You will see the word we a lot as you read this article. But funyes. It sounded like a great idea, but I was worried we would raise expectations and then not be able to deliver. The Continental jet dropped a strip of titanium alloy from its thrust reverser on the runway during takeoff. Every turnaround involves creating a new culture. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. It was scary. The pilots could have rejected their contract. We promised them full control of their domains. The actions required to revive a moribund company usually arent. Gordon and I took the largest of those accounts. Factors contributing to the accident were the insufficient training provided to the contract mechanics by the airline, and the failure of the airport to disseminate a policy prohibiting ground engine runs above idle power in the terminal area. Continental was losing an incredible amount of money and, more important, burning through cash at an astonishing rate. Hutchinson believed this did not happen due to a series of operational errors and 'negligence' by the maintenance department. Many popular airlines offer loyalty programs. )[33] This skewed the alignment of the landing gear because a strut was able to wobble in any direction with 3 of movement. Were not trying to be a four-star restaurant, just an airline that gives its customers something theyd be happy to pay for. When you are bleeding cash, its hard to think of anything but tourniquets. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They picture productivity plummeting, and profits along with it. The aircraft descended at a rate which could not be overcome even though the aircraft was flown at or near its maximum lift capability throughout the encounter. You will find items like fresh pasta, soup and sandwiches, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls in first class, and Subway sandwiches and jelly beans in coach. Right Away and All at Once: How We Saved Continental The Go Forward Plan wasnt complex. The on-time bonus I mentioned earlier made it clear that our employees would win when our customers did. When AF4590 subsequently departed, Concorde's left main landing gear tires struck the strip of metal and were punctured. But honesty and the rest dont just sprout up like weeds in a cornfield, especially when there has been a long drought. But to go the full distance, we knew that we would also have to communicate openly when the message was tough. 26 May 1937. . Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees) New York $ 414. It was a very long list. [28][35] As the plane was about to leave the tarmac, with the aircraft rotated for takeoff at a speed of only 188 knots, 11 knots under the minimum recommended velocity. Track Flight. . They told the pilots that they should feel lucky that Continental finally had a senior management team that treated them with enough respect to deliver the bad newsas well as a good relocation packagein person. Flight 1713 bound for Boise, Idaho crashed on take-off during a snowstorm at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Damaged beyond economic repair when the propellers struck the runway shortly after take-off. [44], In June 2010, two groups attempted, unsuccessfully, to revive Concorde for "Heritage" flights in time for the 2012 Olympics. Home. As an on-time airline, we pay out only $750,000 in reaccommodation expenses while taking in $4 million. Along with explaining the details of the closing and relocation plans, I also shared with them my vision for Continental and how far we had come. But if we could get every employee headed in the same direction, we had a chance. So advertising lesslying lesswas another way of saying we were sorry. We've compared every online travel agent out there to find the cheapest flight tickets on the net. In the broadest sense, we refers to my 40,000 coworkers at Continental. 55 a.m. None: CO378: Larnaca (LCA) Frankfurt (FRA) 10:05 a.m. 1:15 p.m. None: CO1804: Frankfurt (FRA) Cagliari (CAG) 5:45 a.m. 7:50 a.m . The aircraft's last scheduled repair had taken place on 21 July 2000, four days before the accident; no problems were reported during the repair. That ticked them off (to put it in language this publication will permit), which caused further reductions in service. Our workers receive 15% of Continentals profitswhich has worked out to be approximately 7% of their pay over the last two years. There had been so many over the past decade that theyd stopped keeping track. I held a paying job when I was in third grade, and no one even blinked. They were too busy trying to knock each other off. The airplanes interior had seven different color schemes, which I later found out was not uncommon. The problem was exacerbated on the left gear's three remaining tyres by the uneven fuel load. We were cutting bureaucracy and costs but also putting important stufflike the right cultureback in. Climbing Again Continental Airlines has undergone a dramatic and profitable turnaround in the past several years. The aircraft was a total loss. Join the millions of customers that have used Fly.com to find cheap plane tickets. [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. Analysis of test results revealed the level of kinetic energy necessary to cause the rupture of fuel tank. [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. The aircraft encountered severe windshear at an altitude and airspeed which precluded recovery to level flight. Forgot the flight number? Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. After a moment of dead silence, I continued, The first step in problem solving is asking, Who has got the problem? They are required to research each suggestion and get back to the employee within 48 hours with one of three responses: we fixed it; we are not going to fix it, and here is why; or, we need to study it a little more, and we will get back to you by such and such date. When Greg Brenneman joined Continental Airlines, the company was plunging toward its third bankruptcy in a decade. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. The analysis of impact energy considered a tyre piece of 4.5 kilograms (9.9lb) with a speed around 140 metres per second (310mph). Calculated Risk: The crash of Continental Airlines flight 603 It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. Continental airlines flight 55 - YouTube If Continental Airlines flies to your chosen destination, you'll be able to filter your results to just those operated by them. But real trust is a 365-days-a-year commitment. Flight 426, bound for Wichita, Kansas, crashed near the departure end of runway shortly after takeoff. Non-stop flights only. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. . We were working hard, yesbut we had great luck, too. But a few minutes later, the creditors came to my office and asked me to come back in. Our Go Forward Plan had four cornerstones. As Air France had paid out 100 million to the families of the victims, Continental could be made to pay its share of that compensation payout. The procedure for shutting down an engine is to wait until stable flight at 400 feet is achieved, and then only on the command of the captain. Both the Delta (London-Cincinnati) and Continental (London-Newark) were heading to the U.S. with nearly 600 people total on both aircraft. Brenneman attributes Continentals turnaround to five operating principles, which incorporate the key components of any successful strategymarkets, products, finances, and people. Within months, we were regularly finishing first. ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-524 N18611 Denver International Get your answers here! 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. Make sure you know the difference. [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. [42] Just before service resumed, the September 11 attacks took place, resulting in a marked drop in passenger numbers, and contributing to the eventual end of Concorde flights. They may want food at 2:00 p.m., but they wont pay for it. ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-124 N70775 El Paso International Continental Airlines flight 1760 was a scheduled domestic service that originated at the enormous George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. In fact, I think the word fun scares a lot of executives. 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. Strong leadership, firm parameters, and clear direction are necessary in a turnaround situation, but the workplace neednt be repressive. The thrust reverser of the aircraft was deployed in flight shortly after takeoff. Gruelingwithout a doubt. They forget to ask simple questions like, Do we have a product people want to buy? They knew how to treat customers right, and we moved quickly to let them do just that. Do you know what happened? File your flight plan and track your progress. Looking back, I can see we were guided by five operating principles. Its easy to make everyone happy when things are going well. Theres not much time to think when your company is failing, says Continentals president. But we knew we couldnt listen to everything the customers in seat 9C had to say. Pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and gate agents manage the hotline. For more than 20 years Fly.com has been the leader in cheap airfare and discount ticket booking. Book the best Continental Airlines fare in seconds with no fees. It joined the Air France fleet full-time in 1980. In short, they forget to think about money in, or good old revenues. 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 (17.1 in) long, 29 to 34 millimetres . We also started an aircraft appearance department to make sure our airplanes would continue to look great day after day. Youre asking for a four-year project. My response: If you cant get it done, well find someone who will. Lo and behold, within six months, every plane was painted the same color inside and out, and all of the terminals had new carpeting. But in a narrower sense, we refers to myself and Gordon Bethune, Continentals chairman and CEO. In Continentals case, we simply needed to fly to places people wanted to go, when they wanted to go, in clean, attractive airplanes; get them there on time with their bags; and serve food at mealtimes. And we sold Continental as if it were already a winner. After bringing Bob and Audrey Six to their Colorado ranch, the Sabreliner crew departed MTJ, for the return flight to Los Angeles (LAX). 