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
customers percent
Bookings are OK, but sometimes as many as 30 percent of the customers don't show up,
ceo fun paid talk
The fun part is, the same talk I would give gratis as CEO of Continental, I get paid handsomely for now.
amadeus focus giving management
Our focus as management is on liquidating (our Amadeus stake) ... and giving that back to shareholders,
destroy meat
If you take the meat ax to the problem, you destroy relationships, ... And who loses? The employees. The customers. And the shareholders.
argue morning
I am doing what I want to do, which is kind of a first. I get up in the morning and don't argue with the government, and I don't argue about money.
comfort cost fleet latest market next order plan providing reduce technology total
Continental now has a fleet plan that makes us competitive in every market well into the next century. This latest order will reduce our total cost while providing the latest in technology and comfort to our customers.
dumped gate reason screening security thinks top underwear
For some reason TSA thinks that dumping out our passengers' underwear at the gate after it has already been dumped out at the security screening checkpoint makes TSA look like they are on top of things.
believe dignity employees forced tough treated
We believe that employees should always be treated with dignity and respect, especially when we are forced to make these tough decisions,
track challenges records
Somebody who knows what they're doing, who has a good track record, they come across as very articulate, bright and looking for a challenge - that's absolutely my kind of hire.
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.
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.