C.I.G.A's desire to employ me came as a surprise. I honestly believed that our earlier conversation was just that, a conversation that would not lead to an offer of employment. In a way I was a little sorry that it had come to this. I felt very much at home in the airline industry and I don't believe I would have looked at making any career changes. However, since the offer came unsolicited and included a substantial salary increase, along with the fact that I was very familiar with the nineteen hotels that made up the chain, it was a very interesting offer.
I had a few questions that needed answers, such as length of the employment contract and provisions for salary increases based on production and cost of living. I called Dr. Scialenga in Italy and we discussed the contract terms. It was decided that the length of the contract would be for 3 years and renewable every 3 years. There had been no salary adjustments for cost of living. I asked that a cost of living increase be added each year, based on the U.S. cost of living index. He agreed that this would be added. There were also productions bonuses that we still needed to sit down together and set targets for. Everything seemed to be in order, but I was having difficulty in making up my mind. I decided to consult with Charles Bulterman, who held an important executive position with KLM and had become a very good friend, someone that I was sure I could trust. His stepfather was Albert Plessman, the founder of KLM. It was Charles brother Dolf, who had prompted me to test for a position with KLM. Dolf was the District Manager for KLM, in Boston.
Charles prompted me to stay with KLM; he said that I had a secure position with the company, that from his personal knowledge, I was well liked and very well trusted. He said that KLM could not match the financial offer of C.I.G.A., but who knew what the future might hold. After a couple more sleepless nights, I called Alberto Scialenga in Italy and told him that I would accept C.I.G.A's employment; he said that he would make plans to join me at the law offices of DeFalco and Field in New York a few days later, to sign the contract.
A few days later, Charles asked me to join him and his wife for dinner; I guess he had been talking to his wife about my leaving KLM. I did join them for dinner and, as expected, they wanted to convince me to stay with the company. He informed me that the head of the Reservations Department was leaving and that he thought they could combine the Charter Department and Reservations Department with me as its head. I felt like a traitor when I informed Charles that I was going to leave and later, I gave him my letter of resignation. He took my resignation as a personal betrayal and our relationship more or less ended. I was very sorry for this as I liked Charles very much. He had always been a good friend. Word of my leaving spread very quickly. Tubby Walker, Luke Asjes, and many others came to my office to tell me they would miss me, but that they wished me the best of luck. I had given two weeks' notice. Just about a day or two before "D" day (departure date) KLM surprised me with a farewell party. There must have been about one hundred people in attendance. Several District Managers flew in, most home office personnel, all my charter staff, and even Fritz Kielman, head of KLM U.S.A. attended. They presented me with a set of crystal cocktail glasses and a card signed by all the head office staff in the USA and even a few from Amsterdam.
Perhaps, if I had known about the Reservations Manager leaving, I might have stayed. However, I had decided to leave, and for better or for worse, I was now stuck with my decision.
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