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
airplane safety risk
I've spent my life as an airplane mechanic, pilot, aircraft manufacturer and airline CEO who never lost a life or an airplane. I am considerate of the risk we take every time we fly. I also know we need to fly and always to improve safety.
adages airline pizza
It's the old adage: You can make a pizza so cheap, nobody will eat it. You can make an airline so cheap, nobody will fly it.
silly sound culture
It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.
girlfriend people peers
It really helps to know what success is before you get there, and if you know, then you can head right for it. For some people, it's the most money. For some, it's the most power. For some, it's the most girlfriends. Everybody's got a measure. For me, I guess it's having the respect and admiration of your peers.
want failing results
Most businesses fail because they want the right things but measure the wrong things, and they get the wrong results.
educational successful metrics
It's not about market share. If you have a successful company, you will get your market share. But to get a successful company, what do you have to have? The same metrics of success that your customer does.
air alcohol sin
We tax air passengers like cigarettes and alcohol - we impose sin taxes on travellers.
watches parallels expensive
There are a lot of parallels between what we're doing and an expensive watch. It's very complex, has a lot of parts and it only has value when it's predictable and reliable.
want waste figures
The point is... you'd better figure out what your Customers - the Customers you want - value. Because that's what they'll buy. Anything else is a waste of their money, and they'll figure that out in a hurry.
airplane navy stripes
I was a mechanic in the Navy. And mechanics in the Navy are like mechanics in airlines. You may have more stripes than I do, but you don't know how to fix the airplane.
airplane years choices
In airplanes you have a choice between chocolate and vanilla. One year could be vanilla or it could be chocolate. I don't attach any relevance to which one.
airline-business size making-money
It's not a testosterone-driven industry any longer. Success is making money, not in the size of the airline.
competitors
You're only as good as your dumbest competitor.
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.