Here’s a transcript of the video.
Interviewer: You look great.
Donald Trump: Does everyone have it? Narrator: Things were very different for Donald Trump.
Reporter: Mr. Trump, who is your date tonight? It’s Melissa.
Woman: Hello. Narrator: In the 1980s, Donald Trump was a star.
Man: Your call sells. And when we think of business, we think of Trump. Man: My son, he is 22 years old and Mr. Trump is his hero. Man: We’re from Oregon and Donald Trump is popular there. Woman: He is my idol. I respect him and think he’s amazing. Everything he does turns out to turn into gold. Narrator: In 1988, Trump was a major figure in the real estate industry. The New York Times called him one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $3 billion. And he bought the sumptuous Plaza Hotel for $390 million. For Donald Trump, the next logical step was to buy an airline.
TV Commercial: Hey Joe!
Henry Harteveldt: The Trump Organization was a corporate holding company with assets. These assets included hotels, apartment buildings and other bona fide real estate assets. Narrator: This is Henry Harteveldt. Donald Trump hired him as chief marketing officer of Trump Shuttle. Harteveldt: Trump believed that having an airline would complement his other travel-related businesses, and that’s why he was interested in it.
TV Commercial: You can fly clear across the USA. Narrator: In the 1980s, air travel was a completely different ball game, especially if you were flying for business.
TV Commercial: The Eastern Air Shuttle, a guaranteed seat without a reservation. Narrator: Shuttle services from airlines like Pan Am and Eastern offered flights between New York, Boston, and Washington that took off every hour. In 1988, a workers’ strike at Eastern drove the airline to a halt.
Harteveldt: There was an open auction for the shuttle. Several different airlines submitted bids. At the end, it became the Trump Organization and America West, and the Trump Organization prevailed. Narrator: Trump secured $365 million from a consortium of banks to make a bid for the Eastern Shuttle. After a meeting with airline owner Frank Lorenzo at Trump’s Plaza Hotel, the deal was done, and Trump Shuttle was born.
Trump: How you doing? Have a good flight. Narrator: Trump Shuttle’s fleet consisted of 21 Boeing 727s. Trump spent $1 million to refurbish each plane.
Trump: We were the first plane out this morning. We were the most successful flight this morning. We had more people than anybody else, and I think we had better service than anybody else. Narrator: Trump Shuttle offered quick flights between three east coast destinations: Logan Airport in Boston, LaGuardia in New York, and Reagan in D.C.
David Manley: The first week was disorganized because, you know, it was a new airline with the logo. And the pilots understood everything. There were 64 daily flights between 3 cities and, you know, it worked like clockwork. Narrator: Trump’s acquisition of the Eastern Shuttle created more than 1,000 new jobs, many of which were filled by Eastern workers unemployed due to the strike. Employees like Rosemary Durant, a flight attendant from Boston who was assigned a task on the Trump Shuttle.
Rosemary Durant: I’m a Trump Shuttle flight attendant from start to finish. Towards the end of Eastern Airlines, we had the opportunity to apply for the job for the Trump Shuttle. It is strictly a lottery system. It’s the opportunity to keep flying, to keep getting a salary. He had a place to go. I had a task that I loved. I have to keep painting. He kept us.
Trump: We’re gonna really be a good competitor, and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. Harteveldt: So the primary competitor that we flew against was Pan Am, Pan Am Shuttle, and a very, very fine competitor to have, because Pan Am forced us to bring our A game to the shuttle market. Narrator: In true Trump fashion, he soon went after his competition.
Trump: I love competing with Pan Am. Si you have to compete, I mean, if you’re going to compete, it’s Pan Am that you have to compete against. Narrator: Trump didn’t just troll Pan Am at press conferences. He also put his talents to good use by hiring Bruce Nobles, former president of the Pan Am Shuttle, to run the Trump Shuttle.
Trump: Safety, everyone says, “Oh, don’t ever mention safety.” I want to mention safety. To me, it’s very important. The safety is number one priority.
Harteveldt: In the aviation industry there is an unwritten rule: you never attack another airline’s maintenance and security. Trump attacked Pan Am maintenance, and it’s anything we don’t do. Narrator: Trump warned that Pan Am’s monetary problems could jeopardize the airline’s protection, and his comments temporarily backfired against him.
