HERE'S a pop quiz for you frequent fliers (and disgruntled investors and union members): Who was the highest-paid executive at a major domestic airline last year, taking home $1.1 million in salary and bonus?
Not Gary C. Kelly at Southwest: His reward for running the industry's most profitable company was just $542,000. Nor was it Bruce Lakefield at US Airways, who got $425,000 as his company struggled to avoid liquidation. And forget about Gerald Grinstein at Delta, who earned a mere $250,000 as his airline battled to stay out of bankruptcy protection.
The big payday went to Glenn F. Tilton, the chief executive of United Airlines, which has been operating in bankruptcy since December 2002. Since its filing, it has lost billions, forced its workers to take deep cuts in pay and benefits, and dumped billions of dollars of unfunded pension obligations on the federal government.
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"They're seen as being strong because they're in bankruptcy," said Gary N. Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "It's a remarkable use of bankruptcy as a strategy."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/business/yourmoney/15air.html?