They all go together; they reinforce one another. Today the plan is in place across our entire system. And finally, Working Together was the people plan: we were going to change Continentals culture to one of fun and action and restore employees trust. We set up a toll-free hotline that operates around the clock to handle employees suggestions. Looking back, I can see we were guided by five operating principles. CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1943 DOUGLAS DC-9-32, N10556 HOUSTON, TEXAS FEBRUARY 19, 1996 1. 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. Continentals was pure common sense. We try to give everyone some brand quality with gourmet coffees and microbrewery beers. Make Reliability a Reality was the product plan: we were going to transform the customers experience with us. [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. Of the 115 people on board, 38 sustained injuries, with 2 seriously injured, including the pilot. 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. Power was lost to the No. 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. In-Service Fleets carrying 89 aircraft, including 71 Passenger Jets/ 18 Freighters. Two engines were damaged as a result of the accident. Maybe things were a bit dicey while it was happening, but it sure doesnt sound like brain surgery.. Embarrassingmaybe, if we failed. Based in: Ghana. All 45 on board died. I never denied that Continental had been a terrible airline. Couple fear strike by nurses . 5. [14], The crew was trying to divert to nearby ParisLe Bourget Airport, but accident investigators stated that a safe landing would have been highly unlikely, given the aircraft's flightpath. During its 27 years in service, Concorde had about 70 tyre- or wheel-related incidents, seven of which caused serious damage to the aircraft or were potentially catastrophic. [10][17] They included German football manager Rudi Fanacht and German trade union board member Christian Gtz. Fare Calendars show the best prices over the next 180 days on 2000+ routes. But to go the full distance, we knew that we would also have to communicate openly when the message was tough. 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. It may even be their most important job; Gordon and I certainly considered it our top priority. My best suit and I were soaked. 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. We just had to get in there and do it. To monitor our performance in the marketplace, we decided to track our monthly load factor, revenue per available seat mile, and quarterly cost and profit margins. If Continental Airlines flies to your chosen destination, you'll be able to filter your results to just those operated by them. Management then had to borrow from pawn shops to keep the company afloat, which increased interest expenses. For instance, in the early 1990s, pilots earned bonuses if the fuel burn rate on their airplanes fell below a specified amount. File your flight plan and track your progress. Maybe it was the 20-hour days I was working. )[33] This skewed the alignment of the landing gear because a strut was able to wobble in any direction with 3 of movement. The aircraft lifted off, but the loss of thrust, high drag from the extended landing gear, and fire damage to the flight controls made it impossible to maintain control. 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. Gordon and I werent totally convinced that Continental could be saved, even with our plan. RIP to all people that die in Air France Flight 4590=====song: https://youtu.be/cMkJDPvJxdkoriginal meme: https://youtu. Most important, even with all the work ahead, turning Continental around seemed like it was going to be fun. Customers told us they wanted and would pay for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. But he didnt stop there; he cleaned house from the top floor to the baggage handlers, keeping or recruiting only individuals who were smart, driven to get things done, and team players. 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. Dynasty Flyer is the airline's frequent flyer program. I wanted to make things happen. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. I want you to listen to what he has to say, and when he tells you to do something, you assume it is coming from me, and do it.. In our business, revenue comes from credit card receipts. But in a narrower sense, we refers to myself and Gordon Bethune, Continentals chairman and CEO. Who wouldnt after flying on the old Continental? We got a 55-gallon drum, tossed the book inside, and poured gasoline all over it. [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. Of course, wed be fools if all we did was talk at our employees. Visit Fly.com to know about some amazing deals on Continental Airlines. . You have to do it fast, right away, and all at once. Roundtrip One way Multi-city. The support you get from each employees family when they become part of the team is incredible. Once the damaged forward tank 5 began to lose fuel, the centre of gravity moved even further rearward. Flight 426, bound for Wichita, Kansas, crashed near the departure end of runway shortly after takeoff. Both the Delta (London-Cincinnati) and Continental (London-Newark) were heading to the U.S. with nearly 600 people total on both aircraft. Let the inmates run the asylum. Needless to say, morale was terrible. To figure out which products to make, you first have to ask your best customers what they will pay extra for (for example, safe and comfortable airplanes, good food at mealtimes). All new hires had to have three qualities. