around
he indus
Many mergers have taken place over the
past two years, but the number of U.S. car
riers is still more than double the number
that existed when deregulation of the airline
industry took effect nine years ago. A chart
featured in a recent issue of Airline Busi
ness magazine illustrates that in October
1978 there were 36 U.S. carriers with Sec
tion 401 certificates. This year, even after
many mergers and acquisitions including
the Piedmont/USAir merger, that figure to
tals 78.
Eastern is turning its hourly shuttle be
tween IXIA and both BOS and DCA into an
autonomous division with its own budget,
work force, fleet and management. Accord
ing to an Eastern spokesperson, the move
was made to turn the shuttle, one of East
ern's more profitable operations, into an
airline within an airline to improve its per
formance and its ability to compete.
*
Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Air
lines announced recently a $120 million
growth plan that includes increasing its
fleet from five to 17 aircraft over the next five
years, adding two new routes next March as
part of an expansion of service, and begin
ning construction next year of a hangar and
maintenance facility at General Mitchell
Airport.
♦ ♦ ♦
Domestic airline passenger traffic rose 5.3
percent in October compared with the same
month a year ago and was up 9.1 percent for
the first 10 months of 1987. At the same
time, consumer complaints fell during the
month of October. Complaints in October
declined 36 percent from the month of Sep
tember and were 50 percent below the Au
gust total.
* ♦ ♦
DEN is now offering a toll-free telephone
information service to allow travelers to
obtain information on airport weather and
facilities, airline schedules and telephone
numbers, and ski conditions, as well as en
able callers to page travelers at Stapleton.
The new service is being offered to make
"the Denver airport experience as hassle-
free as possible." The number— 1 /800/AIR-
2-DEN.
Australia has become the second country
in the world to ban smoking on its domestic
flights. Effective December 1. smoking is
prohibited on all domestic flights in Austra
lia. The ban applies to passenger cabins and
crew compartments, and anyone violating
the ban will be fined $500 (Australian).
By the middle of 1988, United plans to
have nearly 100 daily departures at Wash
ington Dulles. The airline currently has 90
daily flights compared to 15 two years ago.
* * *
Pan Am will begin the first-ever nonstop
Boeing 747 service between Orlando and
Frankfurt, West Germany, on April 3.
* * *
TWA and the Chase Manhattan Bank
have introduced a TWA Visa card that earns
bonus miles plus other amenities for the
carrier's frequent flyers.
#
Continental began nonstop service be
tween Newark and both Daytona Beach and
Melbourne, FL, on December 17.
Jim Burnley has been sworn in as the sec
retary of the Department of TYansportation.
Up for discussion
Have a question about Piedmont? This column, “up for discussion,”
gives you an opportunity to ask questions about your Company.
All questions must be signed and include your name, title, and loca
tion. Your name will be withheld from publication and will not be re
vealed when your question is sent to the proper department for an
answer. Unsigned questions will be automatically discarded.
When related questions are received, they will be consolidated and
answered as one question. As many questions and answers as space al
lows will appear each month in “up for discussion.”
Send your questions to Piedmonitor Editor, H440, or One Piedmont
Plaza, Winston-Salem, NC 27156-1000.
Q, Why hasn’t the Marketing Department connected the Syracuse and Day
ton hubs with either direct or nonstop service to open a west-bound gateway
for passengers in the Northeast?
A, Our research indicates that traffic between Syracuse and Dayton
would be very thin. Flights would operate with marginal loads at best. For
these reasons, start-up service in this market gets a low priority and will be
considered at a later date.
Bob McAlphin
vice president-airline scheduling
Q,
1 would like to make a suggestion that I feel would further enhance the
message across America, that Piedmont is the Airline that Cares,
Every evening while accomplishing checks upon our aircraft, I frequently
find numerous name identification tags that are provided with designer-type
luggage. These tags are currently discarded as gcirbage.
My suggestion is as follows; Simply place the lost tags into an envelope and
return them to their original owners. Quite often, the tag is somewhat tom or
mutilated. It would behoove Piedmont to furnish the passenger with a new tag
holder with the Piedmont logo, of course. This new holder or their old undam
aged holder accompanied with a “Thanks for Flying Piedmont" letter would
definitely leave a lasting impression. If one passenger chooses Piedmont again
simply because their tag was returned, then this little effort was worth the
time, trouble and expense. Expenses should be minimal, 22 cents for the
stamp, bulk rate prices on inexpensive Piedmont tag holders, pennies for the
envelope, and addresses are supplied for future mailing lists.
A. What a good idea! And it would certainly "enhance the message
across America, that Piedmont is the airline that cares.”
There are a number of questions, however, associated with this such as
potential cost, personnel time involved, and volume. We believe it to be
large numbers but perhaps worth the cost and effort. We will pursue this
suggestion with the hopes of implementing it. As soon as we have the ques
tion resolved, we will decide and let you know the answer.
Don Shanks
vice presldent-customer relations
A newly emerging employee benefit concerns not only each employee’s
medical health but also his or her mental health. Known under various
names—i.e., employee assistance plan and health counseling—these plans
deal with employee emotional problems, stress, marital problems, and job-
related conflicts, among other psychological problems. Does Piedmont/USAir
offer a similar program or plan to in the near future?
A, USAir currently offers an employee assistance program which has the
following objectives:
1. Encourage employees with work-related problems to seek help through
the Company's program.
2. Refer employees to appropriate assistance resources.
3. Restore employee productivity and health.
4. Retain valued employees.
We are currently reviewing the entire EAPpolicy and upon operational in
tegration with USAir, this program will be implemented and fully communi
cated to all employees.
Dave Workman
vice president-human resources
Q. It is my understanding that the parents of USAir employees are permit
ted to fly on a space available basis for a nominal yearly service charge. Now
that we are owned by USAir, how soon will parents become eligible for these
same benefits?
S). What exactly are USAir's nonrevenue pass policies currentlj/? How do
they compare to our pass privileges here at Piedmont? And what, if any,
changes to either company’s pass programs are being studied for the post
merger airline?
/A, At this point, no decisions have been made on the pass policies for the
combined airline. Currently, USAir has a liberal pass policy which includes
employee, spouse, dependent minor children, and parents of the employee
as eligible for nonrevenue passes. The airline does not offer reduced rate for
in-laws. There are two procedures for obtaining passes. Employees can pur
chase a travel authority card annually for a nominal fee based on the num
ber of eligible family members or elect instead to pay a small service charge
for each trip pass issued. Both Piedmont's and USAir's policies are currently
under review, and as new decisions are made, we will keep you informed.
We expect a more liberal exchange of passes between Piedmont and USAir
to take place prior to the operational merger in early 1989.
Faye Scott McIntyre
manager-pass bureau
Piedmonitor • December 1987