the
Atlmt/c
For Piedmont to inau
gurate transatlantic
service, employees in
many departments
have gone back to
school to learn inter
national rules. One
such example is dis
patch, part of our
Airline Operations
Control Center (AOCC),
which is responsible
for following the 767-
200 on its voyages
across the ocean.
Operating on time our goal
The Boeing 767-200 not only
lakes Piedmont into the new skies
of widebody aircraft, but presents
new challenges in keeping our on-
time performance record as best as
possible.
These challenges range from its
sheer size to special international
handling procedures, and our per
sonnel have been training since
January to make sure the flights
are smooth and, of course, on time.
"All those involved in the training
say we can have a quick turn
around with the 767,” Jim Tabor,
manager-system performance,
said.
A major factor that will help this
performance is the advanced tech
nology in the cockpit. An advanced
flight deck features digital elec
tronics that include an Engine In
dicating and Crew Alerting System
(EICAS) and Electronic Flight In
strument System (EFIS) for supe
rior crew information and status
reports on the aircraft's perfor
mance. With the latest information,
pilots can quickly make accurate
operational decisions affecting their
flight. In addition, the 767-200 has
FAA Category 111 low weather mini
mum equipment, enabling it to op
erate in weather conditions that
would ground less advanced aircraft.
Underneath the 767 are two
cargo compartments that also take
Piedmont into a new era of baggage
and cargo handling—containerized
shipping. All freight and baggage
will be divided by destination and
loaded into containers before being
placed on the aircraft, thus mini
mizing baggage movement. Advan
tages of the containers include
minimal agent time in placing lug
gage on the aircraft, an important
issue when processing the baggage
of up to 210 passengers on a single
flight.
Carl Crumley, director-passenger
procedures, said one probable chal
lenge in handling baggage is an ex
pected regulation for “positive
matching” of passengers with their
luggage on international flights
from the United States. The FAA
now requires positive matching—
ensuring that a passenger who
checks in luggage on a flight actu
ally boards the flight—for all in
bound trips to the United States.
Canada also requires positive
matching of luggage, so Piedmont
has some experience in the area.
The expected regulation from the
International Civil Aviation Organi
zation could take effect as early as
December, and Piedmont is already
making plans to accommodate the
extra time it could require.
”We’re considering a modified
version of the manual system we'll
use at Gatwick if the regulation oc
curs by December,” Crumley said.
"If the regulation is delayed for a
year, we should have an automated
procedure that will be even more
efficient.”
Another issue that could affect
the 767's on-time performance is
the large number of people it can
accommodate. Our agents are pre
pared to handle the volume at the
ticket counter, and at the gate the
twin-aisle features of the widebody
will help agents quickly board pas
sengers. Extra care will be made to
minimize duplicate seating, as the
chances of that occurring increase
with larger aircraft.
CLT will be a maintenance base
with a special focus on scheduled
767 maintenance, so any mainte
nance problems with the 767 at
our largest hub should be quickly
addressed. In addition. Piedmont
maintenance will be able to work
on the 767 wherever it overnights.
Maintenance personnel have al
ready trained on the widebody and
will be ready when the 767 enters
scheduled service June 15.
T^bor said that with on-time per
formance affected by so many
areas of operations, even the small
est details can't be overlooked. For
example, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture is requiring that a
trash incinerator be built at CLT to
burn international garbage after in
bound flights from London. A delay
in processing trash could lead to a
delay in the aircraft’s performance.
"Those are the kinds of things
we haven't been used to dealing
with and we're having to learn,”
Tkbor said. ‘‘But we're confident
that our procedures and the 767's
capabilities will keep it on schedule.”
Flight already routine
for Piedmont's dispatchers
By the lime our new Charlotte-
London service begins June 15, fly
ing the route will be routine for
Piedmont's dispatchers.
This spring. AOCC (Airline Oper
ations Control Center) set up an in
ternational desk, and for the past
two months, dispatch has made
“paper” trips daily to and from
Gatwick to familiarize the depart
ment with international rules,
“We’ve treated these trips as
if they were real,” Ross Gordon,
director-flight control, said, “and
the FAA has continually checked
our work. If we don't follow the
rules precisely, the FAA will turn
us into a pumpkin real quick.”
Because the flight is over water,
the service to London requires new
procedures never before used by
Piedmont. And because we're so
new in the transatlantic market, we
are required to follow additional
rules until we have more experi
ence in international service.
“Ours is a special case,” Gordon
explained. “Our flight will be the
first two-engine operation with a
767-200 Extended Range powered
by these General Electric engines.
Because transatlantic service is
new to us, we are also under a 75-
minute rule which requires that we
never be more than 75 minutes
from an adequate airport. The pur
pose is to keep a safety belt around
us.”
In order to meet the 75-minute
requirement, our London flight will
depart Charlotte and fly up the
coast by Albany. NY. and Bangor,
ME, to Goose Bay. Newfoundland,
before heading across the Atlantic.
The eight-hour, five-minute flight
will cover approximately 3,400
miles.
Initially, our flights will not be on
the North Atlantic track system
which is governed by the Interna
tional Airline Track Center which
houses major carriers at different
altitudes. Piedmont is required to
stay a few degrees clear of this sys
tem. which is governed by the
winds and changes daily.
“We have stringent requirements
as we cross the Atlantic which re
quire that we work out coordinates
and follow these points precisely.”
Gordon explained. “We will know
exactly where our aircraft is every
minute of the flight, and we'll stay
in contact with our 767 more fre
quently than with any other flight
we offer.”
Piedmont also has to fulfill strin
gent fuel requirements. Ross ex
plained that fortunately, the
767-200 is one of the better aircraft
to fly this new route.
”The fuel requirements are no
problem.” he said. “The 767-200
carries enough fuel to go to London
and halfway back with a full load.”
To prepare for the transatlantic
flight, 32 of the 80 employees in
dispatch have received extensive
training for overwater flights. They
attended TWA's North Atlantic In
ternational School in Kansas City
and trained for two days with Air
Canada. They also took part in a
special weather-related training
program in addition to an extensive
five-day school required by the
FAA.
Gordon added: “An expert from
the FAA spent two grueling days
with us, and when he finished ex
amining our procedures, he was
very complimentary of our people.
We're now ready for London service
to begin.”
£
P/tVIIUJflf
Underneath the 767 are two
cargo compartments that take
Piedmont into a new era of bag
gage and cargo handling—con
tainerized shipping.
The LD2 contedner (above),
which holds 2,700 pounds, is
the smallest contedner we load
on the 767-200. We £ilso have a
LD8 container which can ceirry
up to 5,400 pounds, a half pallet
which can handle 5,535 pounds,
and a full pallet which carries
up to 11,250 pounds. All cargo
will be loaded in a container or
on a pallet except for an area in
the bulk bin at the back of the
aircraft where items such as
PEP packages and live animals
c£in be stored.
Structurally, the 767-200’s
maximum cargo weight capacity
is approximately 45,000 pounds,
more than three times that of
the 727-200.
In the past two months, the
cargo sales department has con
ducted blitzes and held recep
tions in Tampa, Chsu'lotte,
Raleigh/Durham, £ind London to
promote our new aircraft and
cargo service.
Piedmonitor • Special Edition • June 15, 1987