Summary
When it comes to the airline industry, Gunnar Eklund's credo might just as well be "been there, done that." Over a career that has spanned 34 years, Gunnar has served -- and lived -- in such diverse countries as Liberia, Iran and Pakistan. Since 1985 he makes his home in the USA where this Swede is as American as they come. Gunnar started out in Stockholm, working for Scandinavian Airlines. After a two year's hiatus in Monrovia, Liberia (where he met his Guyana-born wife, Claudette), he was, after about two years in Stockholm, sent on to Teheran, Iran where he covered sales for Iran and Afghanistan. He arrived there in 1978, just a few weeks prior to the Ayatollah Khomeini's auspicious return from exile in France. Things were getting hot for westerners and Gunnar remembers one particular incident. "I was sitting in my room at the Teheran Hilton, talking on the phone with Claudette (who, about to give birth to the couple's youngest daughter, had fortuitously elected to stay in Stockholm). All of a sudden, an enormous crash shook the hotel. I assured my terrified wife that everything was ok, but later I found out that a gigantic ceiling-high portrait of the Shah had been tipped over, exploding like a bomb on the lobby's marble floor." That apt symbol of a toppling government hastened something decidedly more productive for the Eklunds. The experience was so unsettling that Claudette's water broke. She called for a car and barely made it to St. Erik's hospital where their daughter was born. Gunnar wasn't to find out about parenthood until his return to Stockholm a few days later: The next day, all phone lines out of Teheran were closed, and shortly thereafter SAS sent their employees packing. It was a tremendous relief to be out of harm's way. And for Gunnar, the thrill was especially vivid as it enabled him to meet the newest member of the Eklund family a lot sooner than otherwise.
Gunnar Eklund admits that he was not a hippie during the "flower children" decade of the sixties, but, for the roll out in San Francisco, he astutely returned Icelandair to its roots as "the hippie airline." They mixed in plenty of "attitude" for the crowd during the opening party in San Francisco. "We held it at the great Fairmount Hotel," says Gunnar. "Over 650 local travel agents and media reps attended, and all were urged to show up in "classic hippie attire." A contest was held and those "costumes" deemed the most fun and original would receive tickets to any Icelandair.destination. The winners were Lynn and Fred Ferrin, a pair of honest-to-goodness ex-hippies who, when asked how they discovered such genuinely outlandish garb, sheepishly admitted that "All we did was dig into our closets."See the full content of this document
Extract
Flying First Class
Fact is, Gunnar's job just got even more challenging. As of May 18, Icelandair began flying the San Francisco-Reykjavik route, adding another four flights (each carrying as many as 260 passengers-310,000 lbs) per week to Gunnar's already busy plate. By all counts, he's more than up to the challenge.
Gunnar, who's office was proclaimed Icelandair's "Office of the Year" in 2004, admits that it's tougher than ever to stay on top in an industry that's, well, cut-throat compet...See the full content of this document
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