6
Piedmont
Sunbird to fly Piedmont colors
Beginning May 1, another airline
will be flying Piedmont colors.
We have signed a 10-year agree
ment with Sunbird Airlines, based
in Charlotte, which makes Sunbird
the first commuter carrier in the
Piedmont commuter system. The
new joint program will give pas
sengers on Sunbird fast connecting
flights to major destinations at our
hub in Charlotte.
Henson Airlines, which also flies
our colors, is a subsidiary of Pied
mont and as such is Piedmont's
Regional Airline. Sunbird remains
a separate entity. The airline is the
first carrier to be part of Piedmont's
commuter system which will
include similar contracts with
other commuter airlines in the
future.
"The agreement benefits both
Piedmont and Sunbird," Sheri
Folger, vice president commuter
and interline development, said.
"For us, it's a way to increase our
load factor at our largest hub, a way
to gain more passenger loyalty, and
a way to expand our services. Such
agreements also help protect us
from competition," he said.
For Sunbird, the contract means
greater recognition.
"Our two-letter designation is
very powerful," Folger said. "For
example, this guarantees swifter
connections, better baggage con
nections and more competitive
fares to the community presently
receiving only Sunbird service by
opening up ail of Piedmont's system
to their timetable, " Folger explained.
"There are also other advantages
for Sunbird, " he said. "The agree
ment will discourage competitors
from taking on Sunbird in its exist
ing markets because Sunbird now
has the umbrella of Piedmont's sys
tem strength over them."
Setting up the program with
Sunbird has required support from
people in many areas of the Com
pany. Before Piedmont could begin
taking reservations for Sunbird on
March 30, computer hardware had
to be installed and telephone lines
readied. Our reservations agents
have been alerted to the new serv
ices, and arrangements have been
made for passenger services and
ground operations.
Our Scheduling Department took
care of coordinating Piedmont"s
and Sunbird"s flights, and reserva
tions personnel made sure the OAG
and city and system timetables
listed the services. Joint fare pro
grams have been coordinated as
have mail and cargo rates.
Our people in sales have con
ducted sales blitzes, held travel
agent and civic receptions, and
promoted the new program
through joint advertising. They are
also promoting our Frequent Flyer
program, available to passengers
flying Sunbird as well as Piedmont.
Joint identity boards with the
wording "‘Piedmont Commuter " are
going up at the 10 stations where
Sunbird provides service, and
advertising and joint promotions
have begun. New forms have been
issued, and training has been pro
vided for employees in passenger
service, reservations, accounting,
and baggage service.
Sunbird operates a fleet of six
aircraft — five Beechcraft C99"s
that seat 15 passengers each, and
one Short Brothers 330 that seats
30 passengers. Besides Charlotte,
Sunbird will operate flights to
Asheville, Greenville, Hickory,
Raleigh/Durham and Winston-
Salem, NC; Anderson and Green
ville/Spartanburg, SC: and
Athens and Atlanta, GA.
Although most of Sunbird"s
flights will stop in Charlotte, the
airline will offer nonstop service
between Atlanta and Athens, Ashe
ville and Raleigh/Durham, and
Raleigh/Durham and Greenville, NC.
Piedmont will handle all Sunbird
operations at AVL, GSP, RDU, and
ATL. At CLT we will be responsible
for the ticket counter, but Sunbird
will handle gate and ground opera
tions. Sunbird will be responsible
for all operations at Athens, Ander
son. Hickory. Greenville, NC, and
Winston-Salem.
And on May 1, Sunbird will add
"Piedmont Commuter Airline’" as
the logo on its aircraft.
"We expect to develop similar
arrangements with other commu
ter carriers at our Dayton hub. At
BWI, of course, we already have a
commuter system with Henson, our
Regional Airline,"" Folger said.
'"Most other major carriers are
going to similar programs as a way
to feed their hubs, and 1 think our
joint marketing program with
Sunbird will provide a good foun
dation for a Piedmont commuter
network."
U
Piedmont employees and members of
their families are eligible to receive space
available passes on Sunbird. In addition,
each employee may request one 75% space
available pass each yearfor parents.
