iH£ PiEnmonmm
VOL. VIII, NO. 4
APACE WITH THE PACEMAKER
APRIL, 1965
Newly appointed committee members discuss the Postmaster General's proposed program. Left to right
are: Marion Sadler, president, American Airlines; C. E. Woolman, president. Delta Air Lines; T. H.
DAVIS, PRESIDENT, PIEDMONT AIRLINES; Postmaster General Gronouski; S. G. Tipton, President, Air Trans
port Ann.; R. M. Dunn, senior vice president, TWA; Arthur Lewis, exec, vice president. Eastern Air Lines;
and E. O. Fennell, vice president. United Air Lines.
Davis Appointed To Committee
For Improved Postal Service
President T. H. Davis has been
appointed to an eight-member
committee to help implement
Postmaster General John A.
Gronouski’s new program de
signed to provide overnight de
livery of 95 per cent of all let
ters anywhere in the country.
Scheduled to be put into ef
fect by January, 1967, the new
plan would eliminate air mail
as a separate classification. In
stead, all priority, or letter mail,
would move by the fastest means
of transportation available. The
Post Office Department would
use that vehicle—air, rail, mo
tor or water—most -consistent
with the overnight delivery goal.
Gronouski has said the priority
mail concept can be implemented
within the framework of the
present Post Office budget.
Under the Postmaster Gener
al’s scheme for the transporta
tion of mail, 553 sectional cen
ters are being established. Each
of these feeds and is fed by 62
major transportation centers
mainly by surface means, but,
between major transportation
centers mainly by air. The sec
tional centers will be fully op
erational by July 1, 1965.
The U. S. scheduled carriers
have pledged their support to
Gronouski’s proposal. Speaking
for the airlines, Stuart G. Tip
ton, president of the ATA, said:
“The airlines support the elim
ination of air mail as a separate
classification and endorse the
idea that priority or letter mail
should move by the fastest
means of transportation avail
able. This is a breakthrough that
Uniforms Approved
Management has approved
new uniforms for female ticket
agents.
The basic suit, in a dark blue
dacron and wool blend, features
a straight skirt and box jacket.
The white jewel necked cotton
blouse buttons down the front.
Agents will wear an identify
ing Piedmont pin and name tag.
Instructions for ordering the
uniform will be available in the
near future.
will put the quality of U. S. mail
service in the forefront of world
mail services.
“Full implementation of both
the priority service and the zip
code program are essential if
the Post Office is to keep up with
the ever-expanding task of deliv
ering the nation’s mail.”
Studies conducted by the
ATA’s Air Mail Committee have
pointed to the potential for im
provement in mail service made
possible by the introduction of
jet aircraft. Ten years ago, the
airlines would not have had the
capacity to carry any substantial
part of the surface mail, but to
day the jets have more than
enough space for that part of
the non-local mail which would
be expedited by air service.
Available ton miles have multi
plied more than 3% times in the
10 year period from 1954 to 1964.
The studies show further that
if the priority mail concept were
in effect today, the airlines
would be able to give overnight
delivery to 7,496,000,000 letters
a year, or two and a half times
the present volume of mail car
ried by air.
Other members of the commit
tee appointed to aid Gronouski
in the new program are Marion
Sadler, president, American Air
lines; C. E. Woolman, president.
Delta Air Lines; R. M. Dunn,
senior vice president, Trans
World Airlines; Arthur D. Lew
is, senior vice president. Eastern
Air Lines; E. O. Fennell, vice
president. United Air Lines, and
Stuart G. Tipton, president of
the Air Transport Association.
'64 Annual Report
Boasts Best Year
“Piedmont Aviation’s 24th year
was the most successful in its
history,” according to President
T. H. Davis in the 1964 annual
report to stockholders and em
ployees just released.
Consolidated net earnings of
all divisions of the company af
ter taxes were $1,243,450, or 72
cents per share, compared to
1963 earnings of $645,312, or 44
cents per share. This is a 92.69
per cent increase and is one of
the highlights of 1964 listed by
Mr. Davis. The consolidated net
profit amounts to a 9.28 per cent
return on investment and 3.96
per cent on total sales.
Working capital of the com
pany at year end was $2,742,187
compared with $1,230,319 at the
close of 1963, an increase caused
by improved debt financing and
more earnings. Stockholder
equity jumped from $4,861,720 in
1963 to $6,850,324 at the close of
1964.
Total revenues amounted to
$31,384,609 in 1964, up 8.32 per
cent from the previous year.
Commenting in the report on
the cash dividend of 10 cents per
share provided stockholders last
October, Davis wrote that “it is
the intention of the Board to
consider dividends on a semi
annual basis.”
4,647 stockholders living in
all of the 50 states own a total of
1,735,890 shares of Piedmont
stock, the report states, compar
ed with 1,475,498 in 1963. Total
Piedmont employees at the close
of 1964 were 1,779.
Sales and earnings were up
also, for the General Aviation
Division registered sales of
$4,006,220 and earnings of $68,-
130, while the Central Piedmont
Aero Division showed total sales
of $1,826,948 with a profit of
$55,544. Both divisions during
the year received special awards
for achievement in sales from
the manufacturers.
Freda Zappia Makes Pilgrimage
Freda Zappia, Credit Union of
fice manager, recently made a
pilgrimage with some eighty oth
er people to the Eucharistic
Congress in Bombay and
through the Holy Lands.
