Piney,
Your last Statements have echoed what numerous employees have said about the Sand Castle just repeating History. I will not say that Ben is on the Same page as Gordon, but things are all to similar.
When USAir purchased Piedmont in the late 80's, They PURCHASED their competition. Because Piedmont had purchased Empire a few years prior, that put Piedmont in Direct Competition with them. USAir never had a decent Marketing Department and neither does Tempe. The Answer is to TRY TO BUY your way into running an Airline. As much as I hate to say, Delta Marketing was/is going to chew up the Caslte and spit them out. So the answer? Try to Buy the competition. As far as Ben and Gordon, we know that Ben would have not lasted in Tempe because he had a plan and was INVOLVED in running the day to day operation of the Airline. When AL purchased PI, it was the Good Ole Boys Club in Washington. No Sourthern Hick was going to tell them how to run an Airline, so there was NO Room in the Crystal Palace for Gordon. Gordon did get the call and made CO what it is today. When AL/PI merged, EWR was one of the Largest airports in Terms of Departures for that combined Airline. Now, it's just a city that Washington and now Tempe could care less about. If ANYONE from Tempe wishes to debate that fact, you are more then welcome too. But take a look at the Poor Conditions of the Facility before opening your mouth.