December, 1979
Vol. XXX, No. 7
Thanksgiving holidays set
traditional traffic records
Terry Smith from the accessory shop was among
the general office employees who expressed
their care for the community this Thanksgiving.
See story on page four.
During the first two months of the fourth
quarter the Airline Division’s traffic has shown
continued growth, setting new October and No
vember records as well as a new daily high
for boardings.
The new daily enplanement record was set
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, November
21, when 21,132 passengers were carried. The
Company’s previous record day was May 25,
1979 when 20,602 passengers flew Piedmont.
For the past ten years the Thanksgiving
holidays have set new traffic records. This year
Piedmont’s revenue passenger miles for the
five-day, Wednesday-through-Sunday period
rose 32.2 percent over the comparable days last
year to 8,020,768.
In October of this year, compared to the
same month in 1978, the Airline’s available
seat miles were up 43.44 percent to 335,244,022.
Revenue passenger miles increased 31.39 per
cent to 170,715,130. Enplanements were up
13.56 percent to 470,926. The passenger load
factor was 50.92 percent this October. The
tenth month last year showed a load factor of
55.59 percent.
The November statistics showed a who^>ping
46.06 percent jump in available seat miles to
331,957,674. Revenue passenger miles totaled
161,541,673, up 30.44 percent. Passenger board
ings increased 12.21 percent to 436,674. The
passenger load factor was 54.49 percent for
November of last year. It was 48.66 percent
this year.
Our year-to-date traffic figures show Pied
mont posting not only the best performance in
the Company’s history but among the best in
the entire U.S. airline industry.
For 1979 through November our available
seat miles are up 31.62 percent over the com
parable period last year, to 3,125,579,224.
Revenue passenger miles for the eleven
months increased 35.46 percent to a total of
1,768,298,943.
More than 5 million passengers had taken
Piedmont flights by the end of November.
Revenue passenger boarditigs for the year-to-
date totaled 5,062,080, up 20.98 percent over
the comparable months of 1978.
Bonds will pay
Piedmont Aviation, Inc.’s $20 million of
convertible debentures were offered for sale
on the morning of December 5. By noon the
next day they were all sold.
The purpose of the sale of the debentures
by the Company was to provide a portion of
A merger/takeover?
In early November when a routine filing
with the Securities and Exchange Commis
sion revealed that Air Florida had been buying
Piedmont stock President Davis said, “There
have not been, and there are not now in progress
or presently contemplated, any negotiations
with Air Florida or any other airline.”
At the December service pin luncheon for
Piedmont employees Davis reiterated those
comments and added, “We see no advantage
whatsoever to a merger with Air Florida.
There are no discussions going on and we have
no interest at all in pursuing the matter. Pied
mont is a strong, successful company and we
fully intend to continue our own operation.”
12 percent for 25
the funds required to buy new airplanes and
to broaden its capital base for additional
financing.
The B rated 25-year bonds are convertible
into Piedmont common stock at $19.50 a share,
bentures. They will pay 12 percent or $120
interest annually per $1,000 debenture. The
interest payments will be made semi-annually
December 1 and June 1, starting June 1, 1980.
The bond offering, which was the third in
or about 51.28 shares for each $1,000 of de-
the Company’s history, was co-rnanaged by
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. and
Carolina Securities.
The net proceeds received by the Company
from the sale of the debentures was approxi
mately $19,135,000. The money will be used to
wards the purchase of aircraft to be delivered
in 1980. The Company has contracts to buy
four new Boeing 737s next year with deliveries
scheduled for March, September, October and
November. Other funds from the sale of the
bonds will be used for the expansion of reserva
tions, maintenance and other operating facilities
during the next two to three years.
years—'til 2004
The debentures have been listed on the
New York Stock Exchange, and trading prices
will be included in the New York Exchange
Bonds listing in the Wall Street Journal and
major metropolitan newspapers.
Earlier this fall the Company called for
redemption its 7 percent convertible sub
ordinated debentures due March 15, 1988. The
redemption date for that issue was November
15, 1979 at a redemption price of $1,037.92
per $1,000 debenture, including premium and
accrued interest. There were $7,690,000 of those
debentures outstanding.
They were convertible at a rate of 93 shares
of common stock per $1,000 debenture, equiva
lent to a conversion price of $10.75. Since the
Company’s stock sold for between $13 and $18
during the conversion period the vast majority
of the bonds were converted rather than re
deemed.
The common stock issued to the bondholders
who converted was listed on the New York
Stock Exchange, as are the other shares of
Piedmont’s common stock.
Nashville-Denver flights take off; Houston service coming up
The tenth and final schedule change of 1979,
on December 1, was highlighted by new non
stop service between Nashville and Denver.
Flights 614, 615 and 616 provide the first
daily nonstop, round-trip service in this Ten-
nessee-Colorado market and the first direct,
round-trip flights between Greensboro and
Denver.
The westbound service. Flight 615, departs
Greensboro daily at 8:10 a.m., stops in Nash
ville and arrives Denver at 10:27 a.m.
Eastbound Flight 614, operating daily except
Saturday, leaves Denver at 11:30 a.m., stops
in Nashville and arrives Greensboro at 5:07 p.m.
On Saturdays, Flight 616 maintains the same
schedule as Flight 614 from Denver to Greens
boro.
Denver continues to be the Company’s only
all-Boeing 727 station.
Coming with the New Year is a new air
port code — lAH — for the Houston Intercon
tinental Airport. Piedmont will enlarge into the
’80s with the addition of Houston to the route
system on January 15.
The initial pattern of service to the Com
pany’s second airport in Texas includes daily,
nonstop, round-trip service between Houston
and Charlotte and direct flights between Norfolk
and Houston.
For service westbound, Flight 653 will leave
Norfolk at 2:00 p.m., stop in Charlotte and
arrive Houston at 4:43 p.m.
The return is Flight 652 which departs
Houston at 5:40 p.m., arrives Charlotte at 8:38
p.m. and terminates in Norfolk at 9:55 p.m.
Both flights will utilize Boeing 727 equip
ment.
O’Hare supervisor J. A. Bailey has been
promoted to manager for the Houston station,
which will open with seven Piedmont employees.
Continental Airlines will handle our ground
operations.
New Florida flights are also featured in the
January schedule. Raleigh/Durham and Nor
folk are getting new nonstop and direct service
to Tampa.
Flight 651 will leave Norfolk at 7:30 a.m.,
stop in Raleigh/Durham at 8:07 a.m. and arrive
Tampa at 9:57 a.m.
Northbound Flight 650 will depart Tampa
at 10:50 a.m., arrive Raleigh/Durham at 12:20
p.m. and terminate in Norfolk at 1:20 p.m.
Also effective January 15, Raleigh/Durham
will have a new nonstop flight to Newark with
direct return service and additional flights to
Norfolk and to Charlotte.
The same schedule, which reflects the addi
tion of the 31st Boeing 737 to the Company’s
fleet, shows new Greensboro service, including
a new morning one-stop flight to Newark and
a new one-stop flight from Chicago’s O’Hare to
Greensboro.