35 Miles from Shore Read Free

an airline. He had some savings and some money in a trust fund that had been set up by his grandparents. He used those funds to purchase twenty percent of the stock of Saturn Airways, a competing supplemental carrier. 4 He also went to work for Saturn as an executive vice president.
    While there was plenty of opportunity at Saturn, Steedman was often at odds with upper management, which he saw as resistant to change and profligate in its spending. When Saturn began talks for a possible merger with a smaller rival, Steedman decided that the time was right to set out on his own.
    Rather than undertake the time and expense of starting an airline from scratch, Steedman approached the former owners of ONA with a proposal to purchase the airline’s operating certificate. ONA existed only on paper at the time; there were no aircraft or employees. But the airline still had authority to fly. Steedman was confident that the ONA name still had clout in the military market. The Vietnam Warwas just starting to heat up. The promise of one or two military contracts was all he would need to lure financial backers. In return for a seat on the board of the new airline, George Tompkins, the former president and founder of ONA, agreed to sell the operating certificate to Steedman for just one dollar.
    Unlike the previous owners, who had focused primarily on military charters, Steedman planned to expand into the commercial charter market. He had seen firsthand how the former owners’ total dependence on military contracts had led to the airline’s demise. But there were several other factors driving his decision. First, there was the introduction of the jet aircraft, which was revolutionizing air travel. Jet aircraft were faster, quieter, and more comfortable than the piston aircraft that made up the majority of the airline fleets in 1965. Their size and efficiency also helped to make air travel more affordable.
    Another important development in 1965 was the first widespread use of credit cards, which for the first time major banks began issuing to hundreds of thousands of customers. The combination of easy credit and the novelty of the jet aircraft jump-started an ailing airline industry. A whole new market segment was created—the leisure traveler. Major airlines scrambled to replace their older piston aircraft with new Boeing 707s and Douglas Aircraft DC-8s and DC-9s.
    The rush to convert to jet aircraft created a glut of piston aircraft. Steedman picked up two bargain-priced DC-7s and put them to work flying MATS flights. He also secured the help of several financial backers who provided the funding needed to place orders for two new DC-8s. 5
    With two jets on the way and plans for purchasing additional aircraft, Steedman set out for Sweden to hire stewardesses. He wasplanning on doing a lot of international flying and wanted stewardesses who could speak several languages. It was during this visit that Steedman met a young Swedish girl named Ingrid.
    Ingrid was among a large group of attractive women waiting anxiously in a hotel conference room. The women were there in response to an ad for stewardesses for a New York-based airline.
    Ingrid made a favorable impression on Steedman. She was bright, articulate, and spoke several languages, including German, Swedish, English, and a little French. Steedman’s only concern was her age. Ingrid was just eighteen at the time. To make sure he didn’t forget the striking young woman, he wrote a note to himself on Ingrid’s application. The note, written along the margins, simply read: “exceptional Swedish beauty.” 6
    Ingrid accepted a job offer at ONA and moved to New York to begin work as a stewardess. She hadn’t been working very long before she was asked if she would be interested in doing some public relations work. Ingrid agreed and was subsequently featured in an ONA print advertisement. The advertisement had Ingrid posing in a bikini. The public relations