'85 an outstanding year for PI
From shuttles to mergers. Pied
mont has seen some of the most
dynamic events in its history Lake
place during the past year. Living
up to our 1984 Airline of the Year
Award, we remained a frontrunner
in the industry in terms of both
expansion and safety.
Early in October we exercised
existing options for modern, fuel-
efficient Boeing 737-300s bringing
our total to 45 and prompting
Boeing to put a double-page ad in
the Wall Street Journal calling
Piedmont the largest 737 airline in
the world. Delivery should be com
plete in 1989.
Besides these brand new aircraft.
Piedmont has voluntarily decided
to invest in state-of-the-art tech
nology to enhance the safety of the
existing fleet. These include:
•*The world’s first Windshear
Detection/Alerting System,
designed by Sperry, was installed
and used commercially in a Pied
mont jet in November. The visual
and audible warning saves pilots
precious time in deciphering
conditions. It will be installed on all
our 737-200S.
* *A computerized Performance
Management System, also by
Sperry, is currently being installed
on the cockpit instrument panel of
all of our 737s and 727s. Besides
having the ability to house the
windshear detection system, the
airborne computer constantly
monitors the aircraft’s controls
while in flight, and automatically
adjusts for altitude and fuel—giv
ing the smoothest, most efficient
flight possible.
* ’Piedmont was chosen as the
first airline in the country to test
an FAA-designed Collision Avoid
ance System that warns pilots of an
impending midair collision and
gives directions on how to avoid it.
•♦The Engine Condition Monitor
ing System is now standard equip
ment on our aircraft. Once again,
computer technology enables us to
monitor each of our engines in
flight and automatically report key
performance measures to a com
puter at our headquarters in
Winston-Salem. Engineers then
review these reports daily looking
for possible problems before they
occur. This enables us to repair
engines before little problems
become big ones, making repairs
less expensive and enhancing flight
safety even further.
None of these expensive safe
guards were mandated by law but
all of them will improve safety for
our customers and crews—and all
during a time when industry critics
are accusing airlines of cutting
corners on safety to improve
profitability.
In July we announced The Pied
mont Shuttle. The three-phase
operation is planned to bring over
100 daily intrastate flights to
Florida by the spring of 1986.
COMPUTERS
**On Sept. 14. Piedmont’s computerized reservations system was its
own! Over one hundred people were directly involved in the cutover
from Eastern’s system in Miami.
COMPLIMENTS
**According to the Department of Transportation, of the 12 major
airlines in the country. Piedmont received the least amount of com
plaints for every 100.000 passengers boarded from April to August of
1985.
**Piedmont u;as named the best U.S. airline in a November survey
in “Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report,” a travel newsletter—
78% of whose subscribers are corporate presidents. Piedmont was also
the highest ranked U.S. airline in a similar ‘'Hideaway Report” survey
that included foreign carriers.
**Peggy Bach. PI flight attendant of nine years, was named runner-
up in a national flight attendant contest.
* *Joe Culler, president of Piedmont's General Aviation Group, was
named Man of the Year for the second time by Beech Aircraft
Corporation.
PROJECTS
**United Way Flightseeing trips at North Carolina airports served to
introduce many to air travel for the first time and to underscore Pied
mont’s identity as the state’s home-grown airline.
FACILITY EXPANSION
**Piedmont purchased 10.4 acres north of the Orlando International
Airport and began construction of a 15,000-sq. ft. reservations facility
to be completed by July 1986.
**Construction on a state-of-the-art 127.000 sq.ft. addition was
completed at the 030 maintenance facility.
**Nine months after breaking ground a beautiful, new 40,000 sq. ft.
hangar/office complex headquarters was completed for Piedmont’s
General Aviation Group near Smith Reynolds Airport in
Winston-Salem..
**On October 1, Piedmont assumed responsibility for an F28
simulator and training center near the Thmpa International Airport.
The need is there, and Piedmont
has the specific type of people and
equipment that can meet the need.
The 65-seat Fokker jet and its low
break-even load factor are ideal for
the short morning out, evening in
trips that the Florida business
traveler needed. The first phase
began October 1 adding five Florida
cities to our roster including APF,
EYW, FLL, GNV, and TLH. Almost
immediately the Shuttle program
was exceeding expectations for its
success. On January 15, PBI and
PNS joined the Shuttle stops and
daily jet departures were up to 96.
Outside of Florida, Piedmont
began jet service last year to STL,
MSP ORH, TVS, and BUF Ten new
destinations began seeing the Pied
mont blue on commuter aircraft as
a result of joint marketing agree
ments made in 1985 with three air
lines—CCAir (formerly Sunbird),
Britt, and Jetstream—that now are
part of the Piedmont Commuter
System.
Along with the actual start-up of
The Piedmont Shuttle in October
came the exciting news that Pied
mont, the 1984 major airline of the
year, had purchased Empire, the
1984 regional airline of the year.
The logic and benefits from such a
merger are many. Below are just
a few:
**Our presence in the Northeast
will increase dramatically as we
add new destinations in five states
and Canada, giving us a competi
tive edge in markets that we’ve
never served before.
**The equipment match-up is
ideal —Empire’s entire fleet is made
up of F28’s.
♦•Overnight we will gain new
service to JFK and additional slots
where no more are available at
LGA, EWR, and DCA.
CAREsystenn
continued front page 1
began operation on September 14 after 15
months of planning and preparation. The
center now employs 260 people who are
technically responsible for making the system
work. Our reservations and station agents are
(he primary users of the system. In 1985, our
reservations agents cared for more than 25
million people. Our station agents boarded
over 18 million. The CAREsystem processes
an average of 55 transactions for each pas
senger boarded. In 1986, those figures are
expected to grow substantially. Employees will
be giving customers the best service possible.
■'I think the name reOects the great attitude
of the entire company toward customer ser
vice,” Howard said.
"Piedmont has always been known as a car
ing airline, and this feeling is something we
want to strive to keep. The CAREsystem is just
one tool we can use to continue to meet the
challenges we face daily in running a good
airline.”
I
Operations agents—ever feel like the freight
you lifted onto your flight was the heaviest
ever?? Heavylift Cargo Airlines out of England
will probably top yours. The company
reported that its ex-Royal Air Force Shorts
Belfast heavy freighters lifted a record single
piece load—weighing over 32 tons—onto a
7,000-foot airstrip in Colombia, S. America.
The cargo, the center section of an earth-
moving dredge, was over 10 feet high, 56 feet
long and 11 feet wide.
ar
r
Why is the well-known actor, McLean
Stevenson, on the ramp with these CLT
agents?
He now works for Piedmont—doing our
commercials.
The four new ads with Stevenson promote
our Family Fare, other Piedmont fares, the
savings one gets by flying Piedmont, and
Piedmont’s first-rate service as compared to
no-frill airlines. The ads began airing Jan
uary 4 and are appearing during the Atlantic
Coast Conference, Big Tfen, Big East, and Uni
versity of Dayton televised basketball games.
Stevenson flew from LAX to BOS via Pied
mont in Janu£iry and while in CLT, our
agents gave our “new employee” a tour. Pos
ing with Stevenson after loading luggage on a
flight are (kneeling) Paul Lustig; and (stand
ing, 1 to r) Mike Daily, John Alderman, Chuck
Dunn, Steve T&ylor, Coleen O’Msdley, Charles
Burrell, and Gary Andreasen.
Stevenson is best known for his portrayal
of Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the television
comedy series “M*A*S*H,” and this year he
is starring in the show “AMERICA.”