A MAGAZINE FOR EXECUTIVES 2008 Issue No. 1

T a k i n g y o u r a i r l i n e t o n e w h e i g h t s

A Conversation with Tim Hoeksema, chairman, president and chief the executive officer, pilot Midwest . pg. 36

Special Section I N SID E Airline Mergers Airlines are scrutinized for affects and Consolidation 26 on the environment

Etihad doubles its revenue from 44 2006 to 2007

Carriers can become true customer- 62 centric businesses

© 2009 Sabre Inc. All rights reserved. [email protected] the pilot

36 ascend the pilot A Conversation With... Tim Hoeksema chairman, president and chief executive officer,

or the many loyal passengers of No one believes more in the power , -based Midwest of employees than the airline’s chairman, FAirlines, the carrier’s signature fresh- president and chief executive officer, Tim baked chocolate chip cookies on board most Hoeksema, who has led the airline for two- flights are just one of the special amenities and-a-half decades. His philosophy is simple they’ve come to enjoy and appreciate. Beyond — hire wonderful employees who focus on the aroma and taste of homemade cookies as delivering the best care in the air. well as the spacious, comfortable all-leather In 1969, Hoeksema, who aspired to seating with extra legroom and exceptional become a pilot since the tender age of 6, personal attention, it’s the tireless contribu- joined Kimberly-Clark as a first officer in the tions of more than 2,000 talented, dedicated company’s air transportation operations, and employees that has earned this 24-year-old in 1974, he was appointed chief pilot. Three airline the reputation of “The best care in the years later, he became the director of air trans- air.” portation for Kimberly-Clark Corp. and presi- What started in 1948 as a corporate dent of K-C Aviation. He was named president shuttle for Kimberly-Clark’s executives travel- of Midwest Express Airlines in 1983, and he ing from its headquarters to company mills, was appointed president of Kimberly-Clark’s Midwest Express Airlines in 1983 brought transportation sector in 1988. the customized corporate jets to the traveling Hoeksema began his aviation career in public. The carrier, which operates a fleet of 1968 as a flight instructor for the University McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He graduated aircraft, changed its name to Midwest Airlines summa cum laude from Western Michigan five years ago. University in 1972 with a bachelor’s of science On Jan. 31, the carrier became privately in aviation engineering technology. In 1977, on owned when it was acquired by TPG Capital. a Kimberly-Clark scholarship to the University As part of the acquisition, of Executive Program, he obtained a will be a passive investor with a 47 percent master’s degree in business administration. stake. Midwest Airlines’ executives view the In a recent interview with Ascend maga- acquisition as a positive change — one that will zine, Hoeksema shared his views on running a help it continue down a successful path. successful airline. What’s the recipe for the airline’s suc- cess? Its executive team and employees alike Question: How important is it to work together to bring only the best traveling keep up the reputation of “The best care in experience to its guests. They are aligned in their the air”? How does it keep your customers thinking, and everyone who represents Midwest coming back? And how does it fend off the Airlines has a keen understanding that the most competition? important ingredient to a successful operation is Answer: I think it’s very important happy, satisfied customers. And from an execu- that we maintain a strong focus on delivering tive perspective, the airline’s leaders know that “The best care in the air.” We’re 24 years the only way to take good care of their guests is old. We’ve grown significantly in that period. to take equal care of their employees. We’ve been recognized many times as the

Photos courtesy of Midwest Airlines ascend 37 profile

What do you want from a customer service representative? What do you want from a reservations agent? We wrote those things down, translated them and shared them with our employees. Every month we measure how we’re doing against what our customers say they want. We share that throughout our offices. There are boards all around. If you walk down the res- ervations center, there’s a big board that tells how reservations did last month in every one of the categories that customers said were important and how we’re doing as a company in a composite score. That’s all 50 stations across the country. Pilots and flight attendants all get rated by several thousand customers a month. We share that information. We talk about it. If it drops, we talk about how we’re going to get back on track. We have constant communication. Hiring people who have that intrinsic value of caring about others and the type of values that we have as a company has been very important.

