ms momomTon
New Stew
Uniform Picture
See Page Three
VOL. XII, NO. 5
NOW AN ALL JET-POWERED AIRLINE/
MAY, 1970
Board Acts On
Pending Route
Applications
Since the Piedmonitor’s last re
cap of the Company’s route appli
cations there have been several
changes.
In the Greenbriar Case the
examiner’s decision found that
public convenience and necessity
required Piedmont service be pro-
fvided at Greenbriar/White Sulphur
Springs/Lewisburg. It was also de
cided that this service would need
subsidy support and would be sub
sidy eligible.
Piedmont has asked for a review
of the examiner’s decision. The
Company’s request is limited to the
area of the amount of subsidy sup
port necessary to offset the antici
pated loss the service will create.
The examiner also found that the
present service to Hot Springs
should be continued.
ORF-NYC
In the Norfolk-New York case
the Board has issued an order set
ting the initial examiner’s decision
down for review. In doing so the
CAB did not go into any detail
about which particular area of the
case warranted their review, there
fore it is impossible to surmise the
effect this will have on Piedmont’s
eventual certification in the mar
ket. The examiner’s decision was
that Piedmont, rather than Alle
gheny or Mohawk, should provide
the service. It is hoped that the
Board’s review will not reverse
either the examiner’s determina
tion that the market can support
service competitive with National
Airlines or his determination that
Piedmont be the carrier to provide
the service. Review of this case
will postpone the institution of ser
vice for a minimum of several
months.
N. C. Points Case
In the North Carolina Points
Case the Board has adopted the
examiner’s decision with one major
change. The Board decided to
eliminate the certification of a
third carrier between Greensboro,
Raleigh-Durham and New York.
Piedmont had been recommended
for this by the examiner.
St. Louis Request
In the St. Louis Case the
examiner found that Piedmont Air
lines should be granted the non
top rights between St. Louis and
ichmond. He would award East
ern the non-stop authority between
St. Louis and Raleigh-Durham
Charlotte and Greensboro.
Piedmont has filed a petition for
review of this decision based on
the belief that the Company’s entry
into St. Louis would require more
flexibility than would be available
with Richmond as the only non
stop destination from St. Louis.
The Board has not indicated what
action it will take in this case.
CAE/AGS-DCA/NYC
In the Columbia-Augusta to
Washington-New York Case the
examiner’s decision was in Pied
mont’s favor. The Board has not
yet decided whether to review the
examiner’s initial decision.
Construction Starts On New Central Res Office
RESERVATION CENTER
An Artist's Concept of Piedmont's New Central Reservations Office.
Interstate Roads Called
Harmful To Air Travel
John G. Adams, a member of the
Civil Aeronautics Board, said that
competition from the interstate
highway system and finances are
the main reasons airlines are serv
ing fewer cities now than they were
10 years ago.
Adams, a Republican appointed
to the CAB in 1965 by President
Lyndon Johnson, gave a fast-mov-
ing survey of the airline industry
during a meeting of the Winston-
Salem Rotary Club recently.
He estimated that between 25 and
50 cities have lost some air service
during the past decade.
The interstate highway system,
with its high speed limits, is partly
responsible for the decline, he
said. He cited several examples
where residents of a medium-sized
city find it quicker to drive to an
airport in a large city 60 or 70
miles away than to wait for an
airplane at the local airport and
then make proper connections.
Most of Adams’ explanation,
however, centered on costs and
profits. He discussed some of the
major expenses of airlines: The
high price of airplanes and parts;
fees for using airports; and “soar
ing labor demands.”
Airlines find it practical to
standardize their fleets by pur
chasing all airplanes from the
same manufacturer, he said. And
the planes they buy usually are the
large jets that are not profitable
on short flights.
Complicating the situation is the
way the public’s travel habits have
changed, he added. People no
longer want to fly at night, so the
airlines have only 16 or 18 hours
a day to earn money.
“The really serious problem the
airlines have today is how to
utilize these airplanes during the
salable hours of the day so as to
make money,” he said. “If they
can’t, they either get out of the
towns (where business is unprofit
able) or accept federal subsidies.”
Adams spoke briefly of another
problem airlines face today — air
congestion. The reason for the
traffic problems, he said, is “the
failure of facility development.”
“Airplane improvements have
outdistanced facilities develop
ment,” he said. “Every airport in
the United States is now obsolete.”
Time gained by faster airplanes
is almost negated by time lost due
to inadequate ground facilities, he
added.
Adams has been a legislative
counsel for the U. S. Defense De
partment, chief counsel for the
Senate Armed Services Committee
and general counsel for the Depart
ment of the Army.
