m piEDmonirott
VOL. V, NO. 1
APACE WITH THE PACEMAKER
JANUARY, 1962
Examiner Recommends New Routes
Segment Five of Opened
CAB Vice Chairman Robert Murphy—ALTA Meeting
1961 Evenfs Reflect Year Of Progress
New routes, service, facilities,
and equipment made up a busy
1961 for Piedmont. One of the
most active years in company
history, it was filled with events
that will have a long-range ef
fect on Piedmont’s future.
The Civil Aeronautics Board
helped start the year by grant
ing Piedmont the Knoxville-Nor-
folk route Segment 5 of AM-51.
Two principal points added in
this decision were Rocky Mount
^nd Elizabeth City. The route
was a portion of the Piedmont
Area Local Service Investigation
but had been accorded expedited
treatment by the CAB, enabling
Piedmont to take over the run
from Capital Airlines before the
Board ruled on the larger case.
Examiner’s Decision
In March The Piednionitor fea
tured the second major news
story of 1961 which was also
shaped by CAB action. The Ex
aminer’s decision on the Pied
mont Area Case was issued with
James Keith recommending Pied
mont for many new routes and
liberalized operating rights.
Service between Baltimore and
Atlanta was recommended as
well as new service through
South Carolina and over to Nash
ville, Tenn.
Special ceremonies in Raleigh
March 30 opened the new Knox-
ville-Norfolk route. A luncheon
and afternoon of tours enter
tained dignitaries from cities
along the route. Guests included
North Carolina Governor Terry
Sanford, members of the Council
of State, state Senators, Legisla
tive Representatives from com
munities along the route, and
U. S. Senators and members of
Congress from North Carolina.
ALTA Meeting
July 19-21 were the dates Pied
mont turned host in 1961 as
members of the Association of
Local Transport Airlines were
greeted in Asheville by company
officials. A busy conference
schedule and well-planned ac
tivities resulted in the session
being called “ . . . one of the
best-organized meetings ALTA
has ever had.” CAB Vice Chair
man Robert Murphy was the fea
tured speaker at the conference.
Two other well-known avia
tion figures were Piedmont
guests a month later as Marion
Sadler, Vice President and Gen
eral Manager of American Air
lines, and Publisher Wayne Par
rish spoke during the manage
ment meeting at Asheville’s
Grove Park Inn. “How We Can
Produce and Mer^bandise Bet
ter Service” was the theme of
the meeting, attended by station
managers, department heads,
and sales personnel from all over
the system.
Most of the meeting was given
over to comments and sugges
tions from station managers and
district sales managers on better
ing service, with specific prob
lems discussed pertaining to in
dividual stations as well as gen
eral ideas for a better sales and
service program.
New Hangar
The new maintenance hangar
at Roanoke was dedicated Sep
tember 28, marking still another
major news event for Piedmont.
The dedication included ribbon-
cutting ceremonies, a Piedmont-
hosted luncheon, and F-27 scenic
flights over the areas for open-
ing-day guests. Roanoke Mayor
Willis Anderson and President
Davis officiated at the ribbon
cutting, following which Mr.
Davis invited guests into the
hangar for a buffet luncheon.
The year was brought to a
close with the biggest news re
leased by Piedmont during 1961
—the purchase of 17 Martin 404
aircraft from Trans World Air
lines as replacements for the
Management Meeting at Asheville
DC-3’s. The announcement, made
December 4, stated that the Mar
tins and Piedmont’s present
fleet of eight F-27’s would com
prise the largest fleet of modern,
pressurized aircraft in the local
service transport industry.
Finest Fleet
In commenting on the pur
chase, President Davis said, “Ac
quisition of the fleet of Martin
404’s will enable Piedmont to
provide the traveling public
with a much superior service in
pressurized, air-conditioned, ra
dar equipped, modern aircraft.
In addition the substantially in
creased efficiency of the 404 as
compared to the DC-3 will en
hance our earning capacity as
our traffic and route system con
tinue to grow and develop over
the years.”
High Boarding
Passenger boarding records
also made news for Piedmont in
1961. In June a new all-time high
for one month was set when
53,260 passengers were carried—
a total topped only two months
later when a new record was set
with 53,916 passengers carried in
August.
New all-time high passenger
boarding days were established
and broken three separate times
over the year. A new high of
2.172 passengers was set August
17; another high was set Septem
ber 1 with 2,275 passengers
boarded; and yet another high
was established November 22
with 2,399 boardings.
Finances Good
The financial outlook for Pied
mont Aviation, Inc. was good for
1961. The year closed with a
record $375,000 in earnings, ac
cording to preliminary estimates
by Secretary and Assistant
Treasurer M. F. Fare. This all-
time high record was attained in
the face of industry-wide deficits,
(Continued on Page Three,
ROA Hangar Dedication
New Year a Challenge
Says President Davis
By most any measure, 1961 was a good year for our com
pany. We served more passengers than ever before. We operated
more plane miles and more passenger miles than ever before. We
successfully and smoothly inaugurated service over a new route.
The General Aviation and Central Piedmont Aero Divisions en
joyed more sales of aircraft, parts and services than ever before.
We performed more maintenance work for outside customers
than ever before. We completed highly satisfactory arrangements
for ;he pui^hdse o\ 17 mdiiin 404 aircraft and ihe sale of 14 of
our DC-3's, which will result in Piedmont having one of the largest
fleets of modern, pressurized, radar equipped aircraft In the local
service industry. We completed a very satisfactory financing pro
gram for the new aircraft and for any foreseeable expansion re
quirements. And we earned a bigger profit than ever before.
For your part in helping make all this possible, 1 am deeply
grateful.
Yes, we have a lot to be proud of and for which to be thank
ful. I would be less than honest with you, however, if 1 left the
impression that ''we've got it made." No indeed. We've just be
gun. We must face the fact that while our achievements this past
year place us in a very strong and solid position, we certainly
cannot afford to rest on our laurels and be complacent. Indeed,
the achievements of 1961 have brought an even bigger challenge
and opportunity for 1962.
First of all, I am sure you realize it is going to be no small
chore to get the big increase in traffic required to fill all the seats
we will have available as a result of the 404 program. Along with
that, it will be a tremendous task, from a flight operations and
maintenance standpoint, to smoothly integrate such a large fleet
of new aircraft into our system.
It is easy to see that this one undertaking alone will test the
best of us in getting maximum revenue and maintaining minimum
costs if it is to be successful. It will be a difficult task.
Next, I believe we can anticipate the CAB decision in the
Piedmont Area Case early in the new year. While the extent of
this challenge is yet unknown, it is clear that if we are permitted
to operate the new routes and new service that we applied for,
and is so badly needed by the traveling public, it will result in
(Continued on Page Four)
Martin 404's Purchased