Customer Reviews

Hard Landing

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an airline professional with one of the carriers covered extensively in the book, I was skeptical as to whether any author could present a clear picture of the industry's inner workings. "Complex" is somehow an inadequate word when applied to the airline industry, especially since Deregulation. Mr. Petzinger, however, has succeeded not only in telling the story; he has done so in an entertaining style which makes for a fascinating and highly informative trip through all of the turmoil wrought by deregulation. The reader comes away with an understanding of the cause and effect of every relevant force affecting the airline business over the last few decades. This, combined with a comprehensive overview of the industry's formative years, makes this book a treasure. The book would be a 10 except for a couple of minor research errors. The content, however, is outstanding and compels me to use an overused cliche: this really is a must-read for everyone in the industry and anyone with even a passing interest in the airline business.

because I would love to go through the experience of reading it for the first time again.
I work in the Airline Industry in Australia in an operational role that has aspects of Industrial Relations associated with it. To read a book that relates so many interesting and insightful stories into the trials and tribulations of De-reg in the US and the power plays between the various airlines and the Unions was nothing but fascinating.
Well researched, well written and very enjoyable. I recomend it to anyone employed or aspiring to airline management

This is one of the best books to read among all the 'tell-all' novels about airlines and their managers. Unfortunately, Petzinger zig zags around characters and events that become confusing and annoying. Many of the significant facts are lost as a result and the reader must go back to truly understand particular concepts and processes of airline management.

Another problem is that the author does a tremendous job explaining the history and ramifications of what the airlines and their managers did, but only takes one small chapter at the end to explain the future of the airline industry and its new leaders.

For the size and comprehensiveness of the book, a few more pages devoted to his best estimates for the future would have only made it perfect.

This book was thoroughly engrossing, and the executives profiled are like actors in a Greek drama. The only downside to the book is that it stops in 1996, and so much has happened since then. But Hard Landing provides all the behind-the-scenes information that helps you understand the airline industry today -- the innovations such as reservations systems, frequent-flyer programs, discount pricing and hub-and-spoke route maps, which we all take for granted today. In his postscript, Petzinger notes that the industry was relatively stable when he concluded the book, but that he awaited its next crisis to see how its leaders respond. Well, I think it's safe to say we're there now. The Greek drama continues.

Mr. Petzinger has written an engrossing and completely engaging history of the airline industry. This work ranks alongside of business histories such as Barbarians at the Gate. He provides a thorough, yet not overly drawn out, history of the beginnings of the airline industry, and demonstrates the disaster that deregulation of the industry created, both for customers, airlines, and their employees. Some might object that Petzinger portray Stephen Wolf in a light less than flattering; I would argue that Petzinger's characterization of Wolf as a controlling and mean spirited CEO is more than accurate.

Petzinger writes a powerful, complete, and engaging book about an industry that plays a vital role in the life of every American, whether we actually fly or not. Taken as a history, as a careful review of fact from which we are to draw our own conclusions, the book leaves little to be desired. The book's sole failing comes when the veteran reporter turns away from the process of journalism. Throughout the book Petzinger makes it clear that he thinks little of deregulation or the process that created it (and goes so far as to relate an incident when the senior senator from Massachusetts angrily buttonholes a former aide for "misleading" him about it.) But in his postscript (the only overt analysis in the book), he concludes that we now know that there are really two airline industries: one that flies folks for cheap, and one that serves passengers looking for comfort and or convenience, and that no airline can afford to go too far in either direction. In so concluding, he fails to mention that were it not for deregulation, it is highly unlikely that passengers would have the choice: Southwest would still be a Texas-only airline, and anyone wishing to fly across state lines would be a fool. Finally, Petzinger misses by a hair the most important product of deregulation: that the US airline industry is the most competitive on the planet, and is more prepared for the deregulation that is occurring internationally than its coddled cousins in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This book is a must-read for any serious student of business or economics, but don't look here for much more than history.

I really enjoyed this book. The authors take you from the absolute beginning of the industry after World War I, all the way beyond the rise of Southwest Airlines. They go into detail about turning points in the industry, e.g. the formation of the CAB, the deregulation, computer reservation systems, and code sharing.

