“OH, NO!” yelled CLT Agent Joe Baga-
zinski as the ball zeroed in on the bull’s-
eye. Bagazinski, who took a plunge for
the United Way, was one of the many CLT
employees who participated in the Pied
mont United Way Carnival held at the
Charlotte fEiirgrounds in October. Agent
Carol McCurry organized the event to
raise money for the United Way.
'Thanks for your love and concern'
"At a time when all air
lines are taking it on the
chin for a poor iniage
and poor performance
record. I thought you
would appreciate a 'pat
on the back.' Enclosed is
a letter to the editor
which appeared in the
Syracuse Post-Standard
on October 5." a frequent
flyer recently wrote in a
letter to Chairman Bill
McGee.
"All members of niy
family are frequent flyers
on Piedmont. . .1 can
speak from experience
that I have been more
than satisfied with the
treatment received from
Piedmont. Yes. my bags
have been lost twice, but
promptly located and re
turned with little incon
venience. The schedule
has always been within
minutes of the projected
arrival and departure
times with nieals and
service on board abso
lutely wonderful.
"Do enjoy the enclosed
To the Editor:
I want to publicly thank Pied
mont Airlines for their love and
concern for me as the flight from
Tampa, Fla., was getting ready
for takeoff Aug. 28, and the word
came that my sister, who had can-,
cer, died unexpectedly.
They held up the plane until I
made up my mind what I wanted
to do. [t was a two-hour ride back
to the nospital and my funds were
nearly depleted. They offered to
finance the trip, but my sister had
made arrangements to be cre
mated as soon as she died, so I
decided to come home.
They called my daughter for me
— no charge — and put me in first
class and sent a priest to talk to
me. Although our faiths are differ-
article—it speaks well of
all t^edniont personnel."
Following is the en
closed letter, reproduced.
For nwre complin'ients.
see page 8.
ent, the only thing I wanted to see
at that moment was a Rible, and
Father Tom did comfort me. God
bless you. Father Tom.
When I got to Baltimore, I asked
them to show me where the pay
phones were so I could notify the
rest of the family, but they let me
use the office phone — no charge
— and sent another man of God to
comfort me.
The stewardesses were espe
cially wonderful, but space does
not permit me to tell you all the
things they did to show their love.
It was far beyond the call of duty.
Anyway, God bless you, Pied
mont. I’ll never fly with another
airline.
EVELYN A. ROOT
1625 Spring St.
Compassion At Piedmont
volume 38, number 9 October 1987
DOT approves Piedmont/USAir merger
The U.S. Department of Transportation late Fri
day, October 30, gave final approval to the pro
posed merger of Piedmont and USAir.
“We are pleased that the DOT approved the
merger of these two fine airlines," said Chair
man, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill
McGee.
He noted, however, that under the terms of the
agreement between the companies, the opera
tional merger of the airlines will not take place
for at least nine months, possibly longer.
"Piedmont will continue to operate as a sepa
rate airline Hying under its own name during this
time. I know that I can count on each of you to
continue to provide the same high level of service
our customers associate with Piedmont,” Chair
man McGee said in a notice to employees issued
immediately following receipt of the news of the
decision.
Ed Colodny, USAir's chairman, president, and
chief executive officer, likewise expressed plea
sure with the DOT decision, and indicated that
the companies will begin promptly to complete
the acquisition of Piedmont and to begin working
with the employees of both USAir and Piedmont
to plan an orderly merger of the two airlines.
"We at USAir are extremely pleased that the
DOT decision has come out favorably.” Colodny
said. ”To all at Piedmont, 1 extend a warm wel
come. PSA, Piedmont and USAir will join to be
come the best airline in the industry—good for
our customers, shareholders, and employees.”
He added: "This acquisition will enable USAir
and Piedmont to achieve important efficiencies,
provide better service to their customers, and com
pete more effectively with the industry giants.”
The merger agreement approved October 30
was originally signed and announced on March
9, 1987. Following lengthy hearings. Administra
tive Law Judge Ronnie Yoder issued a recom
mended decision on September 21 that would
deny approval of the merger.
A number of inlluential Congressional mem
bers, representatives of state and other local gov
ernmental bodies, and even some major news
organizations attacked the law judge’s decision
as Hawed, in that he appeared to have judged the
Piedmont/USAir proposal under different stan
dards than had been applied to 19 previous in
dustry mergers which preceded it.
Following an in-dcp(h study. Ihe DOT issued
its final approval of (he merger on Octobcr 30.
Ji
READY, AIM, THROW! And that’s
just what Sam Indaharasophang, CLT
supervisor-operations, did, and in the
process, dunked Supervisor Raymon
Jowers. Both men took part in the Pied
mont United Way Carnival at Charlotte.
Watching are Indaharasophang’s wife
Theresa (right), son Wesley, and Van
Lewis, an agent in air freight.
How we compare
employees (9/30)
corporate headquarters
airports served (10/10)
states served (10/10)
Piedmont
21.451
Winston-Salem
92
29 plus DC,
Canada, London
USAir
18.453
Washington, DC
78
32 plus DC,
Canada
PSA
5.404
San Diego
29
6 plus
Mcxico
first 9 months of 1987:
net profit
yield
passengers
RPMs
ASMS
load factor
fleet (10/10)
$86.0 million
16.604
18.8 million
8.4 billion
13.9 billion
60.57%
177
$168 million
14.83t
18.5 million
9.7 billion
14.8 billion
65.9%
157
8.6 million
3.4 billion
6.0 billion
56.3%
59