Flying for Peanuts

Frank Lorenzo, or more formally, Francisco, is the son of Spanish immigrants who came to New York in the early 20th Century speaking no English and looking for a better life. The United States offered endless opportunities for them and, eventually, for Frank. Growing up in the shadows of New York’s La Guardia Airport, Frank became enamored with airlines at a young age. With some help from his parents and working as a delivery truck driver and other jobs, he put himself through Columbia College and Harvard Business School. Then, after working office jobs at TWA and Eastern Airlines, he joined with a college classmate and began a career of entrepreneurialism that started with a two-person aviation advisory firm operating initially out of New York’s Donnell Public Library and then, after completing a transaction, moving to a small office on the top floor of the Pan Am building. In a few years, Frank and his partner were able to purchase a small regional carrier, Texas International Airlines (TIA), that was teetering on bankruptcy, which Lorenzo went in to run. TIA’s debts had to be restructured, as did its revenue base and its competitive position. With Airline deregulation on the horizon in 1978, Frank and his team introduced drastically discounted fares as a government sanctioned experiment. Labeled "peanuts fares," the lower prices sharply stimulated traffic and brought major attention to the small airline. From this humble start, Frank and his team set sights on acquiring so-called “major” airlines to grow TIA into a survivable national carrier. Failing to acquire National Airlines (but reaping a healthy profit) and TWA, Texas International made a bid for Continental Airlines that ultimately was successful. Other acquisitions set TIA on the path to becoming the largest airline group in the free world. In 1990, at age 50, Frank decided to move on from the life of running airlines and founded Savoy Capital, Inc. to foster his investment and charitable interests.