What is notable about this is that despite all the material covered, the book was lively, humorous, and immersive. The authors accurately explain the requirements of running a profitable airline, and draw detailed portraits of the notable characters involved, including Frank Lorenzo, Frank Borman, Bob Crandall, Herb Kelleher, and Richard Branson. Surprisingly, these people are not stuffed shirts trying to squeeze another nickel out of each passenger- to a one, they are all intense competitors.

I did not give 5 stars because I would have liked more coverage of international airlines, and perhaps more speculation about where the industry is going. Both topics were mentioned and given a dozen or so pages, but I felt there had to be more.

If you are even vaguely interested in learning more about the airline business, this should be the first book you read.

Mr. Petzinger makes a very confusing, controversial, and always timely subject very accessible. As the son of a long-time manager in the airline industry, I was able to track events from my childhood by different labor strikes, airline births and deaths. The attention to the founding of the industry and the always unique position held by the airlines in making America what she currently is is exceptional.

The fundamental story of commercial aviation in the United States, as Eddie Rickenacker, aptly if not crassly said, is of "putting bums in seats."(175) At first there were no airline companies with aircraft or routes to transport those seats in which to place the bums. The public's early perception of flight as reckless and dangerous was not unwarranted. It took time for people to become comfortable with the concept of air transportation. Whether commercial aviation would have eventually emerged on its own, without the encouragement of federal involvement, is one of the great unknowns of modern times.

In any case, it was the Post Office Department that was the seedbed of America's commercial aviation industry. Under the tutelage and bulldog determination of Second Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger, a rudimentary experimental mail system took shape, proving scheduling reliability, if not profitability. From this tenuous beginning private commercial aviation took root within a permissive system of federal oversight. Until the DC-3 came along, a mail subsidy was the key to making a profit. The remarkable DC-3 was the first aircraft capable of operating profitably without carrying the mail.

The challenge of building a system capable of reliably and safely carrying people by air was, by the late nineteen thirties, largely resolved. Airlines were flying aircraft over established air routes to airports at cities across the country. An unanticipated consequence of this success was that ironically there were now too many seats! Carriers flew in direct competition in prime markets. Consequently none were making money and the industry was threatened by total collapse. What was the answer? Well of course, government help! The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 brought monopoly rights to air routes and direct federal economic regulation to the industry. This state existed for forty years, until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 was enacted. The law removed the government from responsibility for awarding routes and establishing fares. What happened next is the subject of Thomas Petzinger's, Hard Landing.

Hard Landing is the story of the airline industry in the United States following deregulation. It is a rough and tumble ride typical of an airplane flight through bad weather. There was no doubt that the industry would survive, but there would be some sick passengers in route. New carriers emerged while some old-line pioneers disappeared. In command during this turbulent time the older generation of executives gave way to a new cadre of younger leaders. Petzinger focuses his story around these dynamic new leaders.

Fundamental to understanding the story is the power of the market place; "putting bums in seats." Once the aircraft leaves the gate any empty seat represents a lost opportunity. Airlines "sell one of the few products consumed while it is being produced." (xix) How an airline CEO managed his enterprise to fill those seats after deregulation would determined his company's success or failure. Operating an efficient airline in the post-regulated environment pitted managers in conflict externally with each other and internally with their own employees.

In the deregulated era, in addition to unregulated competition, executives had to deal with the controller's strike, recessions, accidents, fuel cost spikes, bankruptcies and wars. What kind of personal attributes attract individuals to aspire to leadership in this type of business and competitive arena? They are extreme types with some common denominators: a huge ego, an obsession with control, a single strategic vision, and a need to be at the center of all decision making.

At the highest level, at the airlines that matter, barely a dozen people have played this game in the past 25 years - a small group of white men who made the industry their sandlot from the late 1960s to the mid - 1990s. Although it was through their efforts that flying became inexpensive and commonplace, they entered the industry at a time when flying was special and when the men in charge were looked upon as demigods of the industrial world. (xx)

Airline executives are aggressor types. Indeed, Crandall's nickname was "Fang," though it was not used to his face. But not all executives were cutthroat. Kelleher and Marshall (British Airways) "distinguished themselves with dignity."(478)

Within the pages of Hard Landing there are few successes and many failures. Frank Lorenzo (Trans-Texas Airways, Texas International, Continental, New York Air, Eastern) was a central figure throughout the period. But not only did he lose out at the end of the game, he also ended up being remembered as a remorseless villain within the aviation community. Herbert Kelleher (Southwest), on the other hand, emerges as an innovative, charismatic leader of a perennially profitable carrier. Bob Crandall (American) earns our respect, if not our endearment. The peripatetic Stephen Wolf "turned around, and reaped tremendous profits at more airlines than perhaps any executive in aviation history" (479)

Petzinger's writing carries the reader along with the action but one of his strengths is in his explanation of airline economics. The competitive circumstances are made clear and the critical decisions are placed in context with marketing principles. The economic relationship of price and capacity are explained in understandable terms.

