We've compared every online travel agent out there to find the cheapest flight tickets on the net. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. The third step in breaking the doom loop was to cut our advertising budget in half. Gruelingwithout a doubt. I held a paying job when I was in third grade, and no one even blinked. "[6], While examining the wreckage in a warehouse, investigators noticed that a spacer was missing from the bogie beam on the left-hand main landing gear. In general, our communication policy changed from, Dont tell anybody anything unless absolutely required, to Tell everybody everything. In spite of my reservations, I signed on. Things were much calmer. [3]:115 It did not directly puncture any of the fuel tanks, but it sent out a pressure shockwave that ruptured the number 5 fuel tank at its weakest point, just ahead of the left landing gear well. Our goal was not only to apologize but also to explain what we were doing to fix the company. Based in: Ghana. We had a week to put together a turnaround plan for Continental and develop a pitch to the board to name Gordon the CEO. In the wake of the disaster, the entire Concorde fleet was grounded. But I decided to go to Greensboro myself, make the announcement to the employees, and take my punches publicly. [30][6], According to Rose, former French Concorde pilot Jean-Marie Chauve, and former Concorde flight engineer Michel Suaud, spent six months preparing a 60-page report which was submitted to the investigating judge. Flights. They knew how to treat customers right, and we moved quickly to let them do just that. 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. I truly believed the men and women of Continental could make the airline great again. 1 Oct 2010. [26], Despite the accident, Concorde was still considered among the world's safest aircraft. We saved Continental because we acted and we never looked back. And thats the whole point of asking the customer in seat 9C the right question. With the help of some talented financial experts, within a few weeks we had worked out a plan to restructure our debt. In fact, for 15 years, the way to get ahead at Continental was to torpedo someone and then take his or her job. I wanted to make things happen. We set up a toll-free hotline that operates around the clock to handle employees suggestions. We got a 55-gallon drum, tossed the book inside, and poured gasoline all over it. After that second incident the "French director general of civil aviation issued an. But then the pilots walked inin full uniformwith their families. Each time you fly with them, you'll be awarded air miles or points to spend on later flights. 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. We search Expedia, Orbitz and others for packages that can save you even more. Continental Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Houston, Texas.On May 3, 2010, the airline announced it had agreed to be acquired by UAL Corporation, with the transaction closing by September 17, 2010.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 . Then again, the patient is cured now, right? On top of that, employees had no place to go with ideas or questions. A group of baggage handlers came to me a little more than a year ago and asked if we could tag the bags of our best customers priority and deliver them first off the baggage belt. Drastic changes were made: within a year we had reduced the annual maintenance budget from $777 million to $495 million, and the airline jumped from worst to first in the industry in dispatch reliability. 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! Forgot the flight number? Need customer care support or have any question regarding your travel plans? But we had to try40,000 jobs were at stake. The pilots werent bad folks; in fact, many of them are good friends of mine now. If it's cheaper to travel to/from a nearby airport, we'll alert you. The cause of the incident is unknown, however the right side of aircraft caught fire once coming to a stop. They represented approximately $3.5 billion of our $5 billion in debt and capitalized aircraft leases. Our balance of payments has changed by $8 million to $9 million per month. Many popular airlines offer loyalty programs. Near collision with a Delta Air Lines Lockheed L-1011. Six other people in the hotel were critically injured.[2][3]. The pilots could have rejected their contract. Will things suddenly look okay in the cockpit? But he also knew that when you focus only on cost reductions, you risk sabotaging the very products youre trying to sell. New data released by Ipsos this morning has shown that around 55% of Britons expect the Tories to lose seats on Thursday, with 45% expecting Labour to pick up support. 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. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. Within months, we were regularly finishing first. We agreed that a healthy culture is simply a function of several factors, namely: honesty, trust, dignity, and respect. For instance, wed ask the number two person in pricing at another airline to come run our pricing department. HBR Learnings online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Crisis Management. This communiqu was the result of the NTSB's investigations of four Air France Concorde incidents during a 20-month period from July 1979 to February 1981. That ticked them off (to put it in language this publication will permit), which caused further reductions in service. When the employees are happy, everyone is happyfrom the customers to the shareholders. I found this remarkable given that the flight time was only 36 minutes. Or choose Cookie preferences to customise your settings and opt out of all or some non-essential cookies. Sure, its bound to make the shareholders very unhappy, but hiding the fact that you are about to run out of money is like resetting the fuel gauge when youre low on gas. Theyve seen their friends get fired. All nine crew and 100 passengers on board were killed, as well as four people in the hotel. The airplanes interior had seven different color schemes, which I later found out was not uncommon. Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees) New York $ 414. We search 500+ sites to find you the cheapest flights. We couldnt afford to have people hoarding ideas or sapping enthusiasm as we built our new organization. They care; they talk; they laugh. And when you are an airline in a do-or-die situation, you dont exactly let your employees sort out strategy. 1 and No. Pretty soon, we were unstoppable.. 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. 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 . [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. There are no hidden fees, just the lowest fares and best value options for your trip. Im going home to watch TV, I answered. Leaders must find the most leveraged plan of action, stick with it, and continually monitor the companys performance against it. The gentleman sitting next to me looked at me and said, Isnt it great that Continental is getting all these new airplanes? I just smiled. We made payroll on January 17 with the help of a $29 million wire transfer Gordon arranged from Boeing. I sat the scheduling team down and started asking questions. Some of the finance people had regularly been inflating our profit projections by plugging in overoptimistic revenue estimates. We just had to get in there and do it. Without it, all your great plans to have a product you are proud of and people who like coming to work every day are meaningless. [3]:159[28][29] Fuel transfer during taxiing left the number 5 wing tank 94 percent full. Maybe things were a bit dicey while it was happening, but it sure doesnt sound like brain surgery.. You may check the current baggage fees at both the Continental Airlines official website, or by. Every turnaround involves creating a new culture. This was the only fatal accident of Concorde's entire career.[27]. The fact is, you cant afford to think too much during a turnaround. But those fixes were like trying to bail out the Titanic with a coffee can. It would take too long, and its no way to act when strong leadership is imperative. [3]:17,107[7] At 16:42, the Concorde ran over this piece of debris during its take-off run while the aircraft was doing 185 mph (300 km/h), cutting the right-front tyre (tyre No 2) of its left main wheel bogie and sending a large chunk of tyre debris (4.5 kilograms or 9.9 pounds) into the underside of the left wing at an estimated speed of 140 metres per second (270kn; 500km/h; 310mph). Painfulcertainly. 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. Throughout that week, Gordon and I held several dinner meetingsdubbed our Last Suppersat his house. A couple of days later, I found myself in a room with our largest creditors. Track Flight. Finally, they had to be team players, willing to treat everyone with dignity and respect in an extremely collaborative environment. They began ranting and raving. United Airlines (UA / UAL) Subsidiaries / Group Airlines. January 1988: BA plane leaving Heathrow lost 10 bolts from its landing gear wheel. Continental Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. Moreover, the measures had to be aligned with the Go Forward Plan. Many customers, particularly business customers with a choice, selected other airlines, reducing revenues enough to create huge losses. The Gonesse monument consists of a piece of transparent glass with a piece of an aircraft wing jutting through. One last thing before we get to the lessons. They pay full fare, and they travel a lot. Continental is a fun place to work today. Do you know what happened? . Flight 46, on a flight from Midland, Texas to Kansas City, Missouri suffers vibration just after takeoff and goes into a dive; the flight crew managed to make a wheels-up landing in an open field. Because it is critical to get everyone working together, we aligned employees compensation with the companys objectives. 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. Oh, Im sure it has happened some time in the history of business, but I cant believe it has happened very often. Make sure you know the difference. Compare Continental Airlines flight deals from all across the web, Keep an eye on your favourite fare and book when its cheapest, Book the best Continental Airlines fare in seconds with no fees. [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. Companies may veer from one strategy to another just to make payroll or keep a client. Speaking of dignity and respect, cleaning house neednt be a brutal or humiliating experience. We have a great time riding in Brinks trucks distributing profit-sharing checks every Valentines Day. When we met, he said that the Greensboro pilots were not angry that we were closing the airportthey could see that there were no customers on the flights. Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas.It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. 