35 Miles from Shore (4 page)

A few months after their return to New York, Steedman learned that Ingrid was involved in a serious relationship with an older man. Steedman, remembering his promise to Ingrid's mother, invited Ingrid to dinner. He admonished Ingrid on the perils of marrying too young and suggested that she not rush into anything. Ingrid took his advice and broke off the relationship. Steedman and Ingrid began seeing each other shortly thereafter.

Steedman soon found himself in the awkward position of having to defend his relationship with Ingrid. More than a few people felt
that it was inappropriate for the president of the airline to be involved with a stewardess, especially one who was still two years shy of the legal drinking age. The hushed comments didn't sway Steedman, who was single only because his first marriage had ended in divorce.
⁷
He was, however, concerned for Ingrid, who was still flying and having to deal with gossipy co-workers. His solution to the growing controversy was to have Ingrid quit her job and move in with him. They were married in Sweden in August 1967. He was sixteen years her senior.

Despite their age difference, Ingrid and Steedman seemed to be the perfect couple. She was an alluring young woman with poise and grace beyond her years. He was a clean-cut executive, trim and fit, and considered good looking by anyone's standards. Yet, no matter how many accolades he might receive from former employees and associates, no matter his accomplishments, Steedman would always be remembered for having married a stewardess.

The same year that Steedman and Ingrid married, ONA went public. The money raised by the stock offering was used to fuel an expansion that included new aircraft and upgraded facilities. Construction was begun on 36,000 square feet of additional office space. To accommodate the airline's training needs, an adjacent building was leased and converted into a training center that rivaled the major airlines. Steedman also invested in new technology, leasing an IBM 360-20 mainframe computer. The bulky computer had a whopping 32kb of memory.

While he spared no expense in his quest to turn ONA into a leader in the industry, Steedman himself had a reputation for frugality. His tiny office, for example, was so spartanly furnished that the only indications one had that it was Steedman's office and not the office of some newly hired vice president were the models of company aircraft that he proudly displayed. If he had to fly on
another airline, he flew coach. Steedman's parsimony, however, did not extend to his vacations. In the summers, he and Ingrid sailed on their forty-three-foot Erwin sailboat. In the winter months, they took ski vacations, tackling the slopes of top-rated ski resorts in both Europe and the United States.
⁸

Ingrid would often accompany Steedman on his frequent business trips. When Steedman persuaded the board to consider ownership in a cruise ship, he and Ingrid spent several weeks abroad checking out cruise ship manufacturers and operators. Steedman eventually convinced the board to invest in the construction of a seven-hundred-passenger cruise ship, with options for two more identical ships. ONA became the first airline to have ownership in a cruise ship.

One weekend while at home reading the
New York Times
, Steedman saw a story about an old river boat, the
Delta Queen
, which was about to shut down due to a lack of financing. Steedman convinced the board members of ONA to buy the company that owned and managed the boat. The river boat company became a subsidiary of ONA. It was a profitable business that ONA justified by marketing charter flights that included tours on the river boat. A second boat, the
Mississippi Queen
, was added a short time later; Steedman's brother Albert designed the boat.

In addition to the cruise ships and river boats, Steedman partnered with another company to build a four-hundred-room luxury hotel in the Bahamas. Steedman wanted to receive revenue from every aspect of a charter package—the airfare, the hotel, and the cruise. It was a bold plan but ultimately flawed, as other airlines that followed suit would eventually learn. While Steedman sold the plan to the board and to shareholders as diversification within the pleasure travel industry, the businesses were too closely related and vulnerable to a downturn in the economy.

By the end of 1967, ONA employed just over three hundred people.
⁹
The airline continued to expand in 1968, tripling the number of aircraft and doubling the number of employees. In October, a long-range 250-passenger Super DC-8 was added to the fleet. The plans for 1969 included even more ambitious growth. Steedman wrote the following summary in the 1968 annual report:

The outlook for 1969 appears to be very promising. We feel that, with the equipment now in service and the six new jets being delivered, we are in an excellent position to expand our commercial business and to maintain and enlarge our position in the military market in areas that we expect will be affected least by the hoped-for cessation of hostilities in Southeast Asia.

Having embarked on two significant diversification programs in the hotel and marine resort areas, we will be actively seeking other opportunities for growth in the pleasure travel field.
¹⁰

While the future looked promising for ONA heading into 1969, the company ultimately lost money. ONA reported a loss of $677,353, despite a 93% increase in gross revenues. The primary reason stated for the poor financial performance was over-capacity in the airline industry combined with declining revenue rates due to competition. Competition from United Airlines on flights to Hawaii forced ONA to completely withdraw from the market. Operating expenses for the airline increased 130% over the prior year. The number of employees swelled to 1,286. In his letter to shareholders, Steedman wrote the following:

Faced with a difficult airline industry overcapacity situation, compounded by destructive attacks on our industry by many of our scheduled carrier competitors, I believe we face at least two more years of rough weather.
¹¹

Unaffected by the turmoil in the U.S. airline industry was a small Caribbean airline looking to expand its route structure. The airline was Antilliaanse Luchtvaart Maatschappij, better known as ALM. ALM was based in Curaçao, an island located thirty-five miles north of South America and some two thousand miles distant from New York.

Figure 3. Caribbean.