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. How can you drop all this on us and then leave? they demanded. All nine crew and 100 passengers on board were killed, as well as four people in the hotel. But within the parameters set for safety and those we set with the Go Forward Plan, we decided that at the new Continental, the employees were going to be liberatedto be able to do the right thing by the customer and to have fun at work. Analysis of test results revealed the level of kinetic energy necessary to cause the rupture of fuel tank. Track Flight. When you want real change, you cant do it partway. One of our techniques was to find people who were in a number two position in their current job and ask them to join Continental in the number one spot. That lowered the cost per seat mile by adding more seats, but it alienated Continentals best business customers and often resulted in an all-coach airplane on long flights when airplanes were swapped during adverse weather conditions. August 1981: British Airways (BA) plane taking off from New York suffered a blow-out, damaging landing gear door, engine, and fuel tank. And theres one more problem with existing management teams sticking around for a turnaround. To make a long story shortand it was a long dayBain got the job. Lufthansa flights to Jacksonville International, Brussels Airlines flights to Luqa Malta International, Singapore Airlines flights to Athens International. The same team that leads a company into a crisis is rarely able to get it back on track. 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". If you fire people inhumanely, youll be left with a bunch of employees who dont trust the company or their coworkers. 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 . I said I was surprised; we had just finished negotiating the first pilots contract in 12 years, and it had been ratified by a large margin. The official investigation was conducted by France's accident investigation bureau, the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). In a turnaround situation, people are tense and suspicious for good reason. You can use Fly.com to compare flight ticket prices between hundreds of airfare providers. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. Flight 1404 bound for Houston, pulled left and ran off of the runway during its takeoff roll at Denver International Airport. The board approved the plan, and we were on our way. The Concorde that crashed was the primary aircraft extensively used in, The timeline and causes of the crash were profiled in the premiere episode of the, The accident and subsequent investigation were featured in the 7th episode during, This page was last edited on 22 April 2023, at 12:23. I left to a standing ovation. Here are a few tips on how to find the best price. You can also look out for credit cards that allow you perks like free First Class lounge visits. Gone are the days when Continental put the meat, potato, and vegetable in a little ceramic dish and heated it until they all tasted the same. 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 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. The government definition refers to airlines with over $1 billion in annual revenues. Always refer to the Continental Airlines website or hotline for the most up-to-date baggage fees. Probably none of them will knock your socks off. This was the only fatal accident of Concorde's entire career.[27]. Oh sure, people paid lip service to strategy. The company had gone through ten presidents in ten years, so standard operating procedure was to do nothing while awaiting new management. A passenger intent on claiming money from life insurance planted a bomb on the aircraft which departed Chicago-OHare, destined for Kansas City Municipal Airport. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. 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. Believe it or not, at this point I still wasnt on Continentals payroll. In me, Gordon found a frustrated consultant who bristled at the slow pace of change in most companies. Neither qualified what was meant by "major U.S. airline.". The bomb exploded, breaking off the aircraft's tail, and the plane crashed on a farm near Unionville, Missouri. We also ordered new carpeting for all the airport terminals, and we launched a campaign to retire the meatballthat is, replace the old Continental logo, which was round, red, and ugly, with a blue globe with gold lettering. 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. The answer is, we started by hiring people we knew, many of whom were our friends. That expedited the process of screening candidates and greatly reduced our hiring mistakes. By the way, sending select material to the home is one of the smartest things you can do. The aircraft struck the ground left wing low after a heading change of nearly 180, crashing into the Htelissimo Les Relais Bleus Hotel. We didnt say to the patientif you can call a dying company thatNow, just hold on a while so we can run a lot of tests and then perhaps perform an extremely delicate 12-hour procedure. No, we just took out the scalpel and went to work. Fly to Win was the market plan: we were going to build up our Houston, Newark, and Cleveland hubs, for instance, and expand our customer mix from backpacks and flip-flops to suits and briefcases. Continental Airlines flight 1404, a Boeing 737-500, departed the left side of runway 34R during takeoff from Denver International Airport (DEN). I knew the fastest way to make money was to stop doing things that lose it. Make sure you know the difference. Managements implicit communication policy had been, Dont tell anybody anything unless absolutely required. My goal that day was to sell Bains consulting services to Continentals CEO and new owner, a leveraged buyout firm that had just rescued the airline from its second bankruptcy in nine years. We search Expedia, Orbitz and others for packages that can save you even more. Nowadays, Gordon and I personally select the food we serve on our planes, and we test it ourselves every three months. But Continental had been cutting costs in ways that sabotaged its product. Clean house. [3]:118[BEA 4] A 30-centimetre (12in) spacer normally keeps the left main landing gear in alignment, but it had not been replaced after recent maintenance; the BEA concluded that this did not contribute to the accident. Hutchinson believed this did not happen due to a series of operational errors and 'negligence' by the maintenance department. 