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Editorial
Analyzing august
If Piedmont were to pick a favorite month,
August would be a leading candidate. The eighth
four-week period of the year has traditionally
produced our airline’s record boarding figures.
August is special for other reasons too. It’s
the time we ease the doldrums of dog days by
counting the foggy mornings to predict the
number of snows we’ll have this winter.
In August, 1979, we’ll see another YS-11
go and the second of the year’s six 737s arrive.
This month, baseball season enters its final
stretch and the countdown starts for football
kickoffs. As we start to finish two-thirds of the
year, we know for sure that competition has
become much more than a weekend word. No
longer a synonym for Saturday/Sunday games,
it is an every-day-of-the-week way of life for
Piedmont’s team.
The scoreboard for the first seven months
of the year is the best it has ever been. Come
December 31st, the figures should support that
same phrase. Maybe we’ll call the results august,
without a capital A, meaning imposing and
magnificent.
Dividend
Continued from page one
580 employee stockholders who have 404,884
shares.
A recent article in Fortune Magazine ranked,
in a variety of categories, the 50 largest trans
portation comoanies in the United States, ac
cording to 1978 figures. In terms of total return
to investors, which includes both stock price
anpreciation and dividend yield. Piedmont
placed fifth among all 50 companies.
Equipment
Continued from page one
there will be 15 YS-lls in the fleet. During
September, three more YS-lls will go to Pine-
hurst. Between October and the end of Decem
ber, two additional YS-lls are scheduled for
their final departures, leaving ten in the fleet
at the close of 1979. So. on December 31, 1979,
Piedmont will have 46 planes.
Want more details in your fleet list? As of
August 15th, all 15 YS-lls had 58 seats; three
727s had 117 seats and three had 113 seats;
of the 737s, 11 had 94 seats and 15 had 112
seats. All this adds up to a total of 4,216 seats
in 47 airplanes.
Industry notes
More capifal will
The U. S. scheduled airlines’ capital require
ments in the next decade should reach $80 bil
lion, $20 billion more than previously estimated
by the Air Transport Association. Updated data
show the industry’s capital needs will be aver
aging $8 billion a year in the 1980s, and that
total does not include the billion dollar aircraft
purchases already announced by many car
riers. On a five-year comparative basis, the
industry’s capital needs are staggering, jumping
from $9 billion for the 1975-1979 period to
$22 billion for 1980-1984, nearly a 2>/2-fold in
crease.
Merger situations change
The Civil Aeronautics Board has turned
down a proposed merger between Continental
Airlines and Western Airlines.
It was the first airline merger proposal the
board has rejected since the Airline Deregula
tion Act was passed last year. A Southern Air-
ways-North Central Airlines combination into
Republic Airlines got a government stamp of
approval.
Allegheny Airlines announced it is consider
ing making an offer to purchase Hughes Air
Corporation, a West Coast air carrier jointly
owned by Summa Corporation and the Howard
Hughes estate.
Allegheny stressed it hasn’t reached any
conclusion on the matter.
Summa declined to comment on the Al
legheny disclosure and declined to provide any
sales or earnings figures for Hughes Airwest.
An Allegheny spokesman said the airline
is interested in Hughes because Hughes flies
the same kinds of jets as Allegheny, including
DC-9s and Boeing 727s, and has a large route
system extending from Canada to Mexico.
Allegheny disclosed the possible purchase
in a circular for a $25 million debenture offering
by its Allegheny Airline Finance N.V. subsidi
ary. The bonds would be guaranteed by the
parent company and would be convertible into
Allegheny common.
Tiger International, Inc. and Seaboard World
Airlines have agreed in principle to merge.
Under the agreement. Tiger would pay
$15.50 a share in cash for each of the 5.1 mil
lion Seaboard shares it does not own, making
the total value of the transaction about $79
million. Seaboard operates a cargo airline, as
does Flying Tiger Line, Inc., the unit of Tiger
International with which Seaboard would merge
under the agreement.
A Tiger spokesman said Tiger owns 24 per
cent of about 6.8 million Seaboard shares out
standing after a 10 per cent stock dividend in
January.
Directors of both companies are scheduled to
review the proposal. Seaboard shareholders are
be needed
expected to hold a special meeting in September
to vote on the transaction. The Civil Aeronautics
Board also must approve the merger.
