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Gordon M. Bethune (born August 29, 1941) is a retired US airline executive. He was the CEO of Continental Airlines from 1994 until his retirement at the end of 2004. He currently serves on the boards of Honeywell, Sprint, Prudential Financial. Bethune holds a commercial pilot certificate with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3, Boeing 757, and Boeing 767. Bethune was known for ensuring that he received some time as pilot when taking delivery of a new Continental Airlines Boeing 767 from Boeing and repositioning it from Seattle to Houston. He also is a licensed Airframe and Power plant (A&P) mechanic. ==Early life and US Navy service== Bethune was born in San Antonio, Texas to Pearl Elley and Jack Bethune, who was serving in the U.S. Army at that time. Bethune grew up in Austin, Texas and spent summers with his father, who owned an aerial crop dusting company , in Hernando, Mississippi. Bethune joined the U.S. Navy in 1958 at age 17, becoming an aviation electronics technician. In January 1960, he was serving in Heavy Attack Squadron 11 aboard the USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt''. He rose to the rank of chief petty officer, chief warrant officer, and over time received his commission as a Lieutenant. While in the Navy, Bethune married and fathered three sons, Xavier, Michael and Grady. In 1978, he retired with twin bars of a full lieutenant. His last duty station was with Patrol Squadron Nineteen (Big Red) stationed at Moffett Field, CA. ==Early career== A Navy friend in 1978 asked whether Bethune would consider joining Braniff International Airways as a maintenance manager. He agreed, quickly working his way up to the position of the Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering. In 1982 when Braniff closed, Western Airlines offered Bethune the post of Vice President of Engineering and Maintenance. He spent thirteen months with the carrier until receiving an offer from Piedmont Airlines to move from maintenance to operations. Bethune took on the role of Senior Vice President of Operations. In 1984, Bethune earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Abilene Christian University. He went on to serve as Vice President and General Manager of The Boeing Company's Customer Services Division and later the Renton Division where he was responsible for production of the B737 and B757 airplanes. In that role he launched the new NextGen B737-700 and 737-800 airplanes. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gordon Bethune」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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