Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos by Thomas Petzinger Jr.

4.24 AVERAGE

plobo's review against another edition

4.5
informative medium-paced

mdklein's review against another edition

A solid history of the growing pains experienced by the major US carriers for a generation following deregulation.

lewiskot's review against another edition

4.5
informative slow-paced

chudson3's review

4.0
Really good book on the growth of the US commercial aviation market, including the colorful characters who made it happen. Brutally competitive, capital intensive business

shekispeaks's review against another edition

2.0
The airline industry is run by macho men. This is sort of the founding history of the industry in the United states. The book is a history based on the men and not focussed on the innovations - like Sabre the computer system / the jets / the financing. A lot of the meaty technical stuff is left out to make some people heroes and villians. Its a decent history and covers a lot of ground. But it covers a lot of ground very lightly.

casswaddell's review against another edition

4.0
This book is one of the most comprehensive books I’ve read on any subject. I enjoyed learning about how the airline industry became what it is today, especially with family members and close friends who have worked for the airlines mentioned in this work.

This book was published in the mid-1990s, so information contemporary with 9/11 is of course not here, but I would be interested to dive into this myself sometime. Either way, this was a fun and highly interesting book - the industry is ever evolving and has never stayed the same, especially since the industry deregulation in the 1970s.

brewj1012's review against another edition

5.0
informative slow-paced

unraveltapededgy's review against another edition

3.0
informative medium-paced
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adriazoe's review against another edition

4.75
adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

janiel69's review against another edition

5.0
informative slow-paced