.Iiine/.Iuly. 197(i Vol. XXVII. No. \ Second quarter report includes profit prediction At the halfway point it looks like 1976 may well be among the most profitable years Pied mont has ever experienced. This w'as the prediction of President T. H. Davis in his report to stockholders on the results of the second quarter of this Bicenten nial year. Senior Vice President T. W. Morton made equally encouraging remarks when he released the financial figures for the period. Their optimism w'as based on these results. |The Company as a whole reported a net income *of $2,145,164, or 86 cents per share, for the second quarter of this year. This was an in crease of 180 per cent over the $766,322, or 31 cents per share for the second quarter of 1975. //■ Wi Piedmont's new face in downtown Winston-Salem is that of Venita Smith. The city ticket office in the lobby of the Winston-Salem Hyatt House was opened in July. In announcing the new facility S. C. Folger, assistant vice president — marketing, said “We feel the down town area of Winston-Salem is a most appropriate location for an additional ticketing office. It will be an obvious convenience not only for visitors to Piedmont's home town but also for the business people in the area," Gross revenues rose 17 per cent from $42.3 million in the second quarter of last year to $49.5 million this year. Costs and expenses were $46.6 million for the April through June period of this year, up 13 per cent from the $41.2 mil lion in the comparable period last year. The Airline Division posted a pre-tax profit of $2,387,611 for the second quarter of this year. Revenue passenger miles were up 12.21 per cent for the three months through June, from 271,656,009 in 1975 to 304,818,033 this year. The passenger load factor for the period was 54.03 per cent this year as compared to 50.40 per cent in 1975. Passenger boardings rose 9.24 per cent during the second quarter, from 930,383 last year to 1,016,316 at the end of June this year. For the first six months of 1976, revenue passenger miles increased 10.83 per cent. There were 545,788,924 revenue passenger miles flown through June of this year as compared to 492,- 472,573 during the same period last year. The passenger load factor for January through June, 1976 was 50.20 per cent. For the first half of last year it was 46.37 per cent. Passenger boardings for the first half of 1976 totaled 1,842,582, up 8.76 per cent over the 1,694,123 passengers can-ied during the first six months of 1975. For the first six months of 1976, Piedmont Aviation, Inc. had a net income of $406,269 as compared to a loss of $2,372,989 in the same period last year. The Company’s gross revenues foi- the first half of this year were up 13 per cent to $89.4 million from $79.3 million during the same period of 1975. Costs and expenses rose 8 per cent for the January through June period this year to $88.8 million. For the same period last year, costs and expenses totaled $82.5 million. Thus Piedmont’s historical first quarter loss has been overcome in the second quarter of 1976. The Company enters its traditionally most profitable period — the last six months of the year — with a profit rather than with a big loss as was the case in 1975. As Morton said in the financial news re lease, “A continuation of the trends shown in the second quarter should make 1976 one of Piedmont’s best years.” We're number one! Love that top spot! According to the latest — June — report from the Civil Aeronautics Board’s Off'ice of the Consumer Advocate Piedmont has the happiest passengers, or fewest complaints per 100,000 boardings, of all the airlines. That includes both trunk and regional carriers and covers the entire first half of 1976. The monthly reports show Piedmont ranked number one in the industry for February, April and June. For January and March we were in the number two spot, industry wide. May was our worst month when we placed third in the rankings. Among the regionals. Piedmont held first place for January, February, April and June. We were number two for March and May of this year. Averaged out, that puts us on top at the halfway point in the year. It won’t be an easy position to maintain. But it wasn’t easy to get there in the first place (pun intended). Pied mont’s people pleasers will have to keep our customers happiest if we’re to keep that top spot. The competition is way too close foi- com fort. At the end of June, Delta was in second place, only .04 behind us. Being on or near the top in this ranking has almost become traditional with Piedmont. In four out of the six years since the reports were initiated by the CAB Piedmont has been num ber one among the regional airlines. The othei- two years we were second in the regional category. We’ve also been very near the top industry wide. We came in second — to Delta — in 1974 and 1975. The record book shows that a regional has yet to come out as number one for the year. With a concerted effort Piedmont has an excel lent chance to change that. Let’s be number one of all the airlines for 1976. We know we have the nicest customers. Let’s show them off' as the happiest too. Trained employee saves child Barely one month after completing the basic life support course in cardiopulmonary resusci tation res agent Jean Satterfield saved a child from choking. “I was having a late breakfast in a Char lotte restaurant,” said Jean. “A family with two children, a girl about 3 or 4 and a boy about 6, were seated nearby. Suddenly the little girl started coughing violently and choking. She was sitting by her father on a booster seat. The father first tried holding her arms over her head. The mother attempted to give her water. The father then tried hitting her on the back. By this time the child was turning blue. “I went over and said ‘Let me help!’ After putting both of her feet on the floor I applied the Heimlich method to stop the choking. On the first quick thrust into her abdomen a huge glob of hamburger came up. She was scared, crying and messy from the water and the ham burger. But she was breathing!” “A person whose trachea is obstructed by bolus of food can’t breathe, can’t speak, turns cyanotic and collapses. He has only four minutes to live — unless you save him,” says Jean. The method Jean used with the little girl in Charlotte is called the Heimlich Maneuver. It was developed by Dr. Henry J. Heimlich of Cincinnati. A relatively new procedure, the Heimlich Maneuver is actually very simple. All you need is two arms and two fists. It can be used for a choking victim who is sitting or standing. There are four steps. First, stand behind the victim and wrap your arms around his waist. Then place your fist, thumb side against the victim’s abdomen, slightly above the navel and below the rib cage. Grasp the fist with your other hand. Press your fist into the victim’s abdomen with a quick upward thrust. Repeat several times if necessary. Jean received her training in cardiopulmon ary resuscitation (CPR), in a course conducted by the American Red Cross at Piedmont’s Gen eral Office earlier this year. She was certified in the basic life support course in March. Later she took another course and became an instruc tor in CPR. In addition Jean has had courses in first aid, mouth to mouth resuscitation and water safety. Jean, a res agent for Piedmont since 1970, participated in the first of a number of planned training programs for Piedmont employees. A story about the Company’s interest in these basic life support courses is on page five. from choking Ted Thompson plays victim for Jean's demonstratio of the Heimlich Maneuver.