Pan American World Airways has agreed to
various proposals under which it could acquire
the entire 24.5 per cent interest in National cur
rently held by Texas International. The acquisi
tion would bring Pan Am’s interest in National
to 75.9 per cent. Both Pan Am and Eastern
Airlines are attempting to acquire National.
Under the plan. Pan Am will purchase
790,070 shares of Texas International’s stock at
$50 a share, or a total of $39.5 million.
Pan Am said that subject to final regulatory
approval of the Pan Am-National merger, it
could then purchase the remaining 1,309,300
shares of National currently held by Texas In
ternational at $50 a share from November 15,
1979 through March 1, 1980. This would total
nearly $65.5 million. Pan Am would be obligated
to purchase these shares during this period fol
lowing final approval of a Pan Am-National
merger by the Civil Aeronautics Board and
President Carter.
Pan Am also agreed to pay Texas Interna
tional an additional $3 million “in consideration
of Pan Am’s rights to obtain the remaining
shares on these terms.” Pan Am currently holds
51.4 per cent of National’s shares.
The Trans World Corporation, parent com
pany of Trans World Airlines and the Century
21 Real Estate Corporation have reported that
directors of both companies have reached ten
tative terms for the real estate franchiser to
become a Trans World subsidiary.
Wien Air Alaska has announced that its
board of directors has approved a tender offer
from Household Finance Corporation at $6 per
share cash for each of the approximately 3.7
million outstanding Wien shares.
Airport renamed for Wayne
With a proclamation that John Wayne
“brought pride to all Orange County citizens,”
the Board of Supervisors of the California com
munity renamed Orange County Airport in
honor of the actor who died in June at 72.
Wayne’s son, Michael, and other family
members witnessed the board’s formal action
creating the John Wayne County Airport.
Scheduled traffic up In first half
Domestic and international scheduled air
line traffic increased 15 per cent in the first half
of 1979 and air travel in June was up more than
12 per cent from June, 1978, the Air Transport
Association reported.
In domestic service, revenue passenger miles
increased 11 per cent from June, 1978. Pas
senger load factor for the month was 69.4 per
cent, compared with 67.2 per cent last year.
Charter department set to kick off new season
When you join the stadium crowds or settle
in with your television for this fall’s football
programming, you, as a part of Piedmont, will
be playing more than a fan’s role in many of
the games.
Piedmont’s charter department will be help
ing 25 college squads and nine professional
teams with their transportation needs during
the 1979 season.
Each team will average playing four games
away from their home stadium. By season’s
end. Piedmont will have flown more than 56,000
revenue miles for the colleges and over 50,000
for the pros.
Piedmont is the Official Carrier for the
Washington Redskins. We carried them to all
of their away games in 1978 and have signed
contracts to provide all of their air transporta
tion for the 1979 season.
A typical fall Friday routing for one aircraft
reads like a lesson in advanced logistics; move
Navy from Baltimore to Raleigh to play N. C.
State, pick up U.N.C. at Raleigh to take them
to Atlanta to play the University of Georgia,
ferry the aircraft from Atlanta to Tuscaloosa to
fly the University of Alabama to Baton Rouge
to play L.S.U., ferry the plane back to its home
base, usually Winston-Salem.
Piedmont’s charter department has about
50 years cumulative experience in handling
these complex movements of men and machines.
Director of Charter Sales Thelma Davis has
Thelma Davis
Bill Lee
been with the Company about 32 years. As-
sistantant Director Bill Lee has 11 years and
Judy Tayloe, their staff assistant, has been
with Piedmont nearly nine years.
Almost an airline within the airline, the
charter department schedules its flights to
accommodate as many groups as possible. Its
traffic results show at least one statistic the
airline can envy; 100 per cent load factors on
every flight. The list of cities served by Pied
mont charters grows more than the airline’s
has in the past year. From ABE and AHN, for
Allentown and Athens, to SYR and TCL, for
Syracuse and Tuscaloosa, charter personnel keep
up with many off-line airport codes.
Though there are peak times for charter
work, the department’s days don’t ease off when
the regular sports season ends. Bowl bids bring
an overwhelming demand for equipment. With
only one airplane designated entirely for char
ter, the situation becomes first-come, first-
served.
Logistics and statistics may not be memor
able, but as you watch the football contests
this fall, it will be fun to recall that there is
probably a Piedmont plane waiting to take one
of the teams home.