Sunbird employees will have priority in
seating.
The same regulations are in i^ect for
Sunbird employeesflying Piedmont. They
are eligiblefor space available passes, but
Piedmont employees will be seatedfirst.
Passes can be obtained through regular
pass procedures.
Follow guidelines
For quick results
Have you had difficulty in getting
claims processed, especially for
prescription drugs?
The holdup may stem from the
fact that Aetna does not have ade
quate information to process the
claim.
To make sure all your claims are
processed quickly and correctly, fol
low these guidelines:
• Each time you submit a claim
on you or your family member,
include a benefits request form
with a list of all claims that have
been made for you or that family
member during the year. Aetna now
requires this form once each calen
dar year for each person covered
under the Plan.
• You can also alleviate requests
for more information from Aetna by
submitting a completed benefits
request form foryour initial claim
or by including with the bill the
physician's diagnosis and whether
or not the bill is for an accident.
• When filing a claim brought on
by an accident, give Aetna informa
tion about the accident, including
the date and details of the accident.
Itemized bills often do not tell
whether or not a charge is for an
accident. If you or a covered
dependent has a nonoccupational
accident, Aetna will pay 100 per
cent of the first $300 of charges
incurred the day of or day following
the accident and 80 percent there
after subject to the deductible.
• If you have a claim to file for
prescription drugs, hold on to your
receipts. Mark each receipt with the
name of the drug, the dose per day,
the illness for which the drug is
prescribed, and the name of the
physician who prescribed the drug.
This information is usually on the
drug’s bottle or package but seldom
on the receipt. Aetna does not
require that you send the receipts
unless the expense is unusually
high, only that you provide the
preceding information on the drug.
But it is suggested that you retain
your receipts for 12 months from
the date of filing. Do not send
Scheduling highlights
Piedmont’s first 737-300 will
go into service May 1. and six
Piedmont destinations will be in
the initial routing. The new ciircraft
will provide service at GSO, CLT
DFW, ORF, and EWR. Our second
and third 737-300s will be
delivered in May.
***
On May 1, Henson Airlines,
our regional carrier, will have 11
nonstop, round-trip flights daily at
CLT Henson will have six flights to
Florence, three to Lynchburg, and
receipts unless requested by Aetna.
• File claims on a timely basis, for
example, every quarter. Aetna will
process claims which are no older
than 24 months from their date of
receipt.
Benefit request forms are availa
ble from your supervisor or by
contacting the Employee Benefits
Department, A255, Extension
5524.
Just a reminder
The deadline for filing your 1984
taxes has just passed unless you
have applied for an extension.
During the last several weeks, the
Payroll Department has received a
number of requests from
two to Lewisburg. Piedmont is
handling all of Henson’s operations
at CLT. Sunbird, Piedmont’s new
commuter, will have 23 daily flights
at CLT, and we will handle the air
line’s ticket counter operations.
Including Henson and Sunbird,
Piedmont will have 198 daily depar
tures at CLT on May 1.
On May L Piedmont will have
879 daily departures. We will fly
315,119 miles a day and our
available seat miles will grow to
38,999,042. The average length of
each flight will be 358 miles, and
employees who are income
averaging for copies of their
previous years’ W-2 forms.
Information needed for income
averaging must come from
previous years’ tax returns. The
Payroll Department cannot provide
this information.
If you find that after filing your
tax return you need to adjust the
amount being withheld, simply
complete a new W-4 exemption
form and send it to the Payroll
Department, A-254. These forms
are available from your super^asor
or the Payroll Department.
our aircraft will fly 976 hours each
day
On June 1, our operations at B"WI
waU grow to 76 flights daily for a
total of 8,328 available seats at
our second largest hub. Two new
nonstop, round-trip flights to lAH
and one nonstop, round-trip to
BNA will be on the new schedule,
giving lAH seven daily departures
and BNA, nine. We’ll also add two
more nonstop, round-trip flights
to BOS from BWI and one more
to BDL. ^