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. Flight 603 was scheduled to Honolulu, HI from Los Angeles. . . Continentals weekly voice-mails, monthly open houses, quarterly magazines, and semiannual videos shown at regional meetings all focused on talking with and listening to employees. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. EVA Air is the airline's main competitor. [47], In March 2008, Bernard Farret, a deputy prosecutor in Pontoise, outside Paris, asked judges to bring manslaughter charges against Continental Airlines and two of its employees John Taylor, the mechanic who replaced the wear strip on the DC-10, and his manager Stanley Ford alleging negligence in the way the repair was carried out. Investigation revealed the metal strip was probably a thrust reverser. In spite of my reservations, I signed on. We've compared every online travel agent out there to find the cheapest flight tickets on the net. But funyes. Our maintenance team worked their fannies off, and Continentals handsome new image was everywhere. Until the time came when we could offer them something great, I didnt want to promote a product that we couldnt deliver. The aircraft encountered severe windshear at an altitude and airspeed which precluded recovery to level flight. Continental Airlines Flight 1515 was preparing to take off for Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston when "a maintenance-related engine run-up of the right-hand engine" was carried out,. Flight 1713 bound for Boise, Idaho crashed on take-off during a snowstorm at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Finally, and perhaps most important, to monitor our financial progress, we announced we were going to track cash. The official investigation found Flight 55 caused the crash of Air France Concorde Flight 4590 in Paris. The buzzer will go off before you attempt the last shot, and you will lose. We went to work at full speed. In addition, Gordon records a voice mail each Friday that summarizes the activities of the week. To put an end to Continentals strategic wandering, Gordon and I introduced the Go Forward Plan to our coworkers. Ask the customer in seat 9C the right question. Nineteen items of luggage, weighing some 500kg (0.5 tonnes) were loaded onto the aircraft at the last minute without being included in the aircraft's manifest, giving the aircraft a weight of 186 tonnes, which exceeded the aircraft's certified maximum structural weight by one tonne. File your flight plan and track your progress. In our case, that meant listening to the customers in seat 9C, the business travelers who book the aisle seats near the front of the plane. They created a model that works when you have little time and less moneyas well as when you have more of both. Let the inmates run the asylum. There had been so many over the past decade that theyd stopped keeping track. [41], The crash of the Air France Concorde nonetheless proved to be the beginning of the end for the type. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies. As a result, most employees learned of the companys activities, plans, and performance through the press. We were cutting bureaucracy and costs but also putting important stufflike the right cultureback in. Continental Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. As an on-time airline, we pay out only $750,000 in reaccommodation expenses while taking in $4 million. Basic users (becoming a basic user is free and easy!) Maybe it was the fact that I had seen a client of mine do largely the same thing during a real estate restructuring, to great effect. But a few minutes later, the creditors came to my office and asked me to come back in. ", "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. Continental Airlines was found criminally responsible for the disaster. . Whether you're looking for cheap airfare for business travel or last minute flights to a beach destination Fly.com has the best deals on flights. They care; they talk; they laugh. The crew reduced the power on engines three and four in an attempt to level the aircraft, but they lost control due to deceleration and the aircraft stalled. When AF4590 subsequently departed, Concorde's left main landing gear tires struck the strip of metal and were punctured. 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. Ill never know what possessed me to say that. Post-accident investigation revealed that the aircraft was over the maximum takeoff weight for ambient temperature and other conditions, and 810kg (1,790lb) over the maximum structural weight,[3]:32,159[BEA 2][BEA 3][28][29] loaded so that the centre of gravity was aft of the take-off limit. Our forgiveness campaign had a couple of parts. Flight #. When you are bleeding cash, its hard to think of anything but tourniquets. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated. [3]:155[30][BEA 5], The final report was issued on 16 January 2002. The Continental jet dropped a strip of titanium alloy from its thrust reverser on the runway during takeoff. It joined the Air France fleet full-time in 1980. The thrust reverser of the aircraft was deployed in flight shortly after takeoff. According to the official report on the accident, the strip of metal installed on the Continental jet was made from a different alloy than had been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration or the engine manufacturer. 