The Loner Who Lost

United Air Lines, the nation's biggest, rounded out a year of record losses last week with an announcement that shook the industry like a sudden downdraft. After several days of boardroom skirmishing, George E. Keck was bumped as president of United and chief executive officer of UAL, Inc., the line's holding company. Almost as surprising was the choice of Keek's successor: Edward E. Carlson, the chief of Western International Hotels Co., which was acquired by UAL only last August. Carlson, 59, has never before been in the airline industry. In that troubled industry, there may be several more top-level ousters before long.

Most airlines have been badly buffeted by slumping traffic and rising costs, but United's performance has been particularly weak. Losses for 1970 are estimated to be $40 million on revenues of $1.5 billion. Keck recently said, "It has been like an accountant's bad dream."

Disillusioned Mentor. A directors' revolt forced Keck out of his $ 150,000-a-year job. He was a smart operations man, but he irritated board members by his strong-willed stands, often on minor issues. Some directors thought that his spending on new equipment was excessive, given the state of business. They criticized him for pressing the Civil Aeronautics Board too hard to increase fares and reduce competition.

Keck had also fallen out of favor with the man who groomed him for his job: William A. Patterson. United's founder. Like many airline pioneers, "Pat" Patterson, though retired, is a busy and influential sidelines coach. He now criticizes Keck for being a loner who failed to take the board into his confidence. "Still," Patterson concedes, "these are difficult times to run anything."

At a showdown meeting of UAL directors at Chicago's O'Hare Field, Keck was told that he was out. The news was broken by the man who presided over the meeting, Thomas Gleed, who had often tangled with Keck. Gleed, a Seattle financier who made his money in lumber, is a close friend of Patterson and a keen fan of his fellow townsman, "Eddie" Carlson.

Using Every Minute. Carlson, who manages to be both affable and aggressive, has made a remarkable record in 41 years in the hotel business. He started as a bellboy, dropped out of the University of Washington because of lack of money, rose during World War II to become a Navy lieutenant commander, and went on to become president of Western International Hotels in 1960. Under him, it has become the third largest U.S.-owned hotel group. It has more than 60 mostly luxury hotels, and in recent years has moved into Latin America, Canada, Asia and South Africa. As a first step into Europe, Western is now a partner in building a $50 million hotel in Paris.

Carlson is a practiced hand at pleasing the public, and he has shown a talent for cost control, which he intends to bring quickly to bear at United. As a manager, he sets a furious pace that begins at 6 a.m. and continues for at least twelve hours. He has a compulsion to use every minute effectively. Once, during an exceptionally long meeting, an executive asked to be excused so that he could go to the men's room. As he rose, Carlson handed him a fat file. "While you are in there," he said, "why don't you look over this material?"

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