 Aboard Dead in Concorde Crash into Hotel Near Paris; 4 On Ground Dead, "Air France Flight 4590 at Paris, France", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Air_France_Flight_4590&oldid=1151182575. Gordon and I met in February 1994. It is his or her responsibility to visit the city once per quarter to update employees, get their feedback, and fix their problems. Their strategy focused on understanding markets, improving products, increasing revenues, and infusing employees with the energy and power to transform Continentals corporate culture. In front of a crowd of employees, we lit a match to it. Our goal was not only to apologize but also to explain what we were doing to fix the company. The flight engineer shut down engine number two at only 25 feet altitude. The aircraft involved was a 25-year-old Arospatiale-BAC Concorde (registration F-BTSC, serial number 203) that had its maiden flight on 31 January 1975 (during testing, the aircraft's registration was F-WTSC). In fact, I think the word fun scares a lot of executives. After that crisis was over, we knew we would never lose track of our cash again. I will never forget my first flight from Dallas to Houston on Continental Airlines. You have to do it fast, right away, and all at once. I believed the pilots were getting a fair deal, and I said so. All told, after 15 years of a low-cost approach, Continental had created what I call a doom loop. [59][60], Additional factors and alternative theories. We knew a major ending was on the horizoneither the old Continental was going to be entirely reinvented or it was going to go bankrupt for an unprecedented third time and would probably be liquidated. The French appeals court, while overturning the criminal rulings by the Parisian court, affirmed the civil ruling and left Continental liable for the compensation claims. Page 32: "The maximum structural weight on takeoff being 185,070kg, it appears that the aircraft was slightly overloaded on takeoff". There were forms for employees suggestions on how to improve the operations, but the suggestions disappeared into a black hole. Until the time came when we could offer them something great, I didnt want to promote a product that we couldnt deliver. [24][25] According to Jock Lowe, a Concorde pilot, until the crash of Air France Flight 4590 at Paris, the British Airways Concorde operation made a net average profit of about 30M (equivalent to 44M in 2019) a year. 2. The first is to beg forgiveness from all the customers you have wronged. The crew reduced the power on engines three and four in an attempt to level the aircraft, but they lost control due to deceleration and the aircraft stalled. Read more about this topic: Continental Airlines, An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.Walter Bagehot (18261877), We are the men of intrinsic value, who can strike our fortunes out of ourselves, whose worth is independent of accidents in life, or revolutions in government: we have heads to get money, and hearts to spend it.George Farquhar (16781707), 113 fatalities, No passengers killed on DC-10. When I arrived the night before the meeting, I found several messages waiting for me from the head of our pilots union. Looking for a cheap last-minute deal or the best return flight? Sorry, we cant find any flight deals with Continental Airlines right now. Ask the customer in seat 9C the right question. Heres a classic example. Fare Calendars show the best prices over the next 180 days on 2000+ routes. We compare every price from over 1,200 airlines and travel agents to find you the best. Priority bags are a big hit. Need customer care support or have any question regarding your travel plans? In a turnaround situation, people are tense and suspicious for good reason. Non-stop flights only. About an hour later, I met with the rest of the employees and their familiesabout 600 people in all. Started Operations. )[33] This skewed the alignment of the landing gear because a strut was able to wobble in any direction with 3 of movement. We saved Continental because we acted and we never looked back. From the Magazine (SeptemberOctober 1998). So when we let people go, we went out of our way to be fair by honoring their contracts and letting them resign with dignity. Gruelingwithout a doubt. 1934. Do you know what happened? Fly to Win was the airlines marketplace plan; Fund the Future was the financial plan; Make Reliability a Reality was the formula to improve the product; and Working Together was the blueprint for improving the companys culture. Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees) New York $ 414. RIP to all people that die in Air France Flight 4590=====song: https://youtu.be/cMkJDPvJxdkoriginal meme: https://youtu. [8]:3337 The fire damaged the inner elevon of the left wing and it began to disintegrate,[3]:164[9] melted by the extremely high temperatures. We search 500+ sites to find you the cheapest flights. [3]:166[BEA 1], Air traffic controller Gilles Logelin noticed the flames before the Concorde was airborne and informed the flight crew. [58] Another monument, a 6,000-square-metre (65,000sqft) memorial surrounded with topiary planted in the shape of a Concorde, was established in 2006 at Mitry-Mory, just south of Charles de Gaulle Airport. I mean, no one had a clue. July 25, 2000. The airline could not have been saved if everyone in the company, and