ALM had its beginnings in August of 1964 as a wholly owned subsidiary of KLM Airlines. KLM had been providing island service in the region since 1935, transporting employees of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company. ALM began operations with three Convair 340s
and three wet-leased Convair 880s, flying to destinations in the Caribbean, South America, and the east coast of the United States.
¹²
The airline expanded as more emphasis was placed on tourist traffic. In early 1969, the Dutch Antillean government purchased 96% of the stock of ALM, making it an independent airline.

The president of ALM was Ciro Octavio Irausquin, a soft-spoken man who preferred to be addressed by his nickname, Tawa. Before taking on the role of President of ALM, Octavio had been the Director of Civil Aviation for the Netherlands Antilles.
¹³
He was the impetus behind the formation of the new airline and led the push for independence from KLM.

On the surface, Octavio looked like someone you wouldn't want to cross. He had thinning hair and a stern glint in his eyes like that of a drill sergeant. Those features, however, belied an amiable man who was held in high regard by his employees and customers alike.

Far from being just a figurehead of a government-owned--and-operated airline, Octavio was a shrewd businessman who knew the Caribbean market better than anyone. He wasted little time moving forward with expansion plans once ALM gained its independence from KLM. One route high on his list was a direct route from St. Maarten to New York.
¹⁴

ALM's fleet in 1969 consisted of two Fokker F-27 turboprops dubbed the Friendship aircraft and three Douglas Aircraft DC-9-15s. Neither aircraft had the range to fly the route Octavio was contemplating. It was not uncommon in those days for one airline to contract with another airline to supply aircraft and crew on routes for which it had authority to fly, but had insufficient aircraft and or crew. ALM already had such an arrangement with KLM. ALM operated a Curaçao–New York route using a KLM DC-8. It was a wet-lease agreement in which KLM provided the aircraft and flight crew while ALM provided the flight attendants. The flight was sold and operated as an ALM flight.

Octavio had first learned of ONA from several letters sent to him by Steedman Hinckley. Steedman had read in a trade publication that ALM had placed orders for several DC-9s. He had written Octavio to inform him of the availability of ONA's new training facilities in New York.
¹⁵
Octavio wasn't interested in sending his pilots to New York for training, but from Steedman's letters he knew of ONA's interest in the Caribbean. He decided to draft a letter to Steedman to determine his interest in a wet-lease agreement between the two airlines for a St. Maarten–New York route.

For Steedman, the request could not have come at a better time. Not only would the flights provide some much needed capital, they would also give ONA a presence in the Caribbean. It fit perfectly with his plans. He phoned Octavio and began negotiations for a mid-January startup.

A
s ALM 980
CONTINUED ITS CLIMB HIGH ABOVE
the Atlantic, the three flight crewmembers unbuckled their shoulder harnesses and sat back in their seats. It was the autopilot's turn to fly. While not as sophisticated as today's flight management system (FMS) equipped aircraft, the autopilot on the DC-9 could maintain altitude and track to and from a VOR station
.
*
There was little for the crew to do but set the inbound and outbound course and monitor the instruments. Since they were out of radar contact for a good portion of the flight, they were also required to make position reports. These were made through a ground relay station utilizing a high frequency radio. Balsey took the opportunity to show Harry how to tune in the seldom used radio
.

In the back of the plane, the three flight attendants met in the forward galley to prepare the lunch service. Lunch included a choice of two hot meals – chicken or beef, or a cold sandwich
.

The passengers meanwhile settled in for the long three-and-a-half-hour flight. Some moved to take advantage of the half-empty plane. Out of a total
of 105 available seats, only fifty-seven were occupied. The seating configuration consisted of twenty-one rows of seats with two seats on the left side of the aisle and three seats on the right. There was no first class section
.

Planning for the New York–St. Maarten flights began in early October 1969. Problems on the proposed route surfaced almost immediately. A preliminary review of performance data revealed that the flight was at the extreme range of the DC-9. Another problem was the short 5,200-foot runway at St. Maarten. Not only was the runway short for operating a jet aircraft, but there was a mountain off the east end of the airport. After poring over the performance charts, it was determined that the DC-9 could make the trip but with a few restrictions. First, if there were headwinds in either direction the plane could not make the flight nonstop. Second, there would be takeoff restrictions when taking off toward the east because of the mountains on that side of the airport. Lastly, the short runway at St. Maarten was weight restricted. The plane couldn't take off with a full load of passengers and full fuel. The only way to make the numbers work was to lower the takeoff weight. A lower takeoff weight meant faster acceleration and less energy to bring the aircraft to a stop in an aborted takeoff. The suggested solution was to take on only enough fuel in St. Maarten to fly to San Juan, where the runways were longer and the plane could takeoff fully loaded.

Steedman wasn't overly concerned with the findings. He had already come up with a solution to the fuel problem: Bermuda. The island of Bermuda lies near the halfway point along the route. If fuel became an issue, the plane could land in Bermuda. The only thing wrong with his plan was that he was figuring the lease based on a nonstop flight. The extra costs associated with landing and taking off from Bermuda were enough to make the flight lose money.

There was another solution that everyone agreed on and that was to add an extra fuel tank. The extra fuel tank was an auxiliary tank capable of carrying an extra 780 gallons of fuel or approximately 5200 pounds, allowing nearly an extra hour of flying time. Steedman had already placed orders for two of the tanks. He had made the orders long before the negotiations with ALM had begun. He was certain that they could have the tank installed before the flights were scheduled to begin in mid-January 1970.

With the performance information in hand and two solutions to any possible fuel concerns, Steedman left for Curaçao to discuss the wet-lease agreement face to face with Octavio.