JC Airline CEO Hall of Fame Poll

WestIndian425

WestIndian425

Well-Known Member
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I just got done reading an article by "The Street" comparing Scott Kirby to Robert Crandall. A thought came to mind and I want to post it to you all for your opinion, if you would:

For each of your respective carriers (and if you're informed of other carriers where you haven't had a tenure), who do you think was the best CEO?

I figured this would be a nice discussion, and I'm very interested to learn about some of those who held the helm at their shops that I don't know about. (This includes legendary carriers such as PanAm and TWA)

I'll start it off with my list:

ExpressJet Airlines: Jim Ream
SkyWest Airlines: Jerry Atkin
Continental Airlines: Gordon Bethune
JetBlue Airways: *jury is still out*, but I like Robin Hayes
Southwest Airlines: Herb Kelleher




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WestIndian425 said:
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I just got done reading an article by "The Street" comparing Scott Kirby to Robert Crandall. A thought came to mind and I want to post it to you all for your opinion, if you would:

For each of your respective carriers (and if you're informed of other carriers where you haven't had a tenure), who do you think was the best CEO?
Click to expand...
Magic Air: Ms. Frizzle, CEO
An inspirational leader with constant focus on encouraging her pilots' personal development while building cohesion in high-productivity teams. A visionary leader who inculcates an emphasis on basic airmanship while leading the industry in the push toward unmanned aerial transport vehicles.
 
Go historical:


Juan Trippe - Pan Am
Robert Six - Continental
CR Smith - American
William Patterson - United
Jack Frye - TWA
Herb Kelleher - SWA
Eddie Rickenbacker - Eastern
Gordon Bethune - Continental


These were the true men of vision. The MBA holding leveraged buyout clowns of later years are worthless by comparison. Bethune gets on the list because he saved Continental after Lorenzo's disastrous turn at the helm. Bob Crandall could potentially make the list, but he really can't be forgiven for starting the B scale.
 
Cptnchia said:
Get off your knees. It's unbecoming. Lee Moak is a joke next to Beebe, Dave Garrett, and Hollis Harris. At least learn the history of your own company.
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Can you shed some light on those guys? I don't know anything about them.



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Cptnchia said:
Get off your knees. It's unbecoming. Lee Moak is a joke next to Beebe, Dave Garrett, and Hollis Harris. At least learn the history of your own company.
Click to expand...
image.jpg
 
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SurferLucas said:
Tom H. Davis - Founder of Piedmont Airlines...Flight of the Pacemaker is one of the best airline books I've read.
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WestIndian425 said:
I'll have to check out that book!


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Click to expand...

For anyone interested in a detailed history of our industry, highlighting the impact made by all of the key players mentioned so far in this thread, I would recommend the book "Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines Into Chaos" by Thomas Petzinger. A must-read for anybody interested in how the industry has evolved through the years.
 
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