Continental 1998

f IRST PERSON

There's not much time to think when your company is failing, says Continental's president. And thaVs a very good thing.

Right Away and AllatOi How We Save Continental

byCregBrenncman
ways avoided Continental because of its reputation for lousy service. In fact, back in 1990, when we were deciding where to locate Bain's Texas office, we specifically chose Dallas instead ofHouston so we could use American rather than Continental for our constant business travel. Continental lived up-or perhaps I should say down-to my expectations that day in May. Because I was not afrequent flier on Continental, I was seated in the last row of an unattractive and dirty DC-9. The
ARTWORK BY SALLY WERN COMPORT

7

WILL NEVER FORGET m y 6rst

flight from Dallas to Houston onContinental Airlines. It was a hot, humid day in May 1993. At the

Greg Brenneman is president and chief opera tin^ officer of Continental Airlines in Houston. Texas. 162

time, I was a partnerspecializing in corporate turnarounds in Bain &. Company's Dallas office. My goal that day was to sell Bain's consulting services to Continental's CEO and new owner, a leveraged buyout firm that had justrescued the airline from its second bankruptcy in nine years. Although I was a frequent flier with literally millions of miles racked up on other airlines, I had al-

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airplane'sinterior had seven different color schemes, which I later found out was not uncommon. After all. Continental was the product of mergers among seven airlines; when a seat needed to be replaced, thecompany used whatever was in stock. Worse, no one had hooked up the plane's air-conditioning. Departure time came and went, and people continued to trickle on board for another 40 minutes. I found thisremarkable given that the flight time was only 36 minutes. There were no announcements about our delay, and none of the crew seemed particularly concerned.
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Finally, probably...