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The tale of Eastern Airlines
Bartleby summarised a new book by David Bodanis on fairness in business (December 12th). The column narrated the story of Eastern Airlines by describing it as a corporation built by Eddie Rickenbacker, “who had granted mechanics a 40-hour week, profit-related pay and a pension”, but “when Frank Lorenzo took over the company in the 1980s, he cut wages, alienated the staff and pursued a policy of asset-stripping the company. The workers went on strike in protest and Eastern went bankrupt.”
However, Rickenbacker operated during a lush golden era of air travel. The government regulated air fares, and kept them high. Competition was genteel. Then along came the Deregulation Act of...