It was the only fatal Concorde accident during its 27-year operational history. Couple fear strike by nurses . "Co-pilot: "Negative, we're trying Le Bourget" (four switching sounds).Co-pilot: "No (unclear). HBR Learnings online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Crisis Management. Get complete Continental Airlines flight status online at flightpedia.org. 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. Continental Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Houston, Texas.On May 3, 2010, the airline announced it had agreed to be acquired by UAL Corporation, with the transaction closing by September 17, 2010.Continental's air operator's certificate was later merged with the certificate of United Airlines on November 30, 2011, with both airlines merging into the same passenger service . Gordon and I werent totally convinced that Continental could be saved, even with our plan. Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees). [3]:115, The accident led to modifications to Concorde, including more-secure electrical controls, Kevlar lining to the fuel tanks, and specially developed burst-resistant tyres. It joined the Air France fleet full-time in 1980. All told, after 15 years of a low-cost approach, Continental had created what I call a doom loop. We just had to get in there and do it. Both the Delta (London-Cincinnati) and Continental (London-Newark) were heading to the U.S. with nearly 600 people total on both aircraft. As near as I can tell, if you take the share price times the number of shares outstanding, this entire company is worth $175 million and you are in hock for $3.5 billion. But a few minutes later, the creditors came to my office and asked me to come back in. When I discovered Continentals real cash situation, I called Gordon. Let the inmates run the asylum. [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. When we met, he said that the Greensboro pilots were not angry that we were closing the airportthey could see that there were no customers on the flights. "Fire service leader: "De Gaulle tower from fire service leader, can you give me the situation of the Concorde?" But it would have been dishonest to back down or to fudge a reaction of sympathy I did not feel. They represented approximately $3.5 billion of our $5 billion in debt and capitalized aircraft leases. If you sit around devising elegant and complex strategies and then try to execute them through a series of flaw-less decisions, youre doomed. Always refer to the Continental Airlines website or hotline for the most up-to-date baggage fees. The gentleman sitting next to me looked at me and said, Isnt it great that Continental is getting all these new airplanes? I just smiled. The foundation of any successfully run business is a strategy everyone understands coupled with a few key measures that are routinely tracked. And they are right: saving Continental wasnt brain surgery. Flight #. They may want food at 2:00 p.m., but they wont pay for it. When we made the offer, we were paying about $6 million per month to reaccommodate our customers on our competitors flights. Visit Fly.com to know about some amazing deals on Continental Airlines. They kept telling me I could be the only 33-year-old to run a $6 billion company. We gave the patient little or no anesthesia, and it hurt like hell. There was silence. Again, we heard our share of shoutingthere was a lot of venom out there. But its indispensable if you want to break the doom loop. The third step in breaking the doom loop was to cut our advertising budget in half. 5. Our Go Forward Plan had four cornerstones. When we took over, you probably couldnt find a single employee, even among senior management, who could tell you the companys strategy. Ceased operations. Im not going to tell you that all the employees at Continental are empowered. We fly airplanes, after all. 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. The program didnt cost anything, but it added value to the customer. Yes. [48][51][52] It was alleged that Perrier, Hrubel, and Frantzen knew that the plane's fuel tanks could be susceptible to damage from foreign objects, but nonetheless allowed it to fly. We needed to create a culture at Continental where people liked coming to work. Started Operations. . Many companies in crisis mode will change the CEO or president and leave it at that. I truly believed the men and women of Continental could make the airline great again. All airlines. The pilots werent bad folks; in fact, many of them are good friends of mine now. Get started today and Give your life Wings! No one was going to come between us; if they tried, they were out. When I first arrived at Continental as a consultant, 18% of the flights were cash negative. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. This cooled down the airplane all right, but it also caused condensation to build up on the inside roof of the aircraft. I dont know about you, but to me, a two-hour flight that leaves at 7:00 a.m. (after I have gotten up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the airport and havent eaten breakfast) is a lot different from a two-hour flight at 2:00 p.m., which falls after lunch but before dinner. There are no hidden fees, just the lowest fares and best value options for your trip. The official investigation found Flight 55 caused the crash of Air France Concorde Flight 4590 in Paris. [3]:17 A large plume of flame developed, and the flight engineer shut down engine 2 in response to a fire warning and the captain's command. After all, Continental was the product of mergers among seven airlines; when a seat needed to be replaced, the company used whatever was in stock. Cheap Roundtrip Fares to Amsterdam from: (per person, including taxes and fees). In a turnaround situation, people are tense and suspicious for good reason. [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. The Gonesse monument consists of a piece of transparent glass with a piece of an aircraft wing jutting through. Moreover, I had taken the financial relocation package called for in the contract and doubled it. 