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Since 1978 the record pretty well shows that no start-up airline . . . has really been successful, so the odds of JetBlue having long-term success are remote. I'm not going to say it can't happen because stranger things have happened, but I personally believe P.T. Barnum was, in that respect, correct.

Gordon Bethune

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Gordon Bethune
Age: 83
Born: 1941
Born: August 29
Businessperson
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Military City
USA
Gordon M. Bethune
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More quotes by Gordon Bethune

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Whether I'm at the hangar or at the airport or on an airplane, I get respect. And that's the best part of my day.
Gordon Bethune
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The substitute for knowledge is money.
Gordon Bethune
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You have to begin to put the infrastructure in place to put in high-speed trains...It should be a national priority. If the French can do it, why cant we?
Gordon Bethune
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You don't lie to your own doctor. You don't lie to your own attorney, and you don't lie to your employees.
Gordon Bethune
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We're a stupid industry led by stupid people.
Gordon Bethune
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I don't think JetBlue has a better chance of being profitable than 100 other predecessors with new airplanes, new employees, low fares, all touchy-feely ... all of them are losers. Most of these guys are smoking ragweed.
Gordon Bethune
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Do you know how much faster I can fix an airplane when I want to fix it than when I don't want to fix it?
Gordon Bethune
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The airline business is the biggest team sport in the world. When you're all consumed with fighting among yourselves, your opponents can run over you every day.
Gordon Bethune
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You're only as good as your dumbest competitor.
Gordon Bethune
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The point is... you'd better figure out what your Customers - the Customers you want - value. Because that's what they'll buy. Anything else is a waste of their money, and they'll figure that out in a hurry.
Gordon Bethune
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Every pilot thinks they're the best pilot in the world. I think I'm the best pilot.
Gordon Bethune
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We tax air passengers like cigarettes and alcohol - we impose sin taxes on travellers.
Gordon Bethune
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Most businesses fail because they want the right things but measure the wrong things, and they get the wrong results.
Gordon Bethune
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There are a lot of parallels between what we're doing and an expensive watch. It's very complex, has a lot of parts and it only has value when it's predictable and reliable.
Gordon Bethune
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It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.
Gordon Bethune
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It's not about market share. If you have a successful company, you will get your market share. But to get a successful company, what do you have to have? The same metrics of success that your customer does.
Gordon Bethune
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If you say three things in a row that make sense, people will vote for you.
Gordon Bethune
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I've spent my life as an airplane mechanic, pilot, aircraft manufacturer and airline CEO who never lost a life or an airplane. I am considerate of the risk we take every time we fly. I also know we need to fly and always to improve safety.
Gordon Bethune