Joe O’Gorman, who ran Reno Air from February 1998 to February 1999 and orchestrated its sale to American Airlines, 
died Saturday of a massive heart attack at age 59.

He was chairman/ CEO/president of DHL Airways Inc. in Chicago since March 2001.

“He was tremendous leader, in good (physical) shape and a great person, 
and we’re just going to miss him terribly; it was just a shock,” said Joanne Smith, 
whom O’Gorman brought to the express air delivery company last October as vice president of marketing. 
“It was just tragic and unexpected.”

He also had brought Smith to Reno Air in March 1998 as senior vice president of marketing and planning.

DHL Airways’ board appointed Vicki Bretthauer, senior vice president of operations, 
as acting CEO. O’Gorman brought Bretthauer to Reno Air in March 1998 as vice president of administration.

In his 18 months leading the newly restructured DHL Airways, O’Gorman established a headquarters in Chicago 
and recruited a new management team for the carrier, 
which operates a network of all-cargo aircraft for DHL Worldwide Express and other customers, according to a statement.

“Those of us who have worked with Joe had great admiration for him as a person 
and the utmost respect for his results-driven leadership and decisiveness,” DHL officers said.

O’Gorman worked more than 35 years in the industry, retiring from United Airlines in 1997, 
where he had been executive vice president of operations. 
He also served as senior operations executive at US Airways and chairman/CEO for Air Cal, 
Aloha Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Evergreen International.

Reno Air brought O’Gorman out of retirement in February 1998 to replace Bob Reding as CEO 
and to turn around the struggling Reno-based carrier, which had lost $12.3 million in 1997.

With a no-nonsense style, the new boss, who also was chairman, began cutting costs, 
saying expenses were too high for the carrier’s low-price niche. 
He cut hundreds of jobs and replaced longtime executives, dropped service to unprofitable cities — 
from Detroit to Atlanta to Ontario, Calif. — consolidated corporate operations, 
reduced the fleet, stabilized the balance sheet and announced its sale in November 1998 for $124 million. 
American completed the integration of Reno Air in August 1999. 

In the new book, “Wings of Pride: The Story of Reno Air and its People,” 
Reding recalled his departure and replacement by O’Gorman after the steep losses in 1997.

“I tried to tell (the board) to give it a chance, but they wouldn’t,” the book quotes Reding. 
“By that time, all the investors were ready to give up because of all the fare wars at the time in Los Angeles and San Jose.

“When they brought in Joe O’Gorman, I knew what was going on. He came for one reason and one reason only. … 
O’Gorman had the history of dressing up an airline and making it look good to perspective buyers. 
Eventually, Reno Air was dressed for the kill.”

When the sale was announced, O’Gorman denied he came to Reno Air intending to sell it:

“When I joined Reno Air, I knew first that it needed to be fixed. 
And second, it probably needed a partner, but I had no objective to sell it until much later in the process.

“Even though progress was being made, we still knew we were vulnerable in the long term. 
Thus, we explored all the alternatives and, although there weren’t many potential partners, 
we were able to find mutual interest from American Airlines.”

Of his time at Reno Air, he wrote: “It was fun and challenging to deal with the situation in Reno. 
I worked with a good, solid and very dedicated group of employees and, because of them, I was able to do my job.” 

Author and former Reno Air flight attendant Toni “T.J.” Martini recalls O’Gorman as intimidating when he arrived in Reno.

“We knew something was going on; we didn’t know what,” she said Monday. 
“It was a tender moment for us (as the airline was transitioning). He didn’t smile much and he was so tall and so big.

“He had a job to do and he came in and he did the job. 
He made Reno Air look really good to American and American bought us.”

When writing the book, she remembered O’Gorman as the “scariest” former employee to approach. 
But when she called him to submit a contribution, “he was just wonderful.”

Howard Putnam of Reno, ex-president/CEO of Southwest Airlines, knew O’Gorman for more than 30 years and was shocked at his death.

“He was a hard-ass; he was a good fixer,” he said, adding O’Gorman wasn’t a great builder, though, because he wasn’t a people person.

He recalls a wall sign in O’Gorman’s massive home gymnasium that read, “He who has the most toys wins” 
and recalls O’Gorman was fond of cars and motorcycles.

“Big ego, but a fun guy,” Putnam said.

O’Gorman is survived by wife Gail, three children, two grandchildren, his parents and seven siblings.
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
(8/12/02)