Q: Do you think learning the specific services your customers have requested plays in their minds when making a deci- sion which airline to fly so that it becomes less of a discussion of just price and more of a desire to fly Midwest Airlines? A: Absolutely. It’s very important. I Midwest Airlines’ spacious, all-leather two-by-two seats provide passengers added comfort, was in Kansas City earlier in 2007, and I spoke one of the carrier’s most attractive amenities that keep many loyal customers coming back. to several hundred people during a luncheon. They asked me to talk about the softer side of business rather than the hard dollars. I talked about quality, value, our core values as a com- best U.S. airline. The thing that’s important to A: Probably the best way to do that pany, how we translate that and all those types us is not the external recognition; it’s really the in the long run is to hire quality people, of things. Afterward, a lady came up and said, customer loyalty that we have built up over the hire people who care, hire people who are “I just want you to know that those things you years. Our people are focused on doing that. oriented toward caring about others and call the ‘softer side’ translate into hard, cold I’ve shared many times that the best article delivering the best type of service, and com- cash. I can prove it. I fly once a week to New I’ve ever read was entitled Differentiate or Die. municating with those people regularly on York. I fly you all the time, period.” She went If you look at running a company, it seems to how important it is, on how we’re doing and on the say, “Could I shop around and find me that you have to be a little different, have to how our customers respond. When we get lower fares? Probably, maybe, possibly, but have something special whether you’re making recognized by Travel and Leisure or Zagat’s, I don’t because you take such good care of potato chips, building widgets or flying people we share that internally. We say thanks to me. I just fly you.” I think it does translate into on airplanes. You want to have a product that our people. We share how important it is. loyalty. It does translate into people saying, people want to choose. People want to come We don’t dwell on it because you can pat “You’re my airline. My kids are always going to to you for some reason because it’s special, yourself on the back to the point that you go to school in places that you serve.” I think different, unique or better. We’ve tried to do take your eye off the ball and lose focus on the ultimate goal of everybody is to try and all those things. It’s extremely important to our quality. That’s very important; so we com- develop that type of loyalty so people will con- continued success that we continue to differen- municate constantly to our employees. tinue to come back and frequent your product tiate our product and continue to have a product or, in our case, frequent our service. that people want to choose, and they do. That Q: How do you know your methods has really been the secret to our growth and are effective and employees are deliver- Q: The two-by-two seating and success. It’s about wonderful employees all ing exactly what your customers want chocolate chip cookies are probably the focused on delivering “The best care in the and expect? most visible aspects. Are there any other air.” For us, it’s extremely important. It’s who A: We do monthly measurements. particular things that you feel are the differ- we are. We hire people who line up with our We measure several thousand passengers entiators that factor in with that customer core values and who are really centered around a month in terms of how we’re doing at loyalty? delivering “The best care in the air.” delivering the service they want. A number A: It’s the entire experience. When of years ago we asked them several key you go on vacation somewhere or you fly an Q: How do you motivate your questions: airline, you really rate the experience. If you employees and get them to deliver day What do you want? call for reservations, you have a sense of after day after day? What do you want from flight times? how you were treated. Certainly cookies are