Following his speech in Winston-
Salem, Adams spent several hours
visiting Piedmont’s home office
facilities.
Summer Uniforms
For Stewardesses
Are Blue and White
Piedmont’s stewardesses will soon
don most attractive new uniforms.
The ensembles for summer 1970
are white and powder blue. The
dresses are either white trimmed
in blue or blue trimmed in white.
Of a dacron polyester fabric, the
dresses are manufactured by the
J. B. Simpson Company of Chica
go, Illinois.
The raincoat is a light blue shade
that blends with the blue color of
the dress. It is a double breasted
trench coat style with a single
shoulder loop, brass buttons and
tie belt. The coat manufacturer is
also Simpson’s of Chicago.
The neat but casual styling needs
neither gloves nor hats for a total
look.
A unique serving smock comple
ments the dress. It is of a lizard
patterned gray and white vinyl.
The accessories for the uniforms
are white crinkled patent leather
shoes with the fashionably “clun
ky” heel and roped with the same
leather across the front. A large
white handbag of the same leather
can be carried by a wide strap,
medium, adjustable to longer,
length.
For a picture of the uniform, see
page three.
4
BOARD MEMBER JOHN ADAMS was taken on a tour of Piedmont's
facilities by the men who probably know them best, President Davis>,
center, and Senior Vice President H. K. Saunders.
PI Stockholders
Are Sent Reports
On First Quarter
Consolidated revenues continued
to increase at a rapid rate during
the first quarter of this year —
from $15,497,761 for the same per
iod in 1969 to $18,446,358 in 1970.
This is an increase of 19%. Ex
penses and operating costs, how
ever, increased 20% to $20,448,369
Accordingly, your Company suffer
ed a loss of $1,047,141 after income
tax credits of $1,020,797 and a
special item of $63,059 resulting
from a net gain from the retire
ment of aircraft.
Passenger revenues rose 31% to
$14,161,616 from $10,812,670. The
increased revenue was due to a
24% growth in revenue passenger
miles and a higher yield per
passenger mile flown. The yield in
1970 was 8.520 per passenger mile
as compared to 8.04^ in 1969. This
higher amount reflects the in
creases in passenger fares approv
ed by the CAB effective February
20, 1969 and October 1, 1969.
Details of a new $800,000 Central
Reservations Center to be con
structed in Winston-Salem have
been announced by the Company.
The one-level structure, encom
passing a total of 34,000 square feet
of floor space, is scheduled for
occupancy by February 1, 1971,
and will ultimately handle all
passenger reservations for the en
tire Piedmont system, currently
made up of 80 cities in 12 states,
plus the District of Columbia.
Senior Vice President, C. G.
Brown, Jr., said that centralization
of the reservation system will re
sult in more efficiency, “permitting
virtually instantaneous confirma
tion of reservations for our custo
mers on any Piedmont flight.” The
center will be linked with all cities
in the Piedmont system, and with
a joint computer center in Atlanta,
which will provide reservations
availability on Piedmont and other
airlines all over the country. Each
sales agent in the Winston-Salem
center will have immediate access
to information on other airlines
through the computer.
“This sophisticated communica
tions network will initially be cap
able of handling up to 300,000 reser
vations monthly, and as the facili
ties are expanded, according to
need over the next few years, as
many as 700,000 monthly reserva
tions can be quickly and efficiently
processed,” Brown said. The pres
ent methods and procedures re
quire manual recording of reser
vations, and frequent communica
tion between separate offices by
teletype and telephone.
The center will employ approxi
mately 320 sales agents and super
visory personnel in the beginning,
increasing by 10% during 1971.
Total employment is expected to
reach approximately 500 within a
few years, and the building is de
signed to accommodate 700 em
ployees, depending on anticipated
future route expansion and traffic
growth during the decade.
The entire facility will be con
structed on approximately 20 acres
of land on Griffith Road near high
way 158 in the Western section of
Winston-Salem, Grading and clear
ing of the land has already begun,
and actual construction of the
building was started May 15. The
contractor is Fowler-Jones Con
struction Company of Winston-
Salem. The building will be of steel
frame construction and porcelain
enamel exterior, and will be all
electric and fully air conditioned.
An asphalt-covered parking lot
covering three acres will be pro
vided adjacent to the building, ac
commodating approximately 3 5 0
automobiles, including a visitors
parking area.
Special features of the center, in
addition to the large area for reser
vations agent positions and super
visory offices, will include two
training rooms for new employees
and recurrent training, several con
ference rooms, and a communica
tions center including teletype and
other electronic equipment. A large
employee dining room will be pro
vided, offering a wide variety of
food and soft drinks from vending
machines.