on the inside
•Which station has led the company
for more than a year in on-time perfor
mance? The answer, page 2.
•Our reservations centers celebrate
the inauguration of London and first-
class service. Page 5 for details.
•'If it hadn't been for Piedmont. I
would have never had a chance to say
goodbye to my dad.' Last Farewell,
page 6.
When is
First Ciass
not
First Class?
At T^mpa, we toasted our new
London service and our 767-
200's first scheduled
At Charlotte, six pairs of scis
sors snipped a ribbon in unison,
signaling the beginning
At Gatwick. Captain Fred Ko
zak waves to the crowd on hand
for the arrival of
inaugural
At Piedmont, we'd like to think
"never." But now that we are criss
crossing the Atlantic Ocean every
day, we have to add an important
new piece of airline terminology to
our vocabulary: Business Class.
While every domestic Piedmont
llight now has First Class service,
our front cabin on the Boeing
767ERs providing nonstop llights
between Charlotte and London is a
Business Class cabin.
Why the difference?
If we boast to our customers about
our "First Class" service across the
Atlantic—and Piedmont people
have earned some handsome brag
ging rights for the service we offer—
we are misleading our customers
and encouraging them to judge us
by an unfair standard.
Across the Atlantic. First Class
means sleeperette seats with an
enormously generous space be-
Iween rows.
Piedmont elected not to use such
seats because we will also be using
the 767ER licet for domestic ser
vice where First Class yields do not
justify such extravagant space. In
stead. we oiler Business Class in
the front cabin.
The difference? Just in space.
Our Business Class passengers arc
receiving a meal service, beverage
service and other benefits fully equal
to First Class benefits aboard other
intercontinental airlines. And they
are getting a bargain! Our Business
Class is one-halt the price of a First
Class ticket.
Bui let's call it what it is: Busi
ness Class. We can do so with lull
pride that the service is second to
none. Once wc learn the differ
ences. our passengers will assume
that we've been providing this ser
vice for years, not weeks, and we
know as much about our product
as people at other airlines who
have been making these distinc
tions in scrvicc lor years.
It's Business Class. It's great scr
vicc. and a bargain in travel wc can
offer with pride.
volume 38, number 5
June 1987
Piedmont does London, on time, with style
Above: Chairman Bill Howard and his wife
Jan leave the Pride of Piedmont after wel
coming passengers upon their eirrival at Gat
wick on the inaugural flight.
Piedmont Flight 160 touched down at Lon
don’s Gatwick airport at 06:44, virtually on
time, Tuesday, June 16th, to complete the
Company’s inauguration of intercontinental
service.
The night was greeted at the gate minutes
later by Chairman Bill Howard, his wife, Jan,
and Executive Vice President Bill McGee and
other Piedmont officials—along with the
clashing cymbals, trumpets and drums of a
royal British marching band.
This was a moment, however, not of pomp
and circumstance, but smiles, smiles, more
smiles and Piedmont eyes moistened with
pride.
As Capt. Fred Kozak silenced the huge
GE/Snecma high bypass engines, the
launching of a new era for Piedmont was
complete. The once little airline that first
scaled the Blue Ridge mountains to go from
the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River Valley,
Below: News media from area newspapers,
television and radio stations watched as the
767-200 departed Charlotte on its first
scheduled flight to London.
and then grew to touch the Great Lakes, the
Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains and
the Pacific Ocean had now leaped the great
est barrier in its history—the Atlantic Ocean.
As 187 passengers filed out of the spacious
cabin of the Boeing 767 Extended Range jet,
each was greeted warmly. Most paused to lis
ten to the martial music of the band, say
hello to old friends at Piedmont, and perhaps
photograph the beautiful B767ER I hat had
carried them to London, an aircraft so ap
propriately named “The Pride of Piedmont.”
Inside this issue of the Piedmonitor, we
will share with you photographs of this mo
ment that has meant so much to each of us
at Piedmont.