David Letterman: And that represents a component of your new fleet of round-trip services from here to where? Look at that, Don. Wow, my God, wow! Narrator: In August 1989. . . a Trump round-trip flight made an emergency landing in Boston when the plane’s forward landing gear malfunctioned. No one on board was injured, but the Trump Shuttle’s problems were just beginning. Journalist: Smoke is rising from the barracks where the Royal Guard is still resisting. Narrator: The 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the following Gulf War caused oil costs to skyrocket and the United States was on the brink of a recession. Harteveldt: This affected all airlines, not just the Trump Shuttle. People just didn’t steal. As for the Trump Shuttle, the bankers said, “Hey, look, it’s not financially viable. ” » It has become clear that Trump Shuttle will not grow as an airline. Narrator: Trump fired a hundred employees. Just 18 months after the launch of the Trump Shuttle, the airline had already lost $128 million. In 1992, Donald Trump made the decision that it was time to rescue the company, and Trump Shuttle’s majority shareholder, Citigroup, began negotiating a sale to US Air, which had not yet materialized. product price. Donald Trump said he didn’t lose any money on the round trip. He told the Boston Globe: “I’m smart. “I came out at the right time. ”
Harteveldt: It seems like he kind of just washed his hands of it, said the airline business is very tough, and moved on to whatever was next. Narrator: As for Trump Shuttle employees, many of them kept their jobs and transitioned to becoming employees of the newly-named US Air Shuttle.
David Manley: Actually, it wasn’t a failure. I think it was quite successful. I mean, Trump saved our careers, I mean, absolutely. In fact, they took care of their employees. My wife, who had breast cancer, the CEO of the company, told me, “Hey, whatever expenses I cover, leave them on my desk. » I left invoices on those desks. It was like, I don’t know, a $30,000 pharmacy bill. You know, that’s how they treated me, and I’m sure it came from Trump. I don’t have anything bad to say.
Today, the US Air Shuttle is known as the American Airlines Shuttle. It serves New York, Boston, Washington, and Chicago.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This video was originally published in January 2019.
Here’s a transcript of the video.
Interviewer: You look great.
Donald Trump: Everybody have it? Narrator: Things used to be a lot different for Donald Trump.
Reporter: Mr. Trump, who are you naming tonight? It’s Melissa.
Woman: Hello. Narrator: In the 1980s, Donald Trump was a star.
Man: His name sells. And when you think business, you think Trump. Man: My son, he’s 22 years old, and Mr. Trump is his hero. Man: We’re from Oregon, and Donald Trump is popular out there. Woman: He’s my idol. I really respect him, and I think he’s amazing. Everything he does seems to turn into gold. Narrator: By 1988, Trump was a major name in real estate. The New York Times called him one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $3 billion. And he bought the luxurious Plaza Hotel for $390 million. For Donald Trump, the next logical step was buying an airline.
TV commercial: Hey, Joe!
Henry Harteveldt: The Trump Organization was a holding company with assets. These assets included hotels, apartment buildings, and other real estate assets. Narrator: This is Henry Harteveldt. Donald Trump hired him as chief marketing officer of Trump Shuttle. Harteveldt: Mr. Trump believed that having an airline would complement his other travel-related businesses, and that’s why he was interested in it.
TV commercial: You can fly freely across the United States. Narrator: In the 1980s, air was a totally different matter, especially if you’re traveling for business.
TV commercial: Eastern Air Shuttle, guaranteed seat without reservation. Narrator: The round-trip facilities of airlines like Pan Am and Eastern featured flights between New York, Boston, and Washington that took off every hour. In 1988, an Eastern staff strike led to the closure of the airline.
Harteveldt: There was an open auction for the shuttle. Several different airlines submitted bids. At the end, it became the Trump Organization and America West, and the Trump Organization prevailed. Narrator: Trump secured $365 million from a consortium of banks to make a bid for the Eastern Shuttle. After a meeting with airline owner Frank Lorenzo at Trump’s Plaza Hotel, the deal was done, and Trump Shuttle was born.
Trump: How are you? Good flight. Narrator: The Trump Shuttle fleet consisted of 21 Boeing 727s. Trump spent $1 million to renovate each and every plane.
