TWA Fan 1, I applaud you for starting this thread and for expressing your views, but your tone is somewhat combative in the OP and I don't think that it is fair to Larry.

CAL is very different than it was when LK took over for Gordon Bethune, but then again, so is the entire airline industry. Singling out CAL for dropping those things that made it "exceptional" without the larger context of the industry is unfair. Do I wish that some of the old things were back? Sure...I would like pillows, I don't want to see meals go, I wish that my mother (non-elite) didn't have to spend $50 to check two bags to NYC...but you can't get those things very differently on any other domestic legacy carrier, now can we?

Also, you neglected to point out the tremendous international expansions that LK has undertaken. Look at the European and Asian route maps during GB's tenure and compare them to the network today. It would have been easier to just string CAL along on a mostly-domestic network, a-la USAirways, but he didn't and aggressively perused routes to PEK, PVG, DEL, BOM, MUC, and the IAH-FRA route -- just to name a few. These have benefitted the airline tremendously, what with domestic revenue at a standstill right now.

There are many other things that he has done -- good and bad -- so please remember all of these when talking about LK's legacy. I think he has done an admirable job, and CAL is doing very well vis-à-vis the other domestic legacy carriers. I wish Mr. Kellner the best, and thanks for the MUC parting gift! ^