I mean everyone, had not pulled together. Because I was not a frequent flier on Continental, I was seated in the last row of an unattractive and dirty DC-9. But Continental had been cutting costs in ways that sabotaged its product. Deciding to focus more on customers desires rather than on cutting costs is actually the easy part. We didnt pick randomly; we chose measures that could be verified by the Department of Transportation. The same employees who used to tear the patches from their shirts so no one would know they worked at Continental have increased their purchases of hats, caps, T-shirts, and the like for themselves and their friends by more than 400%. We went to work at full speed. . But Continental had been cutting costs in ways that sabotaged its product. When we made the offer, we were paying about $6 million per month to reaccommodate our customers on our competitors flights. When I arrived at Continental, it was a mean and lousy place to work. (For details of the strategy, see the exhibit Continentals New Flight Plan.). New York $ 415. Based in: Ghana. In-Service Fleets carrying 89 aircraft, including 71 Passenger Jets/ 18 Freighters. The offer sounds pretty bold for a company almost in bankruptcy, doesnt it? This was the only fatal accident of Concorde's entire career.[27]. Continentals was pure common sense. The runway behind is irrelevant. "it was Fly.com that found the best bargain". Relying mostly on our own experience as business travelers, we knew that the customer in seat 9C would pay extra for a few things: airplanes and terminals that are safe, comfortable, and attractive; on-time flights and reliable baggage handling; and good food at mealtimes. But I decided to go to Greensboro myself, make the announcement to the employees, and take my punches publicly. With the right travel insurance, you wont lose out on money if your flights with Continental Airlines are changed or cancelled or your trip is cut short. Every turnaround involves creating a new culture. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. Every quarter, we send a Continental Quarterly magazine to employees homes, and twice a year we do the same with a state-of-the-company video and recent press clippings. Will you land short of your destination? Continentals weekly voice-mails, monthly open houses, quarterly magazines, and semiannual videos shown at regional meetings all focused on talking with and listening to employees. Fly to Win was the market plan: we were going to build up our Houston, Newark, and Cleveland hubs, for instance, and expand our customer mix from backpacks and flip-flops to suits and briefcases. August 1981: British Airways (BA) plane taking off from New York suffered a blow-out, damaging landing gear door, engine, and fuel tank. 2 engines which led to loss of control of the aircraft. The on-time bonus costs only $3 million per month. We needed to create a culture at Continental where people liked coming to work. So cultivating honesty, trust, dignity, and respect becomes the job of the leaders. Needless to say, morale was terrible. As a result, more customers left, revenues continued to drop, and costs had to be cut more and more. But funyes. Most of them thought I was nuts, but as one of them later told me, I figured if you were even half right, I was still going to be worth a lot of money. (And, in fact, the turnaround created many millionaires.). They knew how to treat customers right, and we moved quickly to let them do just that. We listen, too. The support you get from each employees family when they become part of the team is incredible. (For more on Continentals performance, see the exhibit Climbing Again.) How did the reversal of fortunes happen? Tyre fragments, flung by the rapidly spinning wheel, violently struck the underside of the wing, damaging parts of the landing gear thus preventing its retraction and causing the integral fuel tank to rupture. They could see senior management finally taking the actions they knew had been needed for years. With little time and even less money to save the airline in 1994, Continentals leaders devised the Go Forward Plan, a four-part strategy focused on the fundamentals. To involve our employees even more in the turnaround, we put up 650 bulletin boards throughout the system. The calls would often last half an hour or more. We made payroll on January 17 with the help of a $29 million wire transfer Gordon arranged from Boeing. Incentives were now aligned; when the customers won, the employees did, too. For most of our employees, one incentive is profit sharing. To monitor our performance in the marketplace, we decided to track our monthly load factor, revenue per available seat mile, and quarterly cost and profit margins. [3]:120123 Engines 1 and 2 both surged and lost all power, likely due to ingestion of hot gases (both engines) and tyre debris (engine 1 only), and then engine 1 slowly recovered over the next few seconds. Believe it or not, at this point I still wasnt on Continentals payroll. By the fall of 1994, Continental had blown much of the $766 million in cash that it had when it emerged from bankruptcy in April 1993. So I tell this story not to vilify them but to demonstrate the kind of trust that starts to emerge when a companys leaders neither hide nor mince words in bad times. For about five minutes, employees expressed appreciation