Hard landing
by Thomas Petzinger · first published 1995
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Covers airline industry history after deregulation, especially the struggles over computer reservation systems and power among carriers; suits readers interested in aviation business history and travel.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Flying is An Act of conquest, of defeating the most basic and powerful forces of nature. It unites the violent rage and brute power of jet engines with the infinitesimal tolerances of the cockpit. Airlines take their measurements from the ton to the milligram, from the mile to the millimeter, endowing any careless move - an engine setting, a flap position, a training failure - with the power to wipe out hundreds of lives. Hard Landing is about the men who try to earn a profit from this tightrope act. Because running an airline demands a single strategic vision, lest the delicate choreography
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A really interesting book I read about this is Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger Jr. This contains more than just a history of Sabre. I read it more because I work in the travel industry ;-) http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Landing-Contest-Profits-Airlines/...
on “All American Airlines Flights Grounded, Experiencing Nationwide Computer Outage” ↗Highly recommend "Hard Landing" by Thomas Petzinger Jr. if you're interested in this sort of subject. Unit economics for commercial aviation have changed substantially since the industry's inception.
on “First-class air travel is in decline” ↗…history: from crewmembers dressed up in toga at company parties to NASA astronauts that became pilots, some of it really throwing back to their old school wild west culture. Highly recommend reading Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger for a little more background on SWA rough and tumble startup story with Herb K.
on “Southwest Headquarters Tour” ↗…deregulation. Since hearing facts from people you disagree seems to offend, I would suggest a separate source on the path of deregulation, the instability it brought, but then the ultimate success - check out Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger.
on “Trump Just Signed a Law That Changes Life Aboard Airlines” ↗Tangential. If you're interested in the history of airlines and the intense power struggles, I highly recommend the book Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines Into Chaos by Thomas Petzinger Jr.
on “Let's Buy Spirit Air” ↗If you enjoy reading about the history of airlines, I highly recommend Thomas Petzinger's "Hard Landing"...a good chunk of the book is devoted to the airlines' brutal fight over computer systems...reading it is a great look into how something so seemingly mundane as arranging ticket reservations was so…
on “History of computing in Scandinavian Airlines System [in Danish] [pdf]” ↗…not always true. For example, the union relationship with Eastern Airline, where the union decided that it was better to eventually kill the airline in exchange for a better contract today. (Reference - Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger). Unions are yet another human organization. Like all human organizations, it in-enviably becomes about sustaining itself, and that sustaining and power structure can become as destructive…
on “Amazon Warehouse Workers Lose Bonuses, Stock Awards for Raises” ↗…(extremely) unexpected success of the 747 program (a larger plane slower addressed a larger market) and the 737 success. Sources: Joe Sutter, Creating the worlds first Boeing Jumbo Jet Thomas Petzinger, Hard Landing
on “Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video]” ↗