AxialFlow

I say it'll stay open just long enough for Phil to secure another lucrative severance package before the whole operation goes tango-uniform

Ex-CEO of Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines could be airborne again » The Commercial Appeal

Avroman

Well that quickly answered the question, should I take a shot at applying there? Nope.

G5inmind

That link didn't work. I'm kinda of lost

AxialFlow

Is a Memphis airline industry veteran the CEO-in-waiting for a would-be revival of an early 1980s discount airline?
An Aviation Week blogger speculated that former Pinnacle Airlines Corp. president and CEO Phil Trenary could be waiting in the wings to lead People Express.
A Giant Douche


Organizers of People Express have said their CEO was a president and CEO of another airline who is restricted by a non-compete agreement until mid-March.
Trenary left Pinnacle, a $1 billion regional airline holding company based in Memphis, last March 24. His $1.7 million consulting agreement included a one-year non-compete clause.
People Express was a low-cost, no-frills carrier that started in the early 1980s. It eventually bought Frontier, ran into financial difficulty and was acquired by Continental.
A group that includes executives from the original People Express recently announced a plan to resurrect the airline, with headquarters at Williamsburg/Newport News, Va., and major presence at Pittsburgh.
Aviation Week's commercial aviation writer guessed Trenary is the mystery man because "there are not that many people who have left a president/CEO position -- especially with a non-compete clause that would expire in that time frame."
Pinnacle officials referred questions to Trenary, who couldn't be reached Tuesday.
Trenary has more than 25 years of experience running regional airlines, but might be on less familiar ground at a mainline carrier, Airline Weekly managing director Seth Kaplan said.
"The skills might not be entirely transferable," Kaplan said. While regionals and mainlines have similar operational requirements, regionals rely on mainlines like Delta, United and American for ticketing, route planning and other functions.
The speculation about Trenary comes at a time when Pinnacle is teetering on the brink of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and share prices have plummeted to multiyear lows. Most of Trenary's top management has been replaced since he left.
Pinnacle shares closed at $1.27 on Tuesday, compared to a 52-week high of $6.18 on the Nasdaq.
"For someone starting a new airline, they're looking at the fact they're not going to be able to lure a very successful airline executive who's already employed," Kaplan said. "I'd imagine they'd look at other people with experience running airlines who might be available. Whether that's him as opposed to anyone else, I wouldn't know."
Kaplan said whoever leads People Express, "It's going to be tough." Even without the challenges faced by startups, existing carriers "are having a hard time finding profitable ways to grow, especially with the way oil prices are."

flyprdu

Don Burr and Phil Trenary couldn't be any more dissimilar.

With PT at the helm, I give the new PeoplExpress less than 24 months before they shut their doors.

Al Czervik

PT was very successful. He made right by himself and left a wake of damage in his path. That is all some care about and is becoming very commonplace.

AxialFlow

When you look at it, he was in the right place at the right time. He happened to be at the helm when mainline was practically giving money away to any regional provider. He was by no means a visionary or an innovator. And when the going got tough, he folded and bailed. I doubt this operation will fly one revenue flight

FlyJSH

Go on Guard, and ask for a DF steer.

mooney

Most FO's these days would ask "what part of Texas do dem DF Steers come from?" Are they Kobe or Angus?

MrBigAir

I usually theorize for most of them that if there's no magenta line pointing the way, bewilderment ensues.