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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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011689
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1990-09-17
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BUSINESS, Page 46On a Wing And a DareBraniff aims to triple in size
In the unfriendly skies of airline competition, Braniff has
been buffeted severely but refuses to stay grounded for long. The
Dallas-based carrier endured a bout with bankruptcy in 1981-82,
and has changed hands three times since then. Last week Braniff
chairman William McGee announced an ambitious plan to triple the
size of the airline's fleet and join the ranks of major U.S.
carriers.
While several troubled rivals are selling planes and cutting
service, McGee said his company has ordered 50 midsize Airbus A320
jetliners and has taken options to acquire 50 more (total cost:
$3.5 billion). Braniff chose the European-built planes partly
because it wants its jets in a hurry. Half the planes were
originally intended for cash-strapped Pan Am, which agreed to turn
over its allotment to Braniff.
The Texas airline will deploy many of the jets at its two
principal hub cities: Kansas City and Orlando. The carrier last
year bought 16 Kansas City airport gates from ailing Eastern
Airlines. Braniff also aims to move into other airports neglected
by the major carriers, but is keeping mum about which ones.
Though Braniff lost $11.4 million for the nine months ending
Oct. 31, industry analysts think it can become profitable. But the
true ambitions of its owners, an investment group that bought
Braniff last June for $105 million, remain a subject of
speculation. The management, says Kevin Murphy, who follows the
industry for the Morgan Stanley investment firm, wants "to get this
thing to be a viable enterprise and sell it to a major airline.
They are not in it for the long run." But at least for the short
term, the Braniff logo is going to become a familiar sight on U.S.
runways.