Newspapers / Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter / Dec. 1, 1961, edition 1 / Page 5
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DECEMBER, 1961 THE PIEDMONITOR PAGE FIVE i “We're all in our places with sunshine-y faces." These groups of teach ers seem to be singing that old school refrain as they prepare to go on tours through the INT facilities. They were visiting Piedmont as part of the observance of National Education Week. The tours included trips through the fixed base division, office building and maintenance hangar, and wound up with a stop at the terminal for refreshments and a scenic flight over Winston-Salem. ''^She's A Great Gal—We'll A4/ss Her" While the coming of the Mar tin 404’s can be hailed as a great step forward for Piedmont, many people cannot help shedding a furtive tear or two at the pass ing of the greatest worlthorse the airlines have ever Icnown—the DC-3. By today’s standards the Three is a little slow and not so glamorous as the more modern equipment, but she has a reputa tion the world over for being a reliable and faithful flying friend. One passenger exclaimed he could “just wrap my arms around that ole DC-3 and hug her, ’cause 1 know she’s going to get me there safe and sound.” In a recent letter to President Davis, another Piedmont patron wrote, “In these few lines let me say that I too along with countless others hate to see the DC-3, C-47, ‘G o o n e y Bird,” or whatever else it is known as, go out to pasture.” Piedmont’s fleet of Threes is composed of aircraft originally manufactured for commercial aviation plus converted Army C-47’s. The airline’s first sched ule was flown in February, 1948, with the aid of three DC-3’s —two leased and one company- owned. First Officer Bill O’Connell re cently started an aviation column for The Roanoke Times. (His entire first article will be re printed in a later issue of The Piedmonitor.) In it he goes far in summing up the general at titude toward the DC-3. Wrote O’Connell: “ . . . all of us who have known her will mourn her ban ishment from the impatient timetables of today ... If you must be in weather, the old DC-3 will get you there with as much certainty as any vehicle invented since wheels were square. “She’ll embarrass you and harass you in a million little ways known only to her pilots— but she’ll never leave you hold ing the bag.” The Passenger Agent-What Is It? Passenger Agents come in as sorted types and sizes, from pen cil-slim fusilage to Vanguard double-bubble. They are found everywhere — usually with one ear glued to a telephone. Some are pretty, some are handsome, depending upon the gender, but all wear amazingly winning smiles, considering what they often have to contend with. Interline Sales Representatives love them, passengers on oc casion scream at them, and the Devil himself protects them. A Passenger Agent is Experience with the scars to prove it; Judg ment with the fiery blast of irate citizenry on its neck; and Charm with a strangled retort halfway to its lips. A Passenger Agent has the vi tality of a football halfback, the energy of a five-year-old, the courage of an astronaut, the savoir faire of a seasoned diplo mat, the instincts of a bird dog, and the memory of an electronic computer. He or she possesses amazing ingenuity, able at the drop of a ticket to bring out the most remarkable alternative routings. A Passenger Agent can read flight maps like a cam paigning general, decipher code like a Secret Service operative, and listen attentively to a life history with the tolerance and equanimity of a Cigar Store In dian. A Passenger Agent is expected TCA INTERIINER to know intimately every air craft from a Curtiss Jenny to a Douglas DC-8, be acquainted with the tribal customs of na tives from Madagascar to Ma laya, be able to tell what aperitif is being served on any or half-a- dozen airlines at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and whether the “nice Captain will let little Wil lie handle the co-pilot’s controls.” A Passenger Agent must have the couch-side manner of a Freud, the infinite patience of a chess player, coupled with a look of supreme confidence. Yes, a Passenger Agent is fabulous, indeed, an indispens able unit in the warp and woof of commercial aviation, bright eyed and trim (well, most of the time), feet on the ground, but nose in the clouds, ready to bring service and a salubrious smile to those who travel the skyways of the world. God bless him and her where’er they be! —TCA Interliner AT A Congressional Round-up For 1961 Shows Important Airline Legislation Enacted ATA — Congress in the 1961 session enacted a great deal of legislation of direct importance to airlines. Most dramatic was the law aimed at stopping airliner piracy. Prompted by a rash of airliner hijackings and attempted hi jackings during the summer, the measure became