Trump: We were the first plane out this morning. We were the most successful flight this morning. We had more people than anybody else, and I think we had better service than anybody else. Narrator: Trump Shuttle offered quick flights between three east coast destinations: Logan Airport in Boston, LaGuardia in New York, and Reagan in D.C.
David Manley: The first week was disorganized because, you know, it was a new airline with the logo. And the pilots understood everything. There were 64 daily flights between 3 cities and, you know, it ran like clockwork. Narrator: Trump’s acquisition of the Eastern Shuttle created more than 1,000 new tasks, many of which were filled by workers from the East unemployed due to the strike. Employees like Rosemary Durant, a Boston flight attendant who was assigned a task at Trump Shuttle.
Rosemary Durant: I’m a Trump Shuttle flight attendant from start to finish. I started my career at Eastern Airlines. Towards the end of Eastern Airlines, we had the opportunity to apply for the job for the Trump Shuttle. It is strictly a lottery system. It is the opportunity to continue flying, to continue earning a salary. I had somewhere to go. I had a task that I loved. I have to keep painting. He kept us.
Trump: Actually, we’ll be smart competitors and I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Harteveldt: So the main competitor that we opposed was Pan Am, Pan Am Shuttle and a very, very smart airplane. competitor, because Pan Am forced us to take our flagship game to the market back and forth. Narrator: In true Trump fashion, he was quick to attack his competitors.
Trump: I love competing with Pan Am. If you have to compete, I mean, if you’re going to compete, it’s Pan Am you have to compete against. Narrator: Trump didn’t just troll Pan Am at press conferences. He also put his talents to good use by hiring Bruce Nobles, former president of the Pan Am Shuttle, to run the Trump Shuttle.
Trump: Security, everyone says, “Oh, never mention security. I mention security. To me, this is very important. Security is the number one priority. “
Harteveldt: There is an unwritten rule in the airline business: you never attack another carrier’s maintenance and safety. Mr. Trump attacked Pan Am’s maintenance, and that’s just something you don’t do. Narrator: Trump suggested that Pan Am’s financial struggles might jeopardize the airline’s safety, and his remarks soon came back to bite him.
David Letterman: And that represents a component of your new fleet of round-trip services from here to where? Look at that, Don. Wow, my God, wow! Narrator: In August 1989. . . a Trump round-trip flight made an emergency landing in Boston when the plane’s forward landing gear malfunctioned. No one on board was injured, but the Trump Shuttle’s problems were just beginning. Journalist: Smoke is rising from the barracks where the Royal Guard is still resisting. Narrator: The 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the following Gulf War caused oil costs to skyrocket and the United States was on the brink of a recession. Harteveldt: This affected all airlines, not just the Trump Shuttle. People just didn’t steal. As for the Trump Shuttle, the bankers said, “Hey, look, it’s not financially sustainable. ” » It has become clear that Trump Shuttle will not grow as an airline. Narrator: Trump fired a hundred employees. Just 18 months after the launch of the Trump Shuttle, the airline had already lost $128 million. In 1992, Donald Trump made the decision that it was time to rescue the company, and Trump Shuttle’s majority shareholder, Citigroup, began negotiating a sale to US Air, which had not yet materialized. product price. Donald Trump said he didn’t lose any money on the round trip. He told the Boston Globe: “I’m smart. “I came out at the right time. ”
Harteveldt: It seems like he kind of just washed his hands of it, said the airline business is very tough, and moved on to whatever was next. Narrator: As for Trump Shuttle employees, many of them kept their jobs and transitioned to becoming employees of the newly-named US Air Shuttle.
David Manley: It really wasn’t a failure. I think it was pretty successful. I mean, Trump saved our careers, I mean, absolutely. They really took care of their employees. My wife, who had breast cancer, the CEO of the company, he said, “Hey, any bills that aren’t covered, just leave it on my desk.” I left some bills on those desks. It was like, I don’t know, a $30,000 pharmacy bill. You know, that’s how I was treated, and so I’m sure that came down from Trump. I don’t have anything bad to say.
Today, the US Air Shuttle is known as the American Airlines Shuttle. It serves New York, Boston, Washington, and Chicago.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This video was originally published in January 2019.
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