Newspapers / Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter / April 1, 1984, edition 1 / Page 3
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The Up-And-Coming Airline 3 F28 Goes on System With New LEX-ORD Route Jay Selman. a station agent at EWR. was on the F28's inaugural flight on April 1. He took these pho tosfor the Piedmonltor and gave us thefollowing account of his trip. Good things often come in small packages, and that's what the F28. the newest member of Piedmont's fleet, is out to prove. At 7:10 a.m. on April 1. Flight 701, under the command of ROA-based pilot John Cox and Jim Sifford, director-flight standards, INT, lifted off the runway at ROA’s Woodrum Field to usher in a new era for Piedmont. Piedmont's first Fokker F28 was airborne, bound for Lex ington, Ky. “The F28 is just what we've needed," LEX Station Manager A.B. Casey said. Casey is particularly excited about the F28 because on April 1, daily departures at LEX jumped from two to six. “Not only are we introducing a new aircraft, we're also kicking off new nonstop service from Lexing ton to Chicago," he said. “We now offer the only nonstops in this market, and our folks are quite excited about that." Cox and Sifford, the aircraft's pilots, both pointed out that on routes served by both the F28 and the B 737, the block time for the F28 is actually a few minutes shorter. "The F28 is designed for maxi- Captain Jim Sifford (left), director-flight standards. INT. and Captain John Cox. ROA. manned the cockpit on the F28's inaugural _flight. mum fuel efficiency at a lower cilti tude and allows the flight crews to shave off a few corners here and there,” Cox said. "1 think it’s going to be a good aircraft for us." Sifford added. Both the F28's cockpit and pas senger cabin look brand-new. The interiors are being completely remanufactured by Fokker Aircraft in Holland prior to delivery to Piedmont. We are receiving full support services from Fokker com parable to the purchase of new air craft. By the end of the year, we will have 12 F28s in our fleet, and we have an option on eight more. "The only way I could tell that this aircraft is smaller than the 737 is because it looks shorter," one passenger remarked. "Yet it's every bit as comfortable as the bigger planes." The 65-passenger twin-jets will enable Piedmont to continue all-jet service to smaller communities on Piedmont's system, and free our B-737 112-passenger twin-jets now serving smaller markets for devel opment of high density routes. ROA-based flight attendants Jo Ann Gilbert and Nancy Gillespie were both caught up In the excite ment of the inaugural. "We're back to the days of two night attendants, which many of us enjoy," Gilbert said. “Even If we are full, we have only 32 and a half passengers per flight attendant. Compare that to a 164 seat 727 worked by four flight attendants. Not only is it a lighter actual work load, but we'll be able to provide more individual attention and really get to know our regular customers," she said. "On the F28, we'll be able to show thafWe Care' even more." Alan Kirk, ROA based llight attendant base manager, spent the entire day riding on the F28. "With a new plane, there is a certain amount of unfamiliarity and 'debugging' that we have to go through. Some things simply can't be anticipated, and I want to be on board to help, and also to gather comments and suggestions to pass on to the home office," he said. “It won't take long to have the F28 r unning as smoothly as the Boeing aircraft, especially with motivated llight attendants like Jo Ann and Nancy." On its first day of scheduled serv ice, the F28 tdso Hew to ORf), TRl, GSO. PIT, ATL, and CRW At Pied mont's smaller stations, the con sensus is the same: the F28 is (he key to their future. Casey put it well when he said, "Without the F28, Piedmont at I^ex ington might well have been history some day. Now 1 think we will begin to grow again, to make the Pied mont presence at l^xington known." Pete Perlman (right), the first passenger to check in on April I for Flight 70 f from LEX to ORIX holds the rib bon while James Brough. LEX airport manager. Jess Coy. Piedmont supervisor, and A.B. Casey. LEX station nwnager. do the honors. & ROA based flight attend ants Nancy Gillespie and Ann Gilbert prepare coffee for passengers on the first .flight' PI to add Kalamazoo June 1 Kalamazoo, Michigan, will become the 63rd destination on Piedmont’s system when it is linked to the Dayton complex on June 1. Piedmont will begin service to Kalamazoo (AZO) with three non stop, round-trip flights daily to DAY and one-stop or quick connections service to DCA, EWR, LGA, MCO, TPA, MIA, PHL, BOS, DFW, and LAX. The announcement was made Sunday, April L at a news confer ence in Dayton following the depar ture of our inaugural flight to Los Angeles. The Kalamazoo County Airport is currently served by Republic Air lines and two commuter carriers, Simmons Airlines and Allegheny Commuter Airlines. Michael Stampfler, airport direc tor, said that with Piedmont, the airport would be home to four air lines offering "the best service we've ever had." Kalamazoo, population 213,000, is located halfway between Chicago and Detroit It is home for Western Michigan University (WMU) as well as two colleges, a community college and a business school. Major industry in the area includes Eck rich & Sons, a division of Beatrice Foods; James River Corporation, Georgia Pacific, and the Allied Paper Division of SCM Corporation, all paper manufacturers; The Upjohn Company, world leader in pharmaceuticals and chemicals; National Waterlift Division of the Pneumo Corporation, manufactur ers of missile components; and the Stryker Corporation, originators and manufacturers of Innovative orthopedic beds and equipment. Kalamazoo will be the fifth Mich igan destination served by Pied mont. In the past 18 months, we have added service to GRR, LAN, ENT, and DTW. Bethune Bethune named head Of Operations and Maintenance Gordon M. Bethune has joined Piedmont as senior vice presldent- operations and maintenance. Bethune, 42, previously worked for Western Airlines as vice president maintenance and engi neering, and, before joining West ern, held a similar position for Bran iff Airways. He has served as an aviation maintenance officer in the U.S. Navy and is a Vietnam veteran. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Bethune is a graduate of Abilene Christian University. He is a licensed pilot and licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic.
Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter
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April 1, 1984, edition 1
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