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something we talk about. Cookies are good, our MD-80s. We’re changing both so our custom- that are full now. I think more people will be particularly ours. To us, it’s a symbol. It’s a ers (after August) will have the choice on any of able to fly on us. I think that will make them symbol of warmth. One of our goals in our our airplanes of Signature or Saver. We started happy. If you’re paying a normal business fare, core values that I referenced was service to with taking the Saver airplanes (the MD-80s) and a refundable-type business fare, there will be no the customer. We say, in part, that we want adding 12 Signature seats to those airplanes to additional charge for the Signature service on the to treat customers as if they were a guest in give a choice. It is going extremely well. It has 717. There will be more leg room, so I think they our own home. On our planes, chocolate chip been very well received. The US$65 fee that will be happy. That’s why I think it is a win-win. cookies really relate to how we care about you, we charge for that has been very well accepted. We’ll continue to look for more opportunities to how we feel about you and how we treat you. People like the choice. We’ll offer that choice on give people choices. It’s much more than something that’s good the 717 as well when we change the configura- to eat. It’s really symbolic of what we think tion and actually add 11 seats to it. We’ll have 40 Q: How do you project that the full is very important. The cookie is probably the Signature seats in two-by-two and 59 Saver seats implementation of your one-cabin business best known. We’ve had a lot of fun with it, on our 717s. People will have a choice. We’ll be model with both Signature and Saver seating and it is good. It’s really a symbol of the entire able to carry more passengers. We’ll have more will influence your profitability and customer experience that we try and provide. Of course, leg room in the Signature sections. I think it’s experience? two-by-two seating has been very successful. really going to be a win-win. A: I think it’s going to be significant. It’ll It’s another one of the things people look for enhance our revenue because we’ll have 11 … extra space. Q: Do you think it will change any- more seats on every 717. We have 25 717s. I will tell you over the years, early on, body’s perception of the airline? Will they see That’s about a 12.5 percent increase in avail- we had shrimp scampi, beef Wellington, com- that as an added service? able seat miles just on that fleet. It will enhance plimentary wine and champagne. It’s easy to A: As you look at various products, cer- our revenue with virtually no cost. The plane is say, “That’s why we got high ratings.” All that tainly the airline industry is trying to move to flying anyway. It’ll be able to carry 11 more pas- had to go away after Sept. 11. We now have a situation where there are more alternatives, sengers. There’ll be some incremental revenue a buy-on-board program that’s from external more choices. As you survey customers, choice on a Signature seat before discount tickets that restaurants. The interesting thing is that our is important. Variation is important. Having addi- people buy. It will enhance our revenue in scores, in terms of how our customers feel tional seats on the 717s will make some people that area as well. I think it will be significant about it, have proven that it’s more reflective happy because there’ll be more options at some in terms of enhancing our revenue and profit- of the service our people provide as opposed of the lower-fare levels. We have some routes ability with virtually no cost. It’ll be significant in to the things we used to offer. Maybe the most significant measure was the Best U.S. Airline Award we received from Travel and Leisure the first year after we discontinued complimentary wine, champagne, beef Wellington and shrimp scampi. Then it was truly our people. It really is about the experience of how people treat you, how they care about you and how they inter- act with you. Those are the things I think are important; so maintaining that type of culture is extremely important at Midwest Airlines.

Q: The cookies have been so well received that you began selling them locally after several customer requests for the recipe. Do you have any intention of selling them nationwide? A: We’ll just take it a step at a time. We began selling them at [Milwaukee] Brewers [baseball] and [Milwaukee] Bucks [basketball] games in 2006. That’s gone over very well, so now we’re selling them in a small chain of grocery stores in the Milwaukee area and another in Kansas City. We’ll see how it goes. I think it’s been fun for our loyal passengers to be able to buy some and bake them at home, especially when they’re so easy to bake. No thoughts right now on expanding that beyond here.

Q: You recently introduced the Signature and Saver seating choices. How has the response been to that new seating configuration? Midwest Airlines’ fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies aren’t just a big hit in flight. The carrier A: We’ve had Signature [two-by-two] sells its signature cookies to select grocery stores in Milwaukee and Kansas City. seating on our 717s historically. Since 2003, we’ve had Saver [two-by-three] seating only in