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 . In the past, the scheduling department had simply written a flight schedule and given it to operations, often only days before they were to fly it, because it was confidential. As a result, the operating departments were frequently stuck with a schedule they had no hope of following: they had mechanics, parts, and crews in the wrong locations. Page 32: "The maximum structural weight on takeoff being 185,070kg, it appears that the aircraft was slightly overloaded on takeoff". Incentives were now aligned; when the customers won, the employees did, too. There were 37 injuries among the passengers and crew, and no fatalities. The maintenance department was not amused. The foundation of any successfully run business is a strategy everyone understands coupled with a few key measures that are routinely tracked. [1] When I first arrived at Continental as a consultant, 18% of the flights were cash negative. The same team that leads a company into a crisis is rarely able to get it back on track. [44], In June 2010, two groups attempted, unsuccessfully, to revive Concorde for "Heritage" flights in time for the 2012 Olympics. Get your answers here! The thrust reverser of the aircraft was deployed in flight shortly after takeoff. The airline is operating the Hong Kong route since 1967, and operates in 161 destinations in 29 countries/districts, as of 31 DEC, 2018. In fact, when we went before the board, we told them Continental could earn about $40 million in 1995. You run the company. Then I walked out. Lufthansa flights to Jacksonville International, Brussels Airlines flights to Luqa Malta International, Singapore Airlines flights to Athens International. That was a good thing, because we were in a big mess togetherbigger than either of us knew at first. They explained that the process was easy: as you pull the bags off the airplane, the ones marked priority go in the first baggage cart, which is the first to be unloaded. Fare Calendars show the best prices over the next 180 days on 2000+ routes. A version of this article appeared in the. At takeoff, the DC-10 overran the runway at Los Angeles (LAX) when the takeoff was aborted as a result of a tire explosion; the resulting overrun resulted in a fire that engulfed the aircraft. Closing Greensboro was one of the toughest days of my life. The first is to beg forgiveness from all the customers you have wronged. I was thinking, Greg, this is one of those times in life when you step up to the plate or you chicken out. I had spent the last six years making recommendations that my clients sometimes took and sometimes ignored. It sounded like a great idea, but I was worried we would raise expectations and then not be able to deliver. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. We needed to start serving food when people were hungry. They created a model that works when you have little time and less moneyas well as when you have more of both. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. Did you know that there are no rearview mirrors on an airplane? Naturally, our cash-flow forecasts always came in lower than projected because revenue (and thus, credit card receipts) was overstated. Brenneman attributes Continentals turnaround to five operating principles, which incorporate the key components of any successful strategymarkets, products, finances, and people. Departure time came and went, and people continued to trickle on board for another 40 minutes. I left to a standing ovation. Very quickly, we required the scheduling and operating departments to review and sign off on the flight schedules before they were loaded to be flown. He moved into the CEOs office, and I moved into his old office. From the Magazine (SeptemberOctober 1998). 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 complaints, and involuntary denied boardings. Break the doom loop by apologizing for your mistakes and focus on delivering a better product. Continental started out as one of the smaller carriers in the United States, known for its limited operations under the regulated era that provided very fine, almost fancy . The new image had an even bigger impact on our employees. 1. As of March 2, 2012, prior to the airline's merger with United Airlines, Continental Airlines served 140 destinations, consisting of 62 domestic destinations and 78 international destinations. Continental Airlines Flight 1404 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was a Continental Airlines flight from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. They felt pressured to do so, they said. The employees were going to be liberatedto be able to do right by the customer and to have fun at work. Thats where our focus was, and its a good rule for any turnaround. They got us into this hole, the thinking goes, how are they going to have the sense to get us out of it? They surrounded the room and refused to sit down. The jet crashed into a hotel in nearby Gonesse two minutes after takeoff. When AF4590 subsequently departed, Concorde's left main landing gear tires struck the strip of metal and were punctured. In addition to changing when we served food, we also changed the food itself. It was a very long list. If you have very little money to spend and you have to spend it very quickly, you had better have a clear idea of the most leveraged plan of action. