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Second quarter will cover loss in first
T/j;s could be the picture worth a thousand words. It might
be yesterday and today. It could be National Transporta
tion Week, which was May 13th-19th, this year. Maybe
it is a commentary on clean air. Or, a perfect ad for how
to avoid waiting in gas lines.
When Senior Vice President T. W.
Morton announced the Company’s first
quarter financial results, he said profits
produced in the second quarter would
be well in excess of the first-quarter loss.
The second-quarter trafi^ic results, see
story below, have verified his prediction.
Financially, Piedmont’s best first
quarter news was the dividend payments
to shareholders. The Company’s board
of directors declared the first 1979 divi
dend in January. The six cents (6^) per
share on the common stock was paid
March 5, 1979 to stockholders of record
on February 16, 1979. At their regular
quarterly meeting in April, the directors
declared the 21st cash dividend to be
paid by the Company. It, too, was six
cents (6^) per share, paid June 1, 1979
to record stockholders on May 15, 1979.
The April directors’ meeting followed
the annual meeting of Piedmont’s stock
holders. A complete transcript of that
meeting is on pages five, six, seven and
eight of this issue.
During the first quarter of this year.
Piedmont Aviation, Inc. had a net loss
of $3,582,000, or $1.18 per share. In the
same period of 1978, the Company had
a deficit of $565,340, or $.21 per share.
Gross revenues rose 10.8 per cent
from $58.8 million in the first quarter
of 1978 to $65.2 million in the com
parable period this year. Costs and ex
penses were up 17 per cent this year to
$70.2 million from $59.9 million in the
first three months of 1978.
The Company’s Airline Division had a
loss of $3,723,000 for the January-
through-March period of 1979 while the
General Aviation Group and other oper
ations earned $141,000.
The Airline Division’s gross revenues
for the periods were $54.9 million in
1979 and $45.9 million last year. Gross
revenues of the Company’s other opera
tions were $10.3 million in the first
three months of this year as compared
to $13.0 million in the same months
last year.
As Morton said, “The usually weak
first quarter was even worse this year
because of exceptionally poor flying
weather and abnormal increases in fuel
and labor costs. Continuing high start
up costs for several new routes also
contributed to the unfavorable results.
With substantial traft'ic growth, which
began in mid-March, plus higher fares
instituted as an offset against cost in
creases, the second quarter should be
much better.”
Financial results for the second quar
ter will be announced in late July.
May/June, 1979
Vol. XXX, No. 3
New traffic records set in second quarter
During April, May and June, 1979, Piedmont
Airlines set a variety of new traffic records. It
was the best second quarter in the Company’s
history.
Available seat miles increased 27.95 per cent
for the three-month period, from 642,596,043
in 1978 to 822,215,659 this year.
Revenue passenger miles were up a whop
ping 47.36 per cent in the second quarter, from
369,091,885 in the comparable period last year
to 543,887,205 in 1979.
Passenger boardings rose 30.44 per cent in
the second three months of the year, to 1,548,321
from 1,186,971 last year.
The passenger load factor for the quarter
was 66.15 per cent, up from 57.4 per cent in
April, May and June of 1978.
New daily and monthly highs produced the
record-setting second quarter totals.
In April of this year, revenue passenger
miles were 174.6 million, a 52.3 per cent increase
over April, 1978, reflecting the best year-to-year
rate of growth at that point in the airline’s 31
years of operation.
An all-time high passenger boarding record
was set with 495,675 enplanements for the
month. The previous monthly record was
445,011 in August, 1978. April, 1979 boardings
were up 33.2 per cent over the same month last
year. There were also three new daily board
ing records set during the month. April 16,
1979, with 20,011 passengers carried, stood as
the record day until late May.
The passenger load factor for April was a
record 69.24 per cent, up from 55.46 per cent
in the same month last year.
May traffic bettered the records set in
April. In the second month of the second quar
ter, the airline’s revenue passenger miles were
187.6 million, up 52.4 per cent over May of last
year. This supplanted the best year-to-year rate
of growth in the airline’s 31 years of operation,
set a month earlier.
In May, 1979, for the first time in its his
tory, the Company carried more than half a
million passengers in one month. The new all-
time high monthly passenger boardinsr record
was 534,003 erplanements, a 34.9 per cent in
crease over May, 1978. Another new daily
boarding record was set May 25, 1979 when
20,602 passengers flew Piedmont.
The passenger load factor for May, 1979 was
64.72 per cent, up from 56.32 per cent in the
same month last year.
The strong traffic growth continued in June,
with revenue passenger miles increasing 38.36
per cent to 181,620,169 this year, from
131,266,397 in June, 1978.
During the final month of the second quar
ter of this year, 518,643 passengers were car
ried, an increase of 23.80 per cent over the same
month last year. This was the second time in
which the Company boarded more than half a
million passengers in one month.
The passenger load factor for June of this
year was 64.84 per cent as compared to 60.44
per cent in June, 1978.
Credit union offers new
certificates of deposit
The Credit Union board of directors has
announced a new certificate of deposit offering.
The term for the new certificate is six
months. Previous issues have had a one-year
minimum. The last time the Credit Union re
vised its certificates of deposit was October,
1978.
Any amount from $10,000 to $50,000 will be
accepted in this new program. Members’ present
share and certificate balances in the Credit
Union determine eligibility limits.
The interest rate will vary based on the
date of issue and the rates being paid by other
financial institutions. Interest will be credited
to members’ regular share accounts each quar
ter and adjusted for remaining interest due at
maturity.
If the certificates are cashed prior to ma
turity, substantial interest penalties will be
applied.
The new offering has a total limit of
$500,000. These new six-month certificates will
be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The
Credit Union expects these certificates to be
fully subscribed. If you are interested and want
further information, you should contact the
Credit Union office at (919) 767-5368.
Powell will head airline
Reginald T. Powell has been appointed staff
vice president-airline operations control center.
The AOCC, established earlier this year,
will provide better coordination between depart
ments to improve the speed and quality of de
cisions made and implemented during abnormal
operations.
Dispatch, maintenance control, crew schedul
ing for pilots and flight attendants and central
R. T. Powell,
staff vice pres
ident,
airline operations
control center
operations control center
reservations personnel for passenger handling
and control will be located in the AOCC. The
offices, currently under construction, will be in
the general office building in Winston-Salem.
The actual consolidation of personnel is sched
uled for mid-July.
Each of the employee groups involved will
continue to report directly to their current de
partmental management. During abnormal op
erating conditions, Powell and his group will
ensure that all options are considered and de
cisions implemented in the Company’s best over
all interest. Passenger needs will have a high
priority in the decision-making process.
A native of Aulander, North Carolina, Powell
graduated from high school in Norfolk, Vir
ginia and attended the University of California
Extension in Tokyo, Japan.
Prior to joining Piedmont as a flight purser
in 1951, he was a staff’ sergeant in the U. S. Air
Force. His former positions at Piedmont include
agent and chief agent in Norfolk, station man
ager in Elizabeth City, Louisville and Atlanta.
He has been manager of ground operations, in
Winston-Salem, since 1974.
A past president of the Atlanta Airport
Kiwanis Club, Powell is married to the former
Lois Rice of Norfolk. They have a son and a
daughter.