Will Mr. Bethune Step In?

[javaboy]

CEOS
Why Is This Man Smiling?
Continental's Gordon Bethune turned the airline around, guided it through 9/11, and became a great CEO. Now he's being forced out. How can this be?


"........And yet, as of Jan. 1, 2005, Bethune will be out of work. It's the result of a standoff between Bethune and Continental's former controlling shareholder, David Bonderman. Having battled off and on for years, the two men finally reached an odd armistice: Bethune agreed to leave Continental if Bonderman would leave the board....."

Full Story

 

[NeedForSpeedNFS]

CEOS
Why Is This Man Smiling?
Continental's Gordon Bethune turned the airline around, guided it through 9/11, and became a great CEO. Now he's being forced out. How can this be?
"........And yet, as of Jan. 1, 2005, Bethune will be out of work. It's the result of a standoff between Bethune and Continental's former controlling shareholder, David Bonderman. Having battled off and on for years, the two men finally reached an odd armistice: Bethune agreed to leave Continental if Bonderman would leave the board....."

Full Story

[post="189146"][/post]​

If Gordon Bethune came to U, he would turn this place around!!! Everyone talks about employee relations with management?? This guy is a skilled, airline manager, and would do wonders for U, IF the unions would let him!!

 

[USFlyer]

Don't count on it. The man has probably had enough and just wants to retire!

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Bring it on GORDO!

 

[Bluestreak]

Bethune is not the genious he makes himself out to be. He took over continental after several teams of hatchet men already lowered the costs at Continental. Bethune walked into Continental when it had the lowests costs of any legancy carrier and at the beginning of the biggest economic boom in the country's history. My cat could have been CEO of continental during the 90's and done just as good of job as Bethune. His strategy for surving the economic slowdown has been to eat into the cash he raised by spinning off Coex. That's not that impressive to me. Build an airline at slave level wages and sell it to support your overcost mainline operation. Great plan! Better hope the price of oil drops really soon. Maybe Bethune is bailing out right now because he doesn't want to hurt his image as nice guy CEO. He doesn't want to be there when it's time to ask the employees to give. Maybe he'll come to U after the bankrupcy is settled. He'll walk into the lowest cost legacy carrier in the nation right at the beginning of an economic upturn. He'll have a growing RJ devision he can spin off later, and he can tell all the employees he's a nice guy and they can trust him. The current team of U hatchet men can then go work for continental and do the cost cutting Bethune can't accomplish.

 

[Hope777]

Turst me, they threw him out in 89, why in Gods name do you think he would come back?

 

[jimntx]

Bethune is not the genious he makes himself out to be. He took over continental after several teams of hatchet men already lowered the costs at Continental.

[post="189168"][/post]​

You might be right, but I doubt it. And, I can tell you that most of the employees of CO would disagree with you as well.

Even if you are partially right, CO has something today that UAIR mgt. doesn't have a clue as to how to obtain--cordial mgt.-employee relations.

 

[ITRADE]

Unfortunately Gordon believes that US Airways is "dead man walking" and would never put himself in a position of being the CEO of an airline when it died.

 

[LGA / 037]

In my opinion Jim Shear is a wild card to take over !

 

[oldiebutgoody]

In my opinion Jim Shear is a wild card to take over !

[post="189196"][/post]​

I think that Mr. Schear may have an answer when the interviewer at his next job asks him "what was the worst decision you've ever made?"

 

[delldude]

Unfortunately Gordon believes that US Airways is "dead man walking" and would never put himself in a position of being the CEO of an airline when it died.

[post="189192"][/post]​

i agree...also i doubt the creditors would approve a contract and immenities as he would want at this time....

"Paybacks are a B*tch"

(and then you marry one??)

 

[PITMTC]

What do you think is good pay for Gordon to work here? A lot of you think "he is a good man that can turn this place around".
Well good people deserve good pay. How about $675,000 a year, a $675,000 signing bonus and a $4.5 million severance package if he is booted or decides to leave? Sound familiar?
Nah, we just want somebody to come with all their experience, turn this place around and offer us job security, but they won't be trusted because they are "management" and should not make that much!

 

[BoeingBoy]

Not that I think he'd take the job because I think he'd run, not walk, the other way. But...

How about $1 a year, $150,000 in expenses allowance, an apartment in the DC area, etc, plus 50% of the new stock if we emerge from bankruptcy. Lord knows he doesn't need the money, but would stand to make millions if successful. Plus it would be one heck of a challenge.

Jim

ps - the other 50% of the new stock would go to the employees for effectively providing the DIP financing.

 

[wings396]

He couldn't make things any worse, could he???? With the Boneheads that US has had at the Helm, We would be willing to give Gordon a shot anyday. It has been a long & hard 15 years since 1989 with this companys lack of direction. Most of our previous management could have run Walmart into the ground by now. The only ideas that they have been able to muster, involved concessions and furloughs.
We had close to 50k employees and 454 A/C in 1989......and today we are clinging to 279, and maybe 25k in the workforce. Way to go fellas.
And to think that they all left with Millions for this fine job performance!!!
At this point, I would let Dr. Phil come in to CEO this place.

 

[Harry Callahan]

Anyone should be given a try. They couldn't screw up any worse.
Except maybe A320, by the way whre is A320 ?