The Gordon M. Bethune Ship
 

Yesterday I flew on a 777 that apparently has been dedicated/named in honor of Gordo. I first noticed a silver plaque across from the big bathroom with his picture, describing his service to CO in the past tense (e.g. "...Bethune retired on December 31, 2004"). Then as I left the plane I saw that they had painted his name on the front of the ship and I took a photo. I don't know how recent this was done but I hadn't heard about it, and I know that unlike KL or VS, CO doesn't name their ships. Anyone know more about this?

Glad to see the employees admire him a great deal (as a customer I certainly do).

What route was that on? I'm flying IAH-LGW in a couple of weeks and want to know if I might have the pleasure...

And Ship 001 none the less! I believe the 777s are undergoing scheduled heavy maintenance, so they probably went ahead and did these updates at that time. I think it is a nice gesture for a guy who has done a lot of good for CO, all my occasion grumblings aside. At least they didnt paint his face on the side like ANA did for the japanese baseball player! "Peter Max" is one thing, but I dont know if a giant smiling Gordo would do a lot for me...

Ain't the first
 

Gordo ain't the first of Continental's fearless leaders to have a plane with his moniker on it, # 006 has got Robert F. Six's name on it.

Flight 19, LGW-EWR.

Is it sinking?

if it does, there are life jackets under the seat in front of you and your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device.

Many customers did...before he started lying to our faces.

Thank goodness it's his name and not his picture.

well, his picture is embossed on the plaque inside the plane under his description.

one FA mentioned as i was reading it that he was really nice to his employees...especially the ones who wore skirts.

Better names
 

Exxon Valdez II

Titanic II

Not Paying Enough

UA will name a ship after you if you're a two-million miler (or maybe more, I'm not sure of the details). Butt-in-seat miles, of course.

You get what you pay for!
 

Heres an idea for the marketing wizards an NonePass®: Your name on a COEX Jungle Jet for only 1,000,000 NonePass® miles! :D

Well I could do without seeing my name on a jungle jet...especially since you'll hardly ever see it anyway.

those birds are small enough....how about door-to-door chauffeur service?

And for those getting 1 or 2 million butt-in-seat miles, you should first start thinking about your lumbar/lumbosacral back surgery that will not only be necessary but truly commemmorate your spending so much ungodly amounts of time sitting in an airplane seat! And if you're flying enough to even be considered a 1 MM or 2 MM, why not just become a FA? You already know the drill better than Chavon, you'll fly for zilch, and you can sit with all the other non-rev up in front on the BF flights!! Or just buy a friggin' plane?!

i'm just playin. i'm envious that this is even a possiblity for some of you. if any of you ever feel charitable with your miles or need company on a MR, ((hold on, gotta put on my puss-in-boots sappy face)) please, oh my dear please, have some pity on "financial aiders" (yeah, my bank account is looking worse than US Air's) and donate to my "residency interviews travel fund". :D If you can wait for six years when I'm done, I would gladly pay you back in botox injections ;-) (ok ok, i'm doing reconstructive surgery, please don't jump to conclusions like everyone else!)

Press release out today - the EMPLOYEES dedicated the aircraft to Gordo.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041109/datu019_1.html