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 were cutting bureaucracy and costs but also putting important stufflike the right cultureback in. But I would argue that people have fun at work when they are engaged, when their opinions are respected. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. A version of this article appeared in the. [58] Another monument, a 6,000-square-metre (65,000sqft) memorial surrounded with topiary planted in the shape of a Concorde, was established in 2006 at Mitry-Mory, just south of Charles de Gaulle Airport. Do it now! We lit a fire of urgency beneath Continental; we rotated quickly and picked up speed as we climbed to 41,000 feet. Its hub airports were in Cleveland Hopkins International . Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. The government definition refers to airlines with over $1 billion in annual revenues. Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas.It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Theyve been lied to. In fact, they have many ways of saying, If the solution were simple, we would have already thought of it. On top of that, they usually have trouble accepting responsibility for and reversing the poor decisions they made in the past. Those are the main reasons we decided to clean house when we took over at Continental. Airline Founded. It was powered by four Rolls-Royce Olympus 593/610 turbojet engines, each of which was equipped with afterburners. I have some bad news for you, I told him. "Pilot: "Too late (unclear). And thats a very good thing. So I tell this story not to vilify them but to demonstrate the kind of trust that starts to emerge when a companys leaders neither hide nor mince words in bad times. Continental ranked tenth out of the ten largest U.S. airlines in all key customer-service areas as measured by the Department of Transportation: on-time arrivals, baggage handling, customer . This facility was a key hub for Continental Airlines at the time, and it continues to be so today for its successor, United Airlines. Continental Airlines flight 1760 was a scheduled domestic service that originated at the enormous George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. Throughout that week, Gordon and I held several dinner meetingsdubbed our Last Suppersat his house. 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. A group of baggage handlers came to me a little more than a year ago and asked if we could tag the bags of our best customers priority and deliver them first off the baggage belt. Fare Calendars show the best prices over the next 180 days on 2000+ routes. Since the costs of the aircraft and fuel were fixed, and costs such as food had already been cut, the only way to reduce costs was to take back wages from employees. You may be wondering why Continentals cash situation came as such a surprise. Finally, each corporate officer is assigned a city on the system. At the time of the crash, the aircraft had flown for 11,989 hours and had made 4,873 take-off and landing cycles. Keep an eye on your favorite fare and book when it's cheapest. It may even be their most important job; Gordon and I certainly considered it our top priority. 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. I had never seen a company as dysfunctional, writes the air carriers president. In the span of a couple of months, we replaced 50 of our 61 officers with about 20 individuals. When in doubt, everyone knew it was advised just to let the customers fend for themselves. [34] The additional weight of the extra fuel in tank 11, the rearmost tank, plus the additional luggage shifted the aircraft's centre of gravity rearwards, to beyond the safe operating limit of 54 per cent, set by the Concorde test pilots. Read more about this topic: Continental Airlines, An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.Walter Bagehot (18261877), We are the men of intrinsic value, who can strike our fortunes out of ourselves, whose worth is independent of accidents in life, or revolutions in government: we have heads to get money, and hearts to spend it.George Farquhar (16781707), 113 fatalities, No passengers killed on DC-10. We set up a toll-free hotline that operates around the clock to handle employees suggestions. When you are bleeding cash, its hard to think of anything but tourniquets. Fly to Win was the airlines marketplace plan; Fund the Future was the financial plan; Make Reliability a Reality was the formula to improve the product; and Working Together was the blueprint for improving the companys culture. Strategic clarity is particularly important when time and financial resources are limited. In other words, while the word "major" may . We search Expedia, Orbitz and others for packages that can save you even more. [45], French authorities began a criminal investigation of Continental Airlines, whose plane dropped the debris on the runway, in March 2005,[46] and that September, Henri Perrier, the former chief engineer of the Concorde division at Arospatiale at the time of the first test flight in 1969 and the programme director in the 1980s and early 1990s, was placed under formal investigation. [41], The crash of the Air France Concorde nonetheless proved to be the beginning of the end for the type. 