law September 5, It does many things: 1. Makes piracy subject to a prison term not less than 20 years and up to life — or death at the discretion of the jury; 2. Subjects anyone who “as saults, intimidates or threatens any flight crew member or at tendant” up to $10,000 fine or 20 years in prison or both; 3. Makes hijack hoaxing a crime, subject to $1,000 fine and/ or a year imprisonment for the “jokester” type of hoaxer, and up to $5,000 and/or five years for the serious type who, as the law reads, “wilfully and ma liciously or with reckless disre gard for the safety of human life, imparts or conveys . . . false information, knowing the information to be false”; and 4. Brings under federal juris diction a number of other crimes committed aloft, such as murder, manslaughter, assault, concealing weapons, theft, etc. Bomb Hoax Law In another action. Congress clarified the bomb hoax law, in creasing the penalty for the se rious hoaxer. Under the new law, the “j o k e s t e r” type of hoaxer faces a $1,000 fine and/ or a year in prison, and the se rious, malicious hoaxer faces $5,000 and/or five years. Previously, any type of hoaxer —joker or serious—was subject to $1,000 and/or a year. U. S. Travel Office More international air travel should be the result of major legislation enacted June 29 to promote tourism to America. The law created the U. S. Travel Office to carry out “Visit USA” programs in foreign lands. Moving swiftly under the leadership of Voit Gilmore, Di rector, the new U. S. Travel Service is launching an adver tising and publicity program in foreign countries and establish ing U. S. travel offices initially in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sidney and Caracas. In addition, promotion directors are assigned to Mexico City and San Paulo, Brazil. Other nations have been doing this in the United States for years to promote U. S. travel to their countries. The Visit USA program is ex pected to help relieve the U. S. deficit of international payments —the flow of gold out of this country. Currently, for every two Americans who go abroad, only one foreign visitor comes to the United States. According ly, Americans spend some $2 bil lion annually, compared to $1 billion spent here by foreign visitors. Another important step which is expected to contribute toward tourism to America is the enact ment of a bill increasing from $10 to $100 the value of gifts foreign visitors can bring into the United States duty-free. This went into effect October 21. Airport Aid Airport improvement pro grams got a shot in the arm with renewal of the Federal Airport Act. The law authorized appropria tion of $75 million annually for three years to assist communi ties in their airport construc tion projects. Funds are to be allocated by the Federal Avia tion Agency (FAA) throughout the United States on a popula- tion-area basis, except for 25 per cent allocated at FAA’s discre tion. “This program is vital to our economy, our defense and the growth and safety of our avia tion industry,” President Ken nedy said when signing the bill on September 20. Travel Tax Next? Because of a Congressional de cision, airlines must continue to figure and collect a 10-per cent travel tax. Referring to the airline indus try’s financial condition, CAB Chairman Alan S. Boyd said, “It is apparent that the stimulus to travel which would be afforded by the repeal of the excise tax is badly needed to aid in cor recting this situation.” Sen. Harry F. Byrd of Vir ginia made this statement dur ing floor discussion on the tax: “Just as soon as it is possible to make any tax reduction. I, as chairman of the Committee on Finance, will select these two items (travel and telephone taxes) as being those that should have first consideration for tax reduction. I realize they are op pressive taxes, and have been all through the years.” The travel tax was first im posed during World War II, as a “temporary tax” designed to discourage travel on the then overburdened rail, bus, and air lines. Fuel Taxes Meanwhile, Congress chose to hold off the Administration’s proposal for new and increased taxes on aviation fuels. Had the proposed increase been in effect in 1960, it would have converted the domestic trunk airlines’ modest profit of $1,188,000 into a loss of some $12 million. NEW EMPLOYEES . . . (ContiniiGcl from Page Six) William D. Mercer, Agt., Oper., ROA Emmett E. Powers, Mech. Help er, ROA Moir E. Shropshire, Jr. Spec., INT Luther S. Simmons, Jr. Spcc., INT Clavon M. Swertfeger, Fit. Instr., ORF-FB Margaret C. Thompson, Comm., DCA William H. Voss, Jr. Sp'C., INT Philip L. Wood, Oper. Clrk/ INT-CPA Joseph N. Teague, Jr. B Tech., INT
Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter
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Dec. 1, 1961, edition 1
5
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