Trippe [Pan American Airlines] discovered what might be called The First Rule of Economics: If a plane is going to take off anyway - once the fuel is purchased and the pilot paid and the interest rendered on the money borrowed to buy the plane in the first place - any paying passenger or payload recruited to the flight is pure profit. The fare paid by the last passenger taken aboard represents a fabulously lucrative rate of return. (7)

Another rule of marketing was used by Southwest briefly when Braniff undercut its already low fares in an attempt to drive Southwest from the market. Southwest matched the fares but gave anyone who paid full fare a bottle of Chivas Regal.

For a time in 1973 Southwest had discovered another lesson in airline marketing: giving the expense-account customer something for free that he could take home instead of to the office - in short a kickback - won his undying loyalty. (37)

Southwest managed to hold on and prosper. Under deregulation Braniff filed for bankruptcy only to reemerge as a smaller Braniff II, which eventually failed completely.

Crandall combined American's informational technology advantage from its powerful Saber reservation system to create a method to win the undying loyalty of business travelers. Frequent Flier points rewarded frequent business travelers. In competition with the new entry and upstart carriers, yield management programs enabled dynamic carriers like American and United to compete against new lines such as People Express. People Express did not have a reservations system and would not pay to use American's. Passengers could not get through on the phone lines and customer service suffered. Donald Burr eventually was forced to sell People Express to his former boss and archrival, Frank Lorenzo.

People Express was folded into Continental just as were parts of Eastern. Eastern Airlines became another victim of deregulation under Frank Lorenzo`s heavy-handed style of aggressive management. In the process, former astronaut Frank Borman, departed the scene as well. Charlie Bryan, of Eastern's machinists union, dragged the carrier to the ground by his refusal to consider any labor concessions.

In Hard Landing, Petzinger discusses the effects of new aircraft such as the Boeing 767 as a smaller and more economical aircraft to use on long thin routes rather than the larger Boeing 747. He covers the controversy and ill will generated by Crandall's b-scale employee pay program. United's Boeing 737 featherbedding issue (two crew design, but third pilot required by a union contract) and employee buyout are explained. Pilot slowdowns and strikes, mergers and buyouts, and a myriad of other issues generated by deregulation are extensively described.

While Hard Landing traces the actions of a few dominant actors, not spoken about are the many employees who lived, prospered or suffered from the decisions made on high. The forces of the market place hit them too. Many of them lost jobs without any severance. Of all their bosses, only three executives, Herb Kelleher, Sir Collin Marshall, and Bob Crandall remained at the time Petzinger`s book was published. The others lost their executive positions but took some solace from their acquired wealth.

An additional point, which Petzinger makes, is the importance of the safety issue. All through this unsettled time, the executives and managers universally upheld the need for safety. While accidents occurred, the causes were not attributed to any broad industry problem. It should be noted that deregulation did not change government oversight of safety and operational scrutiny. Indeed the FAA conducted an extensive investigation of New York Air after it was reported that safety practices were being violated. None were found however.

The airline industry is experiencing another cycle of distress. As a consequence of the attacks on September 11, once again too many seats are available for the bums that want to fill them. Petzinger would well be advised to write a sequel entitled Harder Landing. In the history of the airline industry in the United States, each succeeding peak and valley seems to eclipse the one that came before. One day it is certain that the good times will return but for now, fasten your seat belts!

I've worked in the airline and airplane game all my years and bought this book from Amazon a while back. It sat on the shelf until I got time to read it but when I picked it up I couldn't put it down. My biggest regret is taking so long to read it - a travesty. Having sat in rooms as part of negotiating such deals as taking over an airline, all the shady stuff is true and yet believable and entertaining. Add to that a great author with superb writing skills and I rate this one of the best. Buy the book!