Flying Air India, noted Freda,
was a treat in itself. The planes
were very colorfully decorated.
In fact. Air India was presented
an award for the interior of its
aircraft in 1964.
Meals were served with a red
rose on each tray. The crew
change in Paris brought aboard
stewardesses wearing bare-mid-
riff saris and sandals.
Freda joined the rest of the
group, organized under the lead
ership of Cardinal Cushing, for
a three day visit in New Delhi.
There, she saw the tombs of
Mahatma Ghandi and Prime
Minister Nehru, visited the
American Embassy, and walked
through the thieves market.
“And the thieves market really
is just that,” she said. “Almost
anything that’s stolen from any
place in the world soon appears
in this market.”
The most impressive attrac
tion was, of course, the Taj Ma
hal, located in nearby Agra. “It
really is as beautiful and ma
jestic as it is claimed to be,”
commented Freda. The group
was met by an Indian chorus
singing what was assumed to be
the story of the Taj.
The tomb was built by Shah
Johan to express his love for his
queen Mumtaz Mahal. He orig
inally planned to build a dupli
cate tomb in black for himself,
but the plans were not carried
out. When the shah died, his
son buried him in the Taj with
the beloved queen.
From New Delhi, the pilgrims
proceeded to the site of the Eu
charistic Congress, highlight of
the trip, in Bombay, India. They
stayed in a girl’s finishing
school, just two blocks from the
Congress grounds.
Located in the heart of Bom
bay, the oval grounds encircled
an altar canopied by an impres
sive eight-triangle structure. The
seating capacity of the area was
120,000. Between two and three
hundred thousand people from
all over the world attended at
least a portion of the nine days
of worship.
His Holiness, Pope VI, attend
ed the sessions for three days.
leading the congregation
through various religious serv
ices including the Stations of the
Cross, the symbolic tracing of
Christ’s walk to Calvary.
At the conclusion of the Con
gress, doves were released from
the podium signifying peace and
love for all the world. The Con
gress then marched in proces
sion from the Oval to the Gate
way of India for the closing cer
emonies and benediction.
While in Bombay, Freda was
able to tour the city. Cardinal
Cushing’s pilgrims were asked
to the home of Cardinal Graci
ous, Archbishop of Bombay, who
because of a personal friendship
with Cardinal Cushing, also made
living arrangements for the
Group’s stay in Bombay.
Freda was intrigued by the
contrast between the beautiful,
well-kept gardens and mosques
and the extremely impoverished
living sections directly adjacent.
Standing in one place, she could
face a grass covered garden with
bushes beautifully carved in the
shapes of animals. By merely
turning her head she faced di-
(Continued on Page Six)
Typical of the airline industry,
the greatest expense was payroll
and related costs amouniing to
$12,291,700 or 52.14 per cent of
the total expense. A portion of
the 9.26 per cent increase over
1963 was for new employees
needed for expanded services.
The remainder was for increases
in pay scales and improvements
in fringe benefits. Total em
ployee fringe benefit costs dur
ing the year were $1,077,588.
Another major cost element is
rental expense of $874,126, in
cluding payment to airports for
landing fees and office rent, and
rental of downtown ticket of
fices.
Advertising expenditures were
$384,811. Principal media utilized
were newspaper, radio, televi
sion, and billboards.
Other expenses include main
tenance, depreciation, interest,
and so forth, bringing the total
operating costs to $23,572,949.
1964 highlights listed in the
report, in addition to earhings
and total revenues, were achiev
ing a sales goal of 1,000,000 pas
sengers in one year, reached De
cember 7, 1964, in advance of
year-end; and the addition of air
craft to the Airline Division’s
fleet which now totals 33 air
planes.
Summing up the report, Davis
paid special tribute to the loyalty
of Piedmont’s employees, 12 per
cent of whom have been with
the company for more than 15
years.
“Piedmont continues to have
what I believe to be one of the
most capable, loyal, and produc
tive groups of employees in the
industry. Evidence of this is
found in the highly successful
year just completed and the hun
dreds of complimentary letters
received from customers regard
ing our services.”
15 Take Medical
Self-Help Course
Fifteen Piedmont Airline em
ployees received graduation cer
tificates in Medical Self-Help,
March 23rd. This Training Pro
gram, sponsored by the Winston-
Salem and Forsyth County Civil
Defense, is designed to provide
information and training for the
people of the United States that
will help prepare them for sur
vival in a time of a national dis
aster when the services of a
physician or other allied health
personnel are not available.
After the completion of a
Standard First Aid Course the
class completed six hours of ad
ditional instruction in Medical
Self-Help under Luther A.
Rhodes, American Red Cross
First Aid instructor.
Certificates were presented by
Mrs. Elizabeth B. Black, Medical
Self-Help Co-ordinator for the
Winston-Salem and Forsyth
County Civil Defense, to the
following:
Miss Audry Black, Robert V.
Davis, R. L. Gordon, Jr., Julius
Edward Ingram, Hubert W. Kel
ly, Tommy M. Kersey, Warren
G. Lynch, Ronal^ Macklin, Ken
neth A. Pruitt, James Perry
Richardson, David Dewitt Shean,
R. M. Sutphin, Jack McLane
Taylor, John D. Westmoreland,
and Jerome G. Zavar.