What is takes to be an airline CEO?

[Lear70]

So they really can't ANYONE who cares about the company....? I find it hard to believe. Would that change the industry?

Unlikely.

You'll find that people who are interested in aviation because they truly love it don't ever go very far in the management end. They get pilot's licenses, buy a small airplane to play in, and work in another industry.

The American Aviation Industry is in the last dying spiral. It will never again be what it once was, and we will probably see its demise in our own lifetimes. We simply have too many things working against us, and the large root of the problem is CEO's who are all about the money and have no true interest in the industry.

If you really want that kind of life, then like one of the above posters said, it's not an easy gig to get. Going to a top 5 school to get your MBA, making the contacts that will get you in the door, including good political contacts for later use, then manage them very, very carefully at the opportune times.

It's an art more than science, and is so lucrative that it should be illegal, considering that the huge payouts are usually borne on the back of labor.

 

[Draginass]

Like most US robber baron executives, you must be able to lie convincingly. You must make sure that you only stay at the airline for a short while and at the same time get your buddies on the BOD to give you a sweetheart pay/benefits package, only a small part of which is actually revealed. So after 3 or less years of screwing up, you can leave with a minimum of 10 million dollars (again, only the part that's revealed), then move on to your next victim.

 

[Deuce130]

You should really ask that question on www.rapeandpillageforprofit.com/forums rather than this board. Running an airline and being an airline pilot have absolutely zero in common. I'd wish you luck, but I don't think I should. Cute, little, baby enemies grow up to be rat-bas+ard adult enemies.

 

[AA717driver]

The airlines have had some great CEO's. Bethune, Crandall, Kelleher.

They were great at building the airlines but things were tough when the employees wanted an increasingly larger piece of the pie.

Plus, why would you want to bash your head against the wall having to plan several billion dollars of aircraft acquisitions for 5-15 years down the line when you don't know what the market will be like next week?

It's much easier to go to work for a pharmaceutical company where you can buy a few politicians and promise a high six-figure job-for-life to some FDA bureaucrats and live on easy street after the next Prozac gets approved (despite lawsuit-inducing "issues").

Airlines are too much work. There aren't many airline CEO's with 10,000 sq. ft. houses at ASE...TC

 

[SDF2BUF2MCO]

Executive management is no different than being a Congressman or Senator. You have to put yourself first, always.
Somewhat seriously, what I find is a lack of is genuine desire to run a good business and treat their fellow human being as they would want to be treated (i.e., the golden rule which we're all guilty of breaking in various degrees). I have seen this get progressively worse over the years.
Again, not much different than a politician. Few are in it for the "cause".

 

[SoCentralRain]

but I really am curious as to what it takes...

Well, the stereotypical airline CEOs do have a few things in common. The biggest of which is an enormous ego. I mean egos so big they wouldn't fit inside the Hindenburg's hangar.

I suggest reading the book Hard Landing by Tom Petzinger. In it, he details all of the biggies from throughout U.S. airline history. Trippe from Pan Am, Howard Hughes and Carl Ichan with TWA, C.R. Smith and Crandall at American, Bill Patterson, Dick Ferris and Steven Wolf with United, Frank Borman with Eastern, Lorenzo and Six at Continental, Burr with People Express and last, but certainly not least, Herb Kelleher with Southwest.

Unfortunately, the book was published about 10 years ago and is sorely due for a "part 2." He'd probably throw in the "upstarts" like David Neeleman, Richard Branson and (ugh) Jonathan Ornstein.

The book describes in detail the personalities and management styles of each. Fascinating. Too bad each of us worker bees wind up getting stung.

SCR

 

[NuGuy]

Unlikely.
The American Aviation Industry is in the last dying spiral. It will never again be what it once was, and we will probably see its demise in our own lifetimes.

Heyas Lear,

Actually, I think you can lump most other industries in there, as well.

Across the board, there is no long term planning, and manufacturing talent is evaporating. As the large equity firms have taken over, they have replaced the individual investor as the principal ownership in this country.

Their desire is not long term. They don't make money by holding onto the stock and seeking growth and prosperity. Their goals are strictly short term, as speculation and stock churning are their profit centers.

This fast-buck approach is really going to turn around and bite us in the tail one day.

Nu

 

[capt. megadeth]

Not that I think I could change the industry, but just from what I've read, I think I could do better than half these guys..

I'm sure some of you are going to have a hayday with some responses, but I really am curious as to what it takes...

You could be a blind monkey and do better than 99% of these scum sucking pigs.

No conscience is what it takes.

 

[capt. megadeth]

sure kid it's easy. first get accepted to the harvard business school, graduate at or near the top of your class, get hired by a top tier management consulting firm, work hard making great contacts, hire in at the airline where you golf with some directors of said airline and you're on your way. good luck

I wonder at what point they turn into heartless, greedy f***ing bastards. I mean, they all can't possibly be born that way.....can they?

 

[GogglesPisano]

Frank Lorenzo should be popping his head in here fairly soon. Come on, Frankie, tell us what it's all about.