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offering more customers their choice. In some back and retool some of our service offerings years, we’ve done everything everybody cases it’s the difference in the choice to fly us, to the consumers. We’ve focused on cost. We else has. We’ve taxied out and in on one which they want to do, or flying someone else have reduced our non-fuel costs, our cost per engine. You reduce the amount of water that they don’t want to. In some cases, flying available seat mile, by more than 32 percent in you carry. You don’t fill up the water; you two-by-two versus two-by-three, I think it will the last five years. We’ve done a lot to control take just what you need for that flight. You be very positive all the way around. We’ve very non-fuel-related costs, but at the same time, reduce certain services; we haven’t taken excited about it. We would have it in place right we’ve focused on doing it in a way that would pillows and blankets off because we think now if it weren’t for the technology. That’s not harm the onboard experience. I think by that’s important to our customers. You try why it’s so important for us to work with Sabre and large, we’ve done a very good job of that. and reduce weight onboard the airplane as [Airline Solutions®] in partnership to make this In terms of fuel, it’s the single highest cost much as you can in terms of pushcarts and happen. We’re excited about it, and things element in the industry right now. We’re a such. You fly careful flight patterns and seem to be moving along very well in terms of tiny little carrier, and one penny a gallon to us become as fuel efficient as possible. that phase of our technology. We’re unique in is US$1.3 million a year. It’s a very significant As we move into the year, the indus- doing this in one cabin. We’re not making this cost. In January 2007, we hedged 90 percent try is looking at reducing some capacity. two cabins. We’re making it one cabin. There of our fuel for 2007 at about US$58 a barrel. Late last year, there were a fair amount are corporations that say their people can’t fly Now it’s up to more than US$100 a barrel. of announcements in terms of capacity or first class. We’re looking at That’s an increase of about a dollar a gallon. reduction for this year. We’re going to see this as a one-cabin product with a choice of It’s a huge cost, and we’ve done several things reduced domestic capacity this year versus Saver or Signature.A That’sPP why theOA work Sabre CHto offset it. TO MANlast given what’sAG going on.IN At US$2.80G per [Airline Solutions] is doing here is so important In the bigger picture over the longer gallon of jet fuel, there are markets that to this airline. haul, even when things were really tough were just marginally profitable before that after Sept. 11, we totally transitioned have become unprofitable. We’re also Q: How have you managed your our fleet from DC-9s to 717s. The 717 is looking at reducing some service that we operations differently to maintain profit- about 23 percent to 24 percent more fuel had planned. We’ll still have some growth, ability and offset fuel costs? efficient than the DC-9 it replaced. The but it won’t be quite the size of growth we A: Very good question. Very pertinent best hedge we could do was that. That’s had planned on. with what’s going on right now in this very dif- really an on-run hedge for increasing fuel We’re in the middle of going through ficult industry. If we back up, prior to Sept. 11, costs. We’re looking now at replacing our those assessments right now. It is a tough we had 14 consecutive years of profitability. MD-80s with a more fuel-efficient airplane. industry. We have about 25 percent of the Midwest and Southwest Airlines are the only That’s really the best long-term hedge that first half of 2008 hedged at an average of jet carriers in the that can say you can do, and it’s very, very important. US$73.44 a barrel. We’ve been hedging that. Sept. 11 really changed everything, and On a short-term basis, you try and do right along but hedges in the long run just it’s been very difficult. We have had to go everything you can. During the last couple smooth out the peaks and valleys. You’re going to pay over the long haul what you’re going to pay. That’s why more fuel efficient airplanes and things like that are very important. There have been some fare increases in the last several months. It’s not enough to totally cover the cost of fuel, otherwise you’re going to affect ridership too much. There’s that balance between how much the industry can push fares up and not affect ridership. The economy isn’t going to be robust this year. It’ll be OK but not robust. We’re looking at a 1 percent to 2 percent GDP growth movement in 2008, down from 2007. Hopefully, it will stay there and not get any worse. Most of the companies in this area feel that this is going to be a good year. They’re going to be hiring. They’re going to be flying more instead of less. I think we’re in the right sector of business with our focus on busi- ness travel. As oil prices and fares go up, the first group affected will be leisure, dis- cretionary travelers. They’re paying more money for putting gas in their cars and heating their homes. I think the leisure traveler gets affected first when fuel More than 2,000 dedicated Midwest Airlines employees focus on delivering exceptional prod- prices go up. The businesses I talked to, ucts and services to customers, which has earned the airline the reputation of providing “The at least 80 percent of them, where I’ve best care in the air.” personally done my own survey in the Milwaukee area, say they’re going to have

