Business Blooper: The Man Who Opened the Skies and Lost Them

Not every business failure is the story of a bad idea. Sometimes it's the story of a great idea that got used against its own inventor.On February 5, 1982, Laker Airways, the British budget airline that had carried over a million transatlantic passengers in its first year of operation, collapsed with debts of £270 million after a four-hour board meeting at London Gatwick Airport. Founder Sir Freddie Laker, who had spent six years fighting governments on both sides of the Atlantic to launch his revolutionary Skytrain service, watched his airline fold while 2,500 employees lost their jobs and 6,000 passengers were stranded mid-trip. A court later confirmed that major carriers including British Airways, Pan Am, and TWA had engaged in illegal cartel behavior and coordinated predatory pricing specifically designed to drive Laker out of business. The subsequent antitrust settlement totaled roughly $85 million. The airline never returned.bsnsBloopers is part of the bsnsDAILYpodcasts lineup from bsnsBasics, hosted by Ron Trucks.Find more at www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com