Bethune grew up in Austin, Texas and spent summers with his father, who owned an aerial crop dusting company in Hernando, Mississippi.
[1] In January 1960, he was serving in Heavy Attack Squadron 11[citation needed] aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He spent thirteen months with Western before leaving to become senior vice president of operations at Piedmont Airlines.
[9] Bethune released his book, From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback, in 1999 detailing his time at that carrier.
[12] In 1999, Bethune was the National Honorary Initiate of Delta Sigma Pi at the Grand Chapter Congress in Houston.
[17] Bethune received the 2009 Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement from Aviation Week & Space Technology.
The award stated: "...Bethune has spent a lifetime relentlessly searching for ways to make things work better ... has few rivals ... in both his achievements and his popularity with employees.