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more business travel this year. I think some areas. We’re happy about TPG. They Q: Are environmental concerns that’s certainly encouraging. are quality people. They really know this something that are on your radar screen, or Q: When faced with circumstances business. Our experience with them to date are they more of a European issue? like US$100 a barrel oil, is it always a has been terrific. They’re honorable people A: I will tell you that it is here. It’s not cost part of the equation or do you look with everything on the table. They’re straight going to be here, it is here. Maybe Europe is at additional revenue streams like selling shooters. a little ahead of us, but it’s very important that cookies? Q: What kind of feedback have you anyone running any company in this country A: We’re always looking at revenue gotten from your employees about the today be very cognizant of environmental opportunities. Until we’re ready to do them, acquisition? concerns. We’ve been doing things for a long we typically wouldn’t announce them. Selling A: Very positive. We had a press con- time to the extent that we could. One of them cookies isn’t big dollars, but it’s going to be ference on a Thursday night at 11:15 p.m., I mentioned was the transition from DC-9 meaningful dollars in this year, surprisingly and the media with all the TV cameras were to 717. We have reduced fuel burn and enough. We’ve looked for opportunities like hanging around here after the board meeting. have quieter airplanes now than we used to. that to do things differently. We announced it. Everybody in the community That’s an important step. You have taxiing on was very happy. Our employees were very one engine. We’re doing those types of things. Q: It’s not just a pure cost focus; you happy. It was a very positive day when we We recycle. We probably do as much or more look at both sides of the equation? announced that. recycling than anybody. We’ve reclaimed A: Absolutely. You have to look at both sides of the equation and balance both from a fare point of view. You say, “I’d like to Highlight push fares up a lot, but I can’t because it will negatively impact my revenue.” But you have to push the fares up some. Fortunately for us, I think we’re positioned in the best part of the If we had the next-generation technology in terms market going forward with a focus on business travel. You see other carriers that have been real of air traffic control, we’d be able to handle more leisure focused moving a little bit more toward business focus now because I think that’s traffic than we do now way more efficiently and where travel will be least affected this year. save lots of fuel. Q: What is your feeling about what the recent acquisition by TPG will bring to the airline and how it will impact Midwest Airlines? A: TPG has an outstanding reputa- tion. They’ve been the biggest private equity Q: Are there any other advantages deicing fluid here in the Milwaukee airport in player in the airline space. They’re very smart to being privately held? partnership with the county. We’ve replaced airline people. First, I would say that TPG’s A: We were privately held for the some of our gas-powered carts with electric interest in us to start with and their eventual first 11 years of our life and then public for ones. We’re looking ahead at carbon emission offer to acquire us says good things about the next 12. Now we’ll go through a period credits. We’re very much involved in that as is our business plan. It says good things about of being private again. We try not to be so the industry. our people. It says good things about our short-term focused as a public company. strategy. They were very pleased when they There’s this tendency to go from quarter to Q: Do you feel that the aviation indus- came and looked at us. They plan on us con- quarter, trying to make every quarter better. try is unfairly singled out when it comes tinuing to do the things we’ve been doing. There were times when we got on quarterly to environmental concerns such as carbon We’ll continue as Midwest Airlines, continue conference calls after our quarterly results/ emissions? to grow and continue to provide “The best earnings and told the investors that this is not A: Certainly I think when you look at care in the air.” a good short-term investment. We think it’s a the percentage of contribution that the industry From a customer point of view, I don’t good long-term investment, so we’re doing it. makes, we probably get more press than we see things changing. From a pure business When we announced that we were ordering should. That’s probably true about a lot of point of view, we won’t be doing some of the 25 Boeing 717s in the middle of very difficult things in this industry. It’s easy to talk about things that take a lot of time, energy, effort economic times for us and the industry, we aviation. Everybody’s somewhat involved in it and money that don’t contribute to running said it’s probably not a good short-term deci- because everybody flies. In the same light, it’s the business. We will continue to do all the sion, but it’s a very good market decision. It important that we do our part as an industry. I things that a public company would do, but turns out that it’s a very, very good long-term can tell you that it’s not only us; all airlines are we won’t do an audit of the audit of Sarbanes- decision. We try not to be influenced by the pretty cognizant of this. We’re really doing Oxley. We’ll only do an audit of that, and so short term. From a private equity point of everything we can. When you look at the we’ll save money. view, you have a little longer-term horizon. amount of power that you need to get out Also, with Northwest as a passive You don’t live quarter to quarter. We’ll be of a jet engine and keep the weight really minority investor, there are some synergy able to share financial data more openly with light, there are probably fewer options for opportunities that we’ll have with Northwest our employees on a month-to-month basis. I converting to other power sources than in terms of purchasing of hull and liability think there will be some advantages … strong for an automobile. You can put a heavy insurance and fuel and things like that. There potential capital behind us for things that battery in an automobile and it’s not going to will be some good opportunities for some are good. We’re very pleased with the TPG bother you. You can’t put a heavy battery cost savings through working with them in partnership. in an airplane that’s going to fly you across

