Vol. XXVII, No. 6
October/November/December, 1976
Third quarter was good financially
The Company’s improved earnings trend
experienced during the second quarter contin
ued through September. Net income was $1,-
966,809, cr 78 cents per share, for the period.
This was an increase of 42.5 per cent over the
$1,379,647, or 56 cents per share, for the third
quarter of 1975.
Gross revenues rose 11 per cent from $45.1
million in the third quarter of last year to $50
.million this year. Costs and expenses were $47.4
'million for the July through September period
of this year, up 9.6 per cent from the $43.2 mil
lion in the comparable period last year.
The Airlines Division posted a pre-tax profit
of $2,461,832 for the third quarter of 1976.
The General Aviation Division and other opera
tions earned $178,577 before taxes. During the
same period of 1975, the airline had a profit of
$1,461,404 before taxes and the other opera
tions had pre-tax earnings of $371,966.
For the first nine months of 1976, the Com
pany had a net income of $2,373,078 as com
pared to a loss of $993,342 in the same period
last year.
Gross revenues for the first nine months of
this year were up 12.1 per cent to $139.4 million
from $124.4 million during the same period of
1975.
Costs and expenses rose 8.4 per cent for
the January through September period this
year to $136.2 million. For the same period
last year, costs and expenses totaled $125.7
million.
The improvement in profits this year en
abled the Company to resume payments of cash
dividends to shareholders. At their regular
quarterly meeting in October the Board of Di
rectors declared a dividend of 10 cents per
share. It was paid December 6, 1976 to stock
Changes coming^ in fleet and routes
The Company announced, to employees, on
December 1 the signing of a letter of intent to
purchase one Boeing 727-100. Delivery is sched
uled for early January. This latest addition to
Piedmont’s fleet will go into sei’vice as soon
as possible after delivery and modification.
The 727 is not a new airplane to Piedmont.
The Company inaugurated its very first pure
jet service in March, 1967, using two leased
Boeing 727s. The Company had ordered six
Boeing 737s in January, 1966. The 727s were
leased until the 737s began to arrive in March,
1968.
The additional plane will give Piedmont a
fleet of 42 aircraft — 20 Boeing 737s, 21 YS-lls
and one 727.
Piedmont’s route system may also see some
changes in the not too distant future.
The Civil Aeronautics Board tentatively
awarded Piedmont the long - sought nonstop
route authority between Richmond, Virginia
and New York City, to compete with Eastern.
The decision, which came at the end of No
vember, is a result of a joint petition for re
consideration by the City of Richmond, i t s
Chamber of Commerce and Piedmont. Piedmont
was the consensus choice of the Richmond com
munity.
The Board found that the three principal
factors it relied on in 1974 to deny the route
application had changed. First, the Board has
modified its policy with respect to competitive
awards so that a showing of actual service de
ficiencies is no longer required in large monop
oly markets. Second, because of Eastern’s im
proved financial condition, a competitive route
will not result in the same relative harm to
Eastern that it would have two years ago. Third,
a competing line will not have to curtail other
service due to fuel conservation, as it would
have in 1974.
The award reversed a 1974 decision by the
Board, which at that time concluded that no
competing route was needed. Member G. Jo
seph Minetti, who dissented from the 1974 de
cision, concurred in the reversal.
Four of the five current Board members
did not participate in the original decision and
the Board, therefore, thought interested parties
should be heard from again. Thus, the decision
was tentative and would have become effective
in ten days, December 10, unless interested par
ties filed objections.
Both Eastern and Allegheny did file objec
tions. The case will now have to go through fur
ther hearing pi'ocedures. Piedmont is hopeful
that a final, successful decision will be issued
by mid-April, 1977.
holders of record on November 19. This made
1976 the third consecutive year of dividend
payments. The Board also decided to consider
further payments of dividends on a semi-annual
basis.
Into the fourth quarter of the year airline
traffic continued to show improvement.
The year-to-date figures through November
show that available seat-miles are up 5.8 per
cent over the same period last year. Revenue
passenger miles for the 11 months are up 10.2
per cent when compared to January through
November, 1975.
The load factor for the year, at the end of
November, 1976, was 51.12 per cent. It had been
49.08 per cent a year earlier.
Revenue passengers have also increased,
nearly 8 per cent, from 3,282,504 in the first
eleven months of 1975 to 3,542,673 through
November of this year.
Plan to tax
benefits
is rejected
The Treasury Department, under
pressure from airline employees and
others, has rejected a set of proposed
rules which would have taxed certain
fringe benefits of workers.
Reportedly, the rules could have
affected hundreds of thousands of
airline employees as well as retail
clerks and others who get discounts
on merchandise or travel.
The Treasury Department did not
reveal the details of the rules, which
were killed by Secretary William E.
Simon.
In a statement, Simon said that
the Treasury was terminating its
consideration of broad regulations
setting forth how fringe benefits
should be treated under the tax law.
Roanoke fixed base is officially open
General aviation pilots who have never been
to, or those who haven’t recently visited, Pied
mont’s general aviation facility at Roanoke are
in for the nicest sort of surprise.
Focal point of the new facility at Woodrum
Field is the general aviation terminal. Private
plane passengei's and pilots step directly from
the plane parking ramp into what is more a
living room than a lobby. The atmosphere is
• created with deep blue carpeting, upholstered
easy chairs and sofas, chrome and glass tables,
recessed lighting, lots of plants and original
paintings and sculpture by Roanoke artists.
From drawing the blueprints to cutting the
dedication blue ribbon took 11 months. The
ground-breaking was in January, 1976, and the
formal opening ceremonies were held Decem
ber 3, 1976.
The ribbon cutting was preceded by an open
house at the private plane passenger terminal
and aircraft hangars. President T. H. Davis
was host for the affair. He was joined by other
Piedmont personnel in welcoming Roanoke of
ficials, Virginia aviation leaders and guests to
the formal opening. The new facility represents
an approximate $1 million investment by the
company in its general aviation operation at
Roanoke.
Among those on hand for the occasion was
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The official ribbon cutting ceremonies for Piedmont's new
fixed base facility at Roanoke drew a notable crowd.
Among those watching Roanoke Mayor N. C. Taylor and
President T. H. Davis wield the scissors were, from left,
Piedmont Director A. H. Galloway, Beech Aircraft Corpo
ration President F. A. Hedrick and Piedmont Director J. F.
Watlington, at right. The ceremonies were held December
3, 1976.