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. Strategic direction is never more crucial than during a crisis. Finally, they had to be team players, willing to treat everyone with dignity and respect in an extremely collaborative environment. Choose travel cost protection and take your trip with confidence. They care; they talk; they laugh. Very quickly, we required the scheduling and operating departments to review and sign off on the flight schedules before they were loaded to be flown. And we wanted it all done in six months. Continental Airlines. Today the plan is in place across our entire system. Thats where our focus was, and its a good rule for any turnaround. They fear they will be next. I know most of them thought we were on drugs. August 1981: British Airways (BA) plane taking off from New York suffered a blow-out, damaging landing gear door, engine, and fuel tank. Since reaccommodation expenses showed up in a contra-revenue account rather than as a cost on the general ledger, they escaped the eyes of the cost reduction program. We went to work at full speed. They began ranting and raving. What a ride it has been. After bringing Bob and Audrey Six to their Colorado ranch, the Sabreliner crew departed MTJ, for the return flight to Los Angeles (LAX). You may feel as if youve lost a bit of your authority and control over every last detailbecause you havebut thats okay. Leaking fuel gushing out from the bottom of the wing was most likely ignited either by an electric arc in the landing gear bay (debris cutting the landing gear wire) or through contact with hot parts of the engine. Truth is, the on-time incentive program is self-funding. Continentals was pure common sense. I found this remarkable given that the flight time was only 36 minutes. Four dogs back, the look and smell stays the same. 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. And when you are an airline in a do-or-die situation, you dont exactly let your employees sort out strategy. That meeting was hostile, to put it mildly. I held a paying job when I was in third grade, and no one even blinked. After reaching takeoff speed, the tyre of the number 2 wheel was cut by a metal strip (a wear strip) lying on the runway, which had fallen from the thrust reverser cowl door of the number 3 engine of a Continental Airlines DC-10 that had taken off from the same runway five minutes previously. In spite of my reservations, I signed on. You cant run a company from the executive suite of an office building anyway. It was my opinion then, and remains today, that every company should have a strategy that covers these four elementsmarket, financial, product, and peoplewhether it is in a severe crisis or not. [1], While taking off from Charles de Gaulle Airport, the aircraft ran over debris on the runway, causing a tyre to blow up and disintegrate. They all go together; they reinforce one another. Neither qualified what was meant by "major U.S. airline.". The rest of the pilots applauded. Basic users (becoming a basic user is free and easy!) But I also wanted them to know that a new beginning was under way. [1] Contact Details. In fact, I usually agreed with everything they said. We also assigned one city in our system to each officer and asked them to go through the same process of apologizing to travel agents and corporate customers. Join more than 3 million seasoned travelers using Fly.com every month to find the best airfare deals. Aborting the takeoff would have led to a high-speed runway excursion and collapse of the landing gear, which also would have caused the aircraft to crash. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. 1 Oct 2010. They pay full fare, and they travel a lot. The problem was exacerbated on the left gear's three remaining tyres by the uneven fuel load. In my opinion, that approach is like changing only the lead husky on a sled-dog team. We went through the entire organizationfrom the highest supervisors to the baggage handlers. Continental Airlines, also known as CAL was formed in 1959 by some retired Chinese Air Force officers in Taiwan. [31], Former British Airways (BA) Concorde captain John Hutchinson, said the fire on its own should have been 'eminently survivable; the pilot should have been able to fly his way out of trouble'. Over a period lasting mere seconds, this seemingly. When AF4590 subsequently departed, Concorde's left main landing gear tires struck the strip of metal and were punctured. In fact, I think the word fun scares a lot of executives. Filter your search by airline. I have never seen the team that managed a company into a crisis be able to get it back on track. Forgot the flight number? We've compared every online travel agent out there to find the cheapest flight tickets on the net. Brenneman replaced 50 of his 61 top officers with 20 new individuals. Members of Continentals existing management team were not up to this challenge. Of course, the ride isnt over. They surrounded the room and refused to sit down. Fare Calendars show the best prices over the next 180 days on 2000+ routes. It was our story and we were sticking to it (to borrow a line from a country-and-western song). Flight 1943 landed wheels up on runway 27 at the Houston Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas. On the 25th of May 1979, America's deadliest plane crash unfolded in 31 harrowing seconds at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, as an American Airlines DC-10 packed with holiday