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Midwest Airlines’ one-cabin business model will include 11 additional seats on its Boeing 717 aircraft, a 12.5 percent increase in available seat miles. The ability to carry extra passengers on every flight can enhance revenues substantially.

the Atlantic Ocean. You can’t really use nuclear of environment-conscious things. I think we’ll of being environmentally conscious and saving up there. be right out there, right along with everybody fuel. It’s the air traffic control system. We need There are a lot of limitations from a doing everything we can within the constraints the next-generation system. There’s a lot of talk weight restriction perspective and things like that I talked about. about it in Congress right now. There are bills that. If the auto industry did a lot of switching that are in various stages of advancement that and moved away from fossil fuel, I would think Q: How important do you view tech- have to happen to help this air traffic control there would be some availability for the airline nology in the operations of your airline? system come of age, if you will. That would be industry, a lot more availability. There’s coal A: Technology in the airline industry is huge. If we had the next-generation technology liquefaction that is being looked at and tested key to everything. As an airline, we are totally in terms of air traffic control, we’d be able to now by the military. They’re flying jet engines dependent on technology in every aspect and handle more traffic than we do now way more with coal that has been liquefied into product to every phase. You look at the airplanes and efficiently and save lots of fuel. If there’s any- use for jet fuel. There’s a lot of things like that the technology and advancements that have thing needed in terms of technology, it’s really updating the air traffic control system in this country. That would be huge.

Q: What’s it going to take to make that happen? “... we want to treat customers as if they A: It’s going to happen. It’s a matter of how quickly. It’s a matter of getting the new were a guest in our own home.” FAA authorization bill approved in Congress right now that has that provision in there. The industry is working on that. It’s on the go. We’re hoping it will get approved this year. The old — Tim Hoeksema, chairman, president and CEO, Midwest Airlines 10-year authorization expired in September. It’s been extended. That has to happen soon, and hopefully it will happen early this year. going on. There are a lot of coal reserves in this happened in airplane cockpits over the years. country. There are clean processes for translat- It allows us to fly more fuel-efficient routes and Q: Where do you see Midwest ing that into gasoline. I think there are options. to fly more fuel efficiently. I think one of the Airlines in five years? Those options are being worked on very vigor- most important technology applications hasn’t A: Continuing to grow. Continuing ously, and the airline industry is involved. We’re happened and needs to happen. That is air to have a differentiated product. Continuing all working along those lines and being as traffic control. We have an ATC system that is to deliver ”The best care in the air.” We’ll environmentally conscious as we can. operating on 1950s technology. That is literally continue to grow a little bit more in Kansas true. That has to change. If that changes, you’ll City and look for other focus cities similar Q: Are you optimistic that the airline see a much more efficient, better-run air traffic to Milwaukee and Kansas City that will industry will be a leader in environmental control system. What does that do? It reduces allow us to provide our service to those issues? delays. It allows more airplanes to fly in the types of cities. Hopefully we’ll be flying a A: Absolutely. You’re already starting to airspace. It saves fuel like you couldn’t imagine. lot more passengers and serving a lot see the airline industry talk about this in terms There’s an effort that needs to happen in terms more chocolate chip cookies. a

