Gordon Bethune
Gordon Bethune
Gordon M. Bethuneis a retired US airline executive. He was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1994 until his retirement at the end of 2004. He currently serves on the boards of Honeywell, Sprint, Prudential Financial...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth29 August 1941
CountryUnited States of America
What you measure and reward is what you're going to get.
complex honolulu runs
There is no economy without airlines. Airfreight runs the world. There is no Honolulu without an airplane. This is a very complex system. If you take it down, you can't build it back up overnight.
goes good guy pilots staying
The guy in the airplane goes with you. So he has self-interest to do the good things, too, and I don't know of any pilots that don't have a self-interest in staying alive.
atlantic business change cover cross grounding spending weeks
Grounding airplanes to cover your butt would never have let Orville or Wilbur change the world. We would still be spending weeks to cross the Atlantic to do business in London.
actual break cockpit interest interested office people personally room thank time whether work
When you actually take the time to go over to somebody's office and personally thank them - whether their office is in a cockpit of an airplane, or in a break room - that's an actual manifestation of interest in them. You need to take the time to show the people around you who work for you that you're interested in them.
sit worrying
I just want to be able to get on an airplane and enjoy myself in Disneyland, not sit there worrying about all these assassins.
people
I learned that you can be successful if you get people to help you become successful.
amadeus focus giving management
Our focus as management is on liquidating (our Amadeus stake) ... and giving that back to shareholders,
air alliance demand focus global members previous proud shares travelers
Around the world, today's air travelers demand reliability, flexibility and high-quality service. We know from our previous dealings with them that the SkyTeam members are world-beaters by all these measures, and we're proud to be part of a global alliance that shares our focus on the customer.
airplane airports
Whether I'm at the hangar or at the airport or on an airplane, I get respect. And that's the best part of my day.
competitors
You're only as good as your dumbest competitor.
sticks shots trenches
No one is going to stick their head out of the trenches for someone they don't respect or trust. You can get shot doing that.
priorities speed infrastructure
You have to begin to put the infrastructure in place to put in high-speed trains...It should be a national priority. If the French can do it, why cant we?
judging balance sheets
A bankruptcy judge can fix your balance sheet, but he cannot fix your company.