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . [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. Of all the contributors to Continentals success, Brenneman says, the biggest factor in our favor was momentum. We quickly set up a cleaning schedule that tripled the number of times the airplanes are cleaned, cockpits included. There were forms for employees suggestions on how to improve the operations, but the suggestions disappeared into a black hole. But they did not feel that the compensation package was fair. Now, how to create a new culture is the topic of hundreds, if not thousands, of books and articles. ", "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. And the company hadnt posted a profit outside of bankruptcy since 1978. The court ruled that the crash resulted from a piece of metal from a Continental jet that was left on the runway; the object punctured a tyre on the Concorde and then ruptured a fuel tank. We also started an aircraft appearance department to make sure our airplanes would continue to look great day after day. Most companies that are in trouble, however, tend to develop a myopic focus on cost. Get started today and Give your life Wings! Home. As an on-time airline, we pay out only $750,000 in reaccommodation expenses while taking in $4 million. Section 1.16.7.3 "The Fuel in Tank 5" (page 118): "Taking into account these calculations, we may consider that the quantity of fuel in tank 5 was practically that which was loaded on the apron, which represents around 94% of the total volume of the tank". Any first-year marketing student can tell you that to make more money, you have to listen to your best, most lucrative customers. In-Service Fleets carrying 89 aircraft, including 71 Passenger Jets/ 18 Freighters. Join the millions of customers that have used Fly.com to compare prices between hundreds of airfare providers. 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. It was pure common sense. The aircraft was a total loss. (For more on Continentals performance, see the exhibit Climbing Again.) How did the reversal of fortunes happen? 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. 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. In fact, they have many ways of saying, If the solution were simple, we would have already thought of it. On top of that, they usually have trouble accepting responsibility for and reversing the poor decisions they made in the past. 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). We also immediately started fixing our idiotic food policy. Nowadays, Gordon and I personally select the food we serve on our planes, and we test it ourselves every three months. It was scary. A couple of weeks after I arrived, I was walking the ramp in Houston saying hello to our mechanics and baggage handlers, and helping to throw a bag or two, when I noticed that almost all the employees had torn the Continental logos from their shirts. [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. 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%. Save time and money on flight ticket booking with Fly.com. 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. Continental Airlines on Wednesday became the first U.S. commercial carrier to conduct a demonstration flight powered in part by alternative fuels, though large-scale use of such fuel is. The airline is operating the Hong Kong route since 1967, and operates in 161 destinations in 29 countries/districts, as of 31 DEC, 2018. [45], French authorities began a criminal investigation of Continental Airlines, whose plane dropped the debris on the runway, in March 2005,[46] and that September, Henri Perrier, the former chief engineer of the Concorde division at Arospatiale at the time of the first test flight in 1969 and the programme director in the 1980s and early 1990s, was placed under formal investigation. They kept telling me I could be the only 33-year-old to run a $6 billion company. In Gordon, I found an extraordinary leader who knew the airline business inside and out, and who managed the men and women of Continental with great heart. Flight 1713 bound for Boise, Idaho crashed on take-off during a snowstorm at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Second, they had to be driven to get things done. We listen, too. Its hub airports were in Cleveland Hopkins International . When peoples lives are at stake, certain rules and procedures are not open to interpretation or reinvention on a daily basis. I have never seen the team that managed a company into a crisis be able to get it back on track. 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. 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. Dynasty Flyer is the airline's frequent flyer program. If you. 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. 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. Why dont we just charter you a Lear jet? Maybe it was the 20-hour days I was working. First, we divided the angry letters from customers among our officersexecutives through the rank of vice presidentand started making phone calls. Theyve been lied to. In early 1995, we took the Thou Shalt Not book to a company parking lot. As a result, most employees learned of the companys activities, plans, and performance through the press. We'll let you know when the price of your flight goes up or down so you can book when the time is just right. Since the costs of the aircraft and fuel were fixed, and costs such as food had already been cut, the only way to reduce costs was to take back wages from employees. It also forced the airline to pay more to accommodate customers who had to take other airlines because of missed connections. Continental Air Lines flight 54 was a service from Los Angeles, California, to Houston, Texas. I know most of them thought we were on drugs. Neither qualified what was meant by "major U.S. airline.". My best suit and I were soaked. The plan also included key performance measures to track internally as well as against competitors (for example, monthly on-time performance, mishandled bags, customer complaints).

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