Airline Chief Orders Critical Magazine Back on Board Jets

Controversial airline boss Frank Lorenzo has ordered Eastern Airlines Inc. to put the latest edition of Fortune magazine back on board its jets, although the issue contains a cover story that called him a “loose cannon.”

“Lorenzo personally instructed that Fortune be put back on the planes,” Eastern spokesman Robin Matell said today. “He knew nothing about the original decision” to ban the current issue of Fortune from Eastern’s skies.

Matell said the magazine, which features Lorenzo on its cover, will be added to the complimentary reading material offered on Eastern’s fleet of 250 jets as soon as possible.

Matell said Lorenzo objected on principle to the ban imposed last week. “We are not in the business of censorship,” Matell said, paraphrasing Lorenzo.

Lorenzo is chairman of Texas Air Corp. of Houston, parent company of Eastern and Continental airlines.

Eastern had ordered all copies of the magazine removed from its planes in a terse directive to aircraft service managers around the nation. (Story in Part IV, Page 2)