travelers. If youre flexible on your departure dates, you can use Skyscanner's whole month tool to find the cheapest day of the year to fly anywhere you like in the world. The on-time bonus I mentioned earlier made it clear that our employees would win when our customers did. Brenneman and CEO Gordon Bethune produced one of the fastest and most unlikely corporate turnarounds ever. I then offered it to all employees, not just pilots. Their strategy focused on understanding markets, improving products, increasing revenues, and infusing employees with the energy and power to transform Continentals corporate culture. Even though the turnaround is over, we wont forget the lessons we learned from it. When you want real change, you cant do it partway. We knew a major ending was on the horizoneither the old Continental was going to be entirely reinvented or it was going to go bankrupt for an unprecedented third time and would probably be liquidated. The plane did not gain enough airspeed with the three remaining engines as damage to the landing gear bay door prevented the retraction of the undercarriage. The Go Forward Plan wasnt complex. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. We offered them options along the way, so if the shareholders won, they would win. We search Expedia, Orbitz and others for packages that can save you even more. The airline was part of Skyteam and Star Alliance with frequent flyer program name Onepass. [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. January 1988: BA plane leaving Heathrow lost 10 bolts from its landing gear wheel. We just talked at every opportunity about our plans for the airline and how we were going to accomplish them. . With the right travel insurance, you wont lose out on money if your flights with Continental Airlines are changed or cancelled or your trip is cut short. Then again, the patient is cured now, right? Six other people in the hotel were critically injured.[2][3]. FACTUAL INFORMATION 1.1 History of Flight On February 19, 1996, at 0902 central standard time,1 Continental Airlines (COA) flight 1943, a Douglas DC-9-32, N10556, landed wheels up on runway 27 at the Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas. About an hour later, I met with the rest of the employees and their familiesabout 600 people in all. Page 32: "The maximum structural weight on takeoff being 185,070kg, it appears that the aircraft was slightly overloaded on takeoff". )[33] This skewed the alignment of the landing gear because a strut was able to wobble in any direction with 3 of movement. Gordon and I met in February 1994. But we had to try40,000 jobs were at stake. It is the flag carrier of Republic of China with its headquarters in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County. 4. There were 37 injuries among the passengers and crew, and no fatalities. Many popular airlines offer loyalty programs. People want to be led, not managed, in a time of crisis. Worse, no one had hooked up the planes air-conditioning. 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. Each time you fly with them, you'll be awarded air miles or points to spend on later flights. But Gordon and I didnt bother with them. The Sabreliner descended from 1,000 feet (300 m), struck the ground, and was destroyed. We needed to start serving food when people were hungry. They could come to work in airports and on airplanes that looked clean and new. For instance, in the early 1990s, pilots earned bonuses if the fuel burn rate on their airplanes fell below a specified amount. Leaders must find the most leveraged plan of action, stick with it, and continually monitor the companys performance against it. The runway behind is irrelevant. Why dont we just charter you a Lear jet? But then the pilots walked inin full uniformwith their families. 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. We could either declare bankruptcy or we could try to convince our creditors that the Go Forward Plan was going to work and then craft a very quiet restructuring. [6], At the start of the takeoff, the aircraft had 1.2 tonnes of extra fuel which should have been burnt during the aircraft's taxi. [8]:3337 The fire damaged the inner elevon of the left wing and it began to disintegrate,[3]:164[9] melted by the extremely high temperatures. . Flight 1404 bound for Houston, pulled left and ran off of the runway during its takeoff roll at Denver International Airport. It was going to take hard work, but that didnt worry me. You can use Fly.com to compare flight ticket prices between hundreds of airfare providers. It helps us remember your details, show relevant ads and improve our services. Embarrassingmaybe, if we failed. [22], Air France's Concorde operation had been a money-losing venture, and it is claimed that the aeroplane had been kept in service as a matter of national pride;[23] British Airways claimed to make a profit on its Concorde operations. The scenes in this video are from Air Crash Investigation documentary.Music: I Am a Man Who Will Fight for Your HonorArtist: Chris ZabriskieNone Of Them Belo. After that crisis was over, we knew we would never lose track of our cash again. Learn how to manage uncertainty, dispel rumors, and help your team recover. Of the 115 people on board, 38 sustained injuries, with 2 seriously injured, including the pilot. It was a hot, humid day in May 1993. When I asked one mechanic why he had done this, he explained, When I go to Wal-Mart tonight, I dont want anyone to know that I work for Continental. His response still sends chills down my spine.
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