Last week, KHOU-11’s Dan Lauck checked in on retired Continental Airlines executive Gordon Bethune. Here is an excerpt that illustrates Bethune’s moxie:
Bethune concedes times have been tough. Continental has lost money two straight years. But some analysts expect a profitable year.
“You’re not going to win every day. Not going to win every flight. But you ought to be able to beat the other guys. Why? Cause you only have to beat American, United and Delta, and you should be able to do that. You know, I mean what the hell. That’s easy,” Bethune said.
I’m a huge Gordon Bethune fan (and may well be the only person who knows who he is when I occasionally see him having breakfast at the 59 Diner on Shepherd). When Ken Lay and his crew were getting all sorts of credit for making Enron into a huge company that showed up in all those surveys of “best places to work,” all Bethune was doing was making a profit in an industry where it’s rare after turning a bankrupt airline into one with a young fleet, energized staff, great customer-loyalty program, and growing traffic. I don’t know that Bethune has ever gotten all the credit he deserves for the work he did at Continental.
It’s worth noting from time to time, especially as we continue to see news of Bush Intercontinental’s ongoing growth. That growth would have been more difficult if Bethune hadn’t turned around Houston’s hometown airline, and it had instead folded.