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Meet the Pilot

Q: What is your home town? I ran that business. I started with Midwest they’re running chunks of our business. To see A: Born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, Airlines, which was owned by Kimberly-Clark them blossom and see them grow and develop a Chicago suburb. I’m a converted [Green for the first 11 years of our life. I was running … there’s no better feeling. The industry has Bay] Packers fan. I used to hate the Packers about five business units for Kimberly-Clark at had its ups and downs over the last 23-and-a- years ago, but I’ve lived in Wisconsin 38 the time and starting an airline was one of them. half years, but to see people who have really years. That’s over half my life. You can’t live in I moved to Milwaukee about 19-and-a-half years grown and moved up in terms of where their Wisconsin 38 years without being converted ago because I was running Midwest Airlines capabilities are, there’s no better feeling. to a Packers fan. directly and had other people running these other businesses. When we split 12 years ago, Q: Who do you admire most? Q: What is your educational I went with the airline instead of staying with A: That’s kind of relating to the influ- background? Kimberly-Clark. I’ve always wanted to fly. ence question. There are lots of people in the A: I have a bachelor’s degree from business world that you look and say, “Boy, Western Michigan University and a master’s Q: Who is your biggest influence? they’ve done a great job.” I think I admire in business administration from the University A: I don’t know if there’s any particular people that have a passion for something and of Chicago. person. I think we’re all a product of people the wherewithal to carry it out. If you looked at that we’ve been exposed to. We become a Herb, I think Herb’s done that well. He’s had a Q: What are your main hobbies? little bit of a lot of those people. I have a very passion for people and a passion for service and A: I have a Harley. That’s more of a strong faith. I would say my faith and beliefs being a little different. I think he’s done a terrific passion. I had my first Harley 43 years ago. It have been a big influence on my life at how you job out there. was a little Harley 175. I wish I still had it today. approach things and how you approach people. It would really be worth something today. They I look at our core values as a company in terms Q: What is the best advice you’ve don’t make little bikes like that anymore. I had of service to the customer and mutual respect ever received? it for about a year, year and a half and sold it. I and responsiveness, honesty, and integrity. I A: Probably not best to get into the didn’t get a big bike until probably 10 or 12 years think those are all values that one can say have airline business … no, not really! ago, something like that. It’s a lot of fun. I really basis in one’s belief system and have a basis of enjoy getting out. Harleys are quality. They’re faith. The Bible talks about good servants and Q: If you weren’t running an airline, hometown. They started here [in Milwaukee] putting in a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. It what would you be doing? over 100 years ago. I have a 100th Anniversary talks about respect for people and caring about A: If I weren’t running an airline, I’d Ultra Classic, which is from 2003. In 2003, other people, honesty, and integrity. It says a probably be a pilot for an airline. a Harley had a big celebration and a big shindig in lot about that. We’re all influenced by many town. It was a lot of fun. I like to golf and fish. people, by families and by our belief system. That’s about it. As I look over the years, I talked with [former Southwest Airlines CEO] Herb Kelleher Q: How many years have you been in several years before I actually started this air- the airline industry? line. To see a guy there who has a passion for A: Twenty-four years. what he’s doing, who cares about people, who has really differentiated themselves in a little Q: What attracted you to the airline different way than we have … in many ways industry? I would say that even though we maybe serve A: That’s a good question. There’s a little different spectrums of the marketplace, something about this that gets in your blood. they more leisure and us more business, our The people who leave it come back. I wanted to cultures are more alike than any other two air- fly ever since I can remember. We lived in the lines. I think we’re all influenced by many, many Chicago area; planes going overhead. I started people over time. Some in a positive way, and flying when I was 16. I got my private license on some in a negative way. That’s how we learn my 17th birthday, commercial when I was 18. and get molded. I went away and got an AP mechanic’s license and advanced flight ratings and instructed at Q: What is your favorite thing about the University of Illinois. I started as a pilot for running an airline? Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Oct. 1, 1969, over 38 A: That’s an easy, easy question. I look years ago. I was a first officer, then captain and back over the last 23 years. There is no ques- then chief pilot, corporate flight operation. I then tion that the thing that I feel best about and am Tim Hoeksema, Midwest Airlines ran something called K-C Aviation with custom happiest about is seeing some of our people chairman, president and CEO interior modifications, heavy maintenance on who have come in at entry level positions and corporate jets literally from all over the world. have grown personally and professionally. Now

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