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. I wanted to make things happen. But at the beginning of the turnaround, there was so much wrong with the companyso many parts of it to fixI really felt as if one little misstep could have brought us down. The government definition refers to airlines with over $1 billion in annual revenues. When we took off at last50 minutes latethe accumulated condensation flowed like a waterfall along the top of the baggage bins to the back of the airplane. (Indeed, the program may have been the reason behind my first refreshing experience with Continental.) Its important to point out that we didnt just clean house on the top floor of Continental. We needed to create a culture at Continental where people liked coming to work. No one was going to come between us; if they tried, they were out. My best suit and I were soaked. CNN.com - Mechanic sucked into jet engine - Jan 16, 2006 Dynasty Flyer is the airline's frequent flyer program. We needed to start serving food when people were hungry. They got us into this hole, the thinking goes, how are they going to have the sense to get us out of it? All airlines. They re-evaluated two factors that the BEA had found to be of negligible consequence to the crash, the unbalanced weight distribution in the fuel tanks and the loose landing gear. Fly.com is your one stop shop for great flights, flight tickets and cheap airfare. Incentives were now aligned; when the customers won, the employees did, too. We search Expedia, Orbitz and others for packages that can save you even more. The airline suggested that the Concorde "was already on fire when its wheels hit the titanium strip, and that around 20 first-hand witnesses had confirmed that the plane seemed to be on fire immediately after it began its take-off roll". It remains the backbone of the companys strategy today. And thats a very good thing. 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. You can also look out for credit cards that allow you perks like free First Class lounge visits. The hard news about a turnaround is that you have no choice but to sweep out the old to make way for the new. [55], The Parisian court also ruled that Continental would have to pay 70% of any compensation claims. First, they had to pass what we called the raw IQ testthere is no substitute for smarts. We got a 55-gallon drum, tossed the book inside, and poured gasoline all over it. The new image had an even bigger impact on our employees. July 25, 2000. 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. 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. Talk about sending a message about who matters and who doesnt. As near as I can tell, if you take the share price times the number of shares outstanding, this entire company is worth $175 million and you are in hock for $3.5 billion. We had a week to put together a turnaround plan for Continental and develop a pitch to the board to name Gordon the CEO. I asked, Does someones boyfriend or girlfriend live there? There was silence. Will you land short of your destination? Each time you fly with them, you'll be awarded air miles or points to spend on later flights. We compare every price from over 1,200 airlines and travel agents to find you the best. At the time of the crash, the aircraft had flown for 11,989 hours and had made 4,873 take-off and landing cycles. Im from a little farming town in Kansas where hard work is a way of life. Dynasty Flyer is the airline's frequent flyer program. We could either declare bankruptcy or we could try to convince our creditors that the Go Forward Plan was going to work and then craft a very quiet restructuring. Members of Continentals existing management team were not up to this challenge. En route stops were planned at Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas. And when you are an airline in a do-or-die situation, you dont exactly let your employees sort out strategy. Painfulcertainly. 1. On Thanksgiving Day in 1994, I discovered that we were going to run out of cash on January 17, 1995paydayand no one even knew it. Page 32: "The maximum structural weight on takeoff being 185,070kg, it appears that the aircraft was slightly overloaded on takeoff". In early 1995, we took the Thou Shalt Not book to a company parking lot. In general, our communication policy changed from, Dont tell anybody anything unless absolutely required, to Tell everybody everything. Things were much calmer. Near collision with a Delta Air Lines Lockheed L-1011. On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet on an international charter flight from Paris to New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. RIP to all people that die in Air France Flight 4590=====song: https://youtu.be/cMkJDPvJxdkoriginal meme: https://youtu. If you ask them what they want and will pay extra for, you will get a single sheet of paper with requests. For instance, in the early 1990s, pilots earned bonuses if the fuel burn rate on their airplanes fell below a specified amount. Continental Airlines was found criminally responsible for the disaster. What a ride it has been. When I first arrived at Continental as a consultant, 18% of the flights were cash negative. Clean house. [10][17] They included German football manager Rudi Fanacht and German trade union board member Christian Gtz. [They] needed to stop flying 120-seat planes with 30 passengers . Every month, Gordon and I hold an open house where employees can ask us questions, and we publish a newspaper describing whats happening in the company. The foundation of any successfully run business is a strategy everyone understands coupled with a few key measures that are routinely tracked. There was next to no strategy in place. How to Prepare for Continental Air Baggage Rules | USA Today Need customer care support or have any question regarding your travel plans? Sometimes people ask me, Did anything about the turnaround surprise you? My answer is, The fact that it didnt fail..