that I had personally come to give them the news and had developed a financial package to meet their needs. I dont know about you, but to me, a two-hour flight that leaves at 7:00 a.m. (after I have gotten up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the airport and havent eaten breakfast) is a lot different from a two-hour flight at 2:00 p.m., which falls after lunch but before dinner. Each time you fly with them, you'll be awarded air miles or points to spend on later flights. Of course, the ride isnt over. When I asked one mechanic why he had done this, he explained, When I go to Wal-Mart tonight, I dont want anyone to know that I work for Continental. His response still sends chills down my spine. [55], The Parisian court also ruled that Continental would have to pay 70% of any compensation claims. Im going home to watch TV, I answered. It was my opinion then, and remains today, that every company should have a strategy that covers these four elementsmarket, financial, product, and peoplewhether it is in a severe crisis or not. [53], The trial ran in a Parisian court from February to December 2010. [6], At the start of the takeoff, the aircraft had 1.2 tonnes of extra fuel which should have been burnt during the aircraft's taxi. Let me tell you why. One of our MD-80 captains called me and said, Greg, I knew we would be a good airline again once our airplanes were the same color.. [3]:115, The accident led to modifications to Concorde, including more-secure electrical controls, Kevlar lining to the fuel tanks, and specially developed burst-resistant tyres. We asked the maintenance department to paint the exterior of every airplane the same and to match all the interiors. Flight 603 was scheduled to Honolulu, HI from Los Angeles. The cause of the incident is unknown, however the right side of aircraft caught fire once coming to a stop. Thats where our focus was, and its a good rule for any turnaround. As a result, most employees learned of the companys activities, plans, and performance through the press. Four dogs back, the look and smell stays the same. Thats the kind of thing that happens when you let the inmates run the asylum. A version of this article appeared in the. He wanted to meet for breakfast the next morning, and I quickly agreed. Do it now! We lit a fire of urgency beneath Continental; we rotated quickly and picked up speed as we climbed to 41,000 feet. We have big plans for Continental and mustnt lose our momentum. CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1713 NOVEMBER 15TH, 1987 Dead Of Winter - Continental Airlines Flight 1713 X Pilot 130K subscribers Subscribe 124K views 4 years ago Thanks for watching. In fact, when we went before the board, we told them Continental could earn about $40 million in 1995. Only after that has begun can you move on to making moneythe subject of the next principle. They began ranting and raving. We needed to stop flying 120-seat planes with only 30 passengers on them. Save time and money on flight ticket booking with Fly.com. [54][55][56] The convictions were overturned by a French appeals court in November 2012, thereby clearing Continental and Taylor of criminal responsibility. Clean house. Continental Airlines Flight 1515 was preparing to take off for Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston when "a maintenance-related engine run-up of the right-hand engine" was carried out,. They were just frustrated with 15 years of poor decisions and were taking it out on melike blaming your third wife for all of your problems with the first two. The plane did not gain enough airspeed with the three remaining engines as damage to the landing gear bay door prevented the retraction of the undercarriage. During the stop over at Phoenix a 38-year-old man and his 16-year-old son boarded the flight. Flight 1404 bound for Houston, pulled left and ran off of the runway during its takeoff roll at Denver International Airport. That expedited the process of screening candidates and greatly reduced our hiring mistakes. The analysis of impact energy considered a tyre piece of 4.5 kilograms (9.9lb) with a speed around 140 metres per second (310mph). Nowadays, Gordon and I personally select the food we serve on our planes, and we test it ourselves every three months. The British Save Concorde Group, SCG, and French group Olympus 593 were attempting to get four Rolls-Royce Olympus engines at Le Bourget Air and Space Museum. Go do itnow. If not, we'll show you the next-best options, by price or journey length. I held a paying job when I was in third grade, and no one even blinked. Roundtrip One way Multi-city. In the past, any time an employee provided a benefit for a customer that was considered unacceptable, the bankers and lawyers running Continental would write a rule documenting the proper action. And thats the whole point of asking the customer in seat 9C the right question. A change in wind conditions created an 8 knot tailwind, which would have reduced the regulated takeoff weight to 180 tonnes, six tonnes below the actual aircraft weight. Continental ranked tenth out of the ten largest U.S. airlines in all key customer-service areas as measured by the Department of Transportation: on-time arrivals, baggage handling, customer . Yes. At the time of the crash, the aircraft had flown for 11,989 hours and had made 4,873 take-off and landing cycles.