Following is 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 is your date tonight? It’s Melissa.
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 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 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 reservation. Narrator: Transportation from airlines like Pan Am and Eastern featured flights between New York, Boston, and Washington that departed every hour. In 1988, a workers’ strike at Eastern 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 a million dollars to renovate the plane.
Trump: We were the first plane to take off this morning. We were the most successful flight this morning. We had more people than the others and I think we had better service than the others. Narrator: Trump Shuttle featured fast flights between 3 East Coast destinations: Boston’s Logan Airport, New York’s LaGuardia, and Washington D. C. ‘s Reagan Airport.
David Manley: The first week was disorganized because, you know, it was a new airline logo. And the drivers understood everything. There were 64 daily flights between 3 cities and, you know, it worked like clockwork. Narrator: Trump’s acquisition of the East Shuttle has created more than 1,000 new jobs, many of which have been filled by Eastside workers who were 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. I started my career at Eastern Airlines. Towards the end of Eastern Airlines, we had the opportunity to apply for the Trump Shuttle job. 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: 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 airline industry there is an unwritten rule: you never attack the maintenance and protection of another airline. Trump attacked the continuation of Pan Am, and that’s all we don’t do. Narrator: Trump warned that Pan Am’s financial troubles could simply jeopardize the airline’s safety, and his comments temporarily hurt him again.
David Letterman: And this represents one of the fleet of your new shuttle service from here to where? Watch this, Don. Whoa, my God, whoa! Narrator: In August of 1989 … a Trump Shuttle flight made an emergency landing in Boston when the plane’s front landing gear malfunctioned. No one onboard was hurt, but Trump Shuttle’s trouble was just beginning.Reporter: Smoke rising from the barracks where the Royal Guard still hold out. Narrator: The invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War sent oil prices skyrocketing, and the United States was on the brink of a recession.Harteveldt: That affected all airlines, not just the Trump Shuttle. People just were not flying. As far as the Trump Shuttle became concerned, the bankers said, “Hey, look, “this is not financially sustainable.” It became clear that the Trump Shuttle would not grow as an airline. Narrator: Trump fired 100 employees. Just 18 months after the Trump Shuttle launch, the airline had already lost $128 million. In 1992, Donald Trump decided it was time to bail. Trump Shuttle’s majority stakeholder, Citigroup, started negotiating a sale with US Air, who still saw value in the product. Donald Trump claimed he didn’t lose money on the shuttle. He told the Boston Globe, “I’m smart. I got out at a good time.”
Harteveldt: It turns out that he made an astonished face, said that the airline industry was very complicated, and moved on. Narrator: As for the Trump Shuttle workers, many of them kept their jobs and have become workers for the new U. S. Shuttle. AirShuttle.
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 company’s CEO, told me, “Hey, any expenses you cover, leave it on my desk. “I left expenses on those desks. It was like, I don’t know, a $30,000 pharmacy bill. You know, that’s how I was treated, and I’m sure it came here from Trump. I have nothing 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 is a transcript of the video.
Reporter: You look great.
Donald Trump: Everybody have it? Narrator: Things used to be a lot 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’s 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 I 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 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 thought that having an airline would complement his other travel-related activities, and that’s why he was interested in it.
TV commercial: You can fly freely across the United States. Narrator: In the 1980s, the air was a totally different matter, especially if you were traveling 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 is an open auction for the shuttle. Several other airlines submitted bids. In the end, they became the Trump Organization and America West, and the Trump Organization prevailed. Narrator: Trump got $365 million from a consortium of banks to bid on the Shuttle East. After a meeting with the airline’s owner, Frank Lorenzo, at Trump’s Plaza Hotel, the deal was closed and Trump Shuttle was born.
Trump: How are you? Good flight. Narrator: The Trump Shuttle fleet consisted of 21 Boeing 727s. Trump spent a million dollars to renovate the plane.
Trump: We were the first plane to take off this morning. This morning we had a great flight. We had more people and I think we had better service than Array Narrator: Trump Shuttle offered quick flights between three East Coast destinations: Logan Airport in Boston, LaGuardia in New York, and Reagan in Washington, DC.
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 was a flight attendant with Trump Shuttle from the beginning to the end. I began my career with Eastern Airlines. Towards the end of Eastern Airlines we had the opportunity to bid off to work for the Trump Shuttle. It was strictly a lottery system. It was an opportunity to continue flying, continue getting a paycheck. I had a place to go. I had a job that I loved. I got to continue working. He saved us.
Trump: Actually, we’re going to be smart competitors and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Harteveldt: So the main competitor that we opposed was Pan Am, Pan Am Shuttle and a very, very smart aircraft. competitor, because Pan Am forced us to bring our flagship game to the market back and forth. Narrator: In Trump’s fashion, he was quick to attack his competitors.
Trump: I love competing against Pan Am. If you’ve got to compete, I mean, if you’ve got to compete, Pan Am is the one you want to compete against. Narrator: Trump didn’t just troll Pan Am at press conferences. He also poached their talent, hiring former Pan Am Shuttle president Bruce Nobles, to run Trump Shuttle.
Trump: Security, everybody says, “Oh, never mention security. I mention security. For me, this is very important. Safety is the number one priority. “
Harteveldt: In the airline industry there is an unwritten rule: you never attack another airline’s maintenance and security. Trump attacked the continuation of Pan Am, and that’s all we don’t do. Narrator: Trump warned that Pan Am’s financial problems could simply jeopardize the airline’s safety, and his comments temporarily backfired on 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, this is 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 pulled his weight, said the airline business was very difficult, and moved on. Narrator: As for the Trump Shuttle workers, many of them kept their jobs and have become workers on the new 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.
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