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. July 1993: Tyre burst on a BA plane during landing at Heathrow, causing substantial ingestion damage to the number 3 engine, damaging the landing gear and wing, and puncturing an empty fuel tank. He moved into the CEOs office, and I moved into his old office. It was nearly the deadliest aviation accident in history. The kind of talking and listening Ive described goes a long way toward creating an atmosphere of honesty, trust, dignity, and respect. They kept telling me I could be the only 33-year-old to run a $6 billion company. The actions required to revive a moribund company usually arent. To implement the plan immediately and in its entirety, we sold it to our coworkers with energetic zeal. The program didnt cost anything, but it added value to the customer. Our Go Forward Plan had four cornerstones. The tough partlike in most turnaroundswas getting all that done fast, right away, and all at once. We saved Continental because we acted and we never looked back. And the companys results showed it. When AF4590 subsequently departed, Concorde's left main landing gear tires struck the strip of metal and were punctured. Greg, I was told, You have just proven you dont know anything about the airline business. Deciding to focus more on customers desires rather than on cutting costs is actually the easy part. The aircraft was leased to Air France on 6 January 1976. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) recorded the last intelligible words in the cockpit (translated into English):[15][16], Co-pilot: "Le Bourget, Le Bourget, Le Bourget. For instance, wed ask the number two person in pricing at another airline to come run our pricing department. Each time you fly with them, you'll be awarded air miles or points to spend on later flights. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. There were forms for employees suggestions on how to improve the operations, but the suggestions disappeared into a black hole. I found this remarkable given that the flight time was only 36 minutes. After a while, when it became apparent we were going nowhere, I got up to leave the room. People were incredibly frustrated and wanted to let us know how badly they had been treated. In October 1994, Continentals CEO resigned. Will you land short of your destination? Filter your search by airline. 2. If not, we'll show you the next-best options, by price or journey length. You bet. Then again, the patient is cured now, right? Here are the lowest-priced Continental Airlines flight tickets from hundreds of providers. But who else was there volunteering to save Continental? 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. Continental lived upor perhaps I should say downto my expectations that day in May. And then fun happens pretty naturally. 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! Keep an eye on your favorite fare and book when it's cheapest. [55][57], A monument in honour of the crash victims was established at Gonesse. In order to make up for these increased expenses, management cut costs further. That was a good thing, because we were in a big mess togetherbigger than either of us knew at first. There was next to no strategy in place. 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%. 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. Its an ego thing. Why are we going from Greensboro to Greenville six times a day when both customers who want to fly that route are on the first flight?. Gruelingwithout a doubt. "Pilot: "No time, no (unclear). We changed our meal service with an eye toward what our competitors were doing. and subsequent crash. [3]:159[28][29] Fuel transfer during taxiing left the number 5 wing tank 94 percent full. It is a heavy responsibility to make decisions that affect the lives of so many coworkers. 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. Its thrilling to lead people to do something no one thinks can be done. We went through the entire organizationfrom the highest supervisors to the baggage handlers. Once Continental had a flight schedule that could be operated on time, we made an offer to our employees. This facility was a key hub for Continental Airlines at the time, and it continues to be so today for its successor, United Airlines. To involve our employees even more in the turnaround, we put up 650 bulletin boards throughout the system. Yes. (For more on Continentals performance, see the exhibit Climbing Again.) How did the reversal of fortunes happen? But I decided to go to Greensboro myself, make the announcement to the employees, and take my punches publicly. Lots of statistics prove that fact, such as the huge reductions in turnover, sick leave, on-the-job injuries, and workers compensation claims. Our workers receive 15% of Continentals profitswhich has worked out to be approximately 7% of their pay over the last two years. 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. [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. Thats where our focus was, and its a good rule for any turnaround. We just talked at every opportunity about our plans for the airline and how we were going to accomplish them. As you all know, cash is the lifeblood of any business. Talk about sending a message about who matters and who doesnt. Pretty soon, we were unstoppable.. Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees). We lit a fire of urgency. By LISA STARK and HUMA KHAN February 2, 2010, 4:55 AM Feb. 2, 2010 -- Pilot error was one of the chief causes that led to the deadly crash of Colgan Air flight, operating as Continental Connection Flight 3407, last February, federal investigators said today. austin, texas obituaries 2021, club room vs banyan room surf club, st rita sends roses,
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