Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"Pierson began slowly lowering his trousers and saying 'I have nothing more to give.' He then allowed the trousers to fall around his ankles."

Source: From the upcoming book 'Boeing Versus Airbus," author John Newhouse describes the rather -- ah, unconventional -- tactic employed by Airbus ex-CEO Jean Pierson to secure a 400-plane order from US Airways in 1997. According to the New York writer, Pierson was hit with an eleventh-hour bargaining tactic by then-US Airways chairman Stephen Wolf demanding a five-percent discount on the price... to which the Frenchman responded by dropping trou. It apparently worked; Wolf caved on the price increase.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.boeing.com