Piedmont elects Sctiick president
continued from page 1
Your background is maintenance and opera
tions. quite different from recent Piedmont lead
ers who came from marketing or the legal side
of airlines. Does this mean any different em
phasis in Piedmont’s approach to air service?
I don’t foresee any changes in Piedmont's
approach to air service. Any airline executive un
derstands what makes the industry and com
pany profitable—it’s really no secret: reasonable
prices; quality service; clean, good looking equip
ment; excellent personnel; a strong commitment
to safety; and good cost control.
We will continue to emphasize these issues in
ways that have made Piedmont and USAir lead
ers in the industry.
TYavelers and the media have increasingly
been concerned with maintenance standards
and on-time performance of airlines—areas in
which Piedmont excels. Can we expect the com
pany to continue its excellent record in these
fields?
“I’m basically people-oriented
and believe in good
communications and an
aggressive approach toward
reaching goals.”
Tklking about how important maintenance
standards and on-time performance are to Pied
mont is like preaching to the choir. In addition,
both USAir and Piedmont have excellent pro
grams and personnel. If anything, the merger
will combine these features and improve perfor
mance perhaps even more than either airline
could achieve alone.
Each of Piedmont’s chief officers had his
own management style. Do you have your own
way to work with and coordinate different
departments?
1 don’t have any specific management style be
sides expecting the best efforts from myself and
others in operating this company. I’m basically
people-oriented and believe in good communica
tions and an aggressive approach toward reach
ing goals. We must be honest, work smart, work
hard and do what is necessary to achieve our
goals. Lastly, we must be flexible enough to un
derstand and adjust to changes we encounter
within the company and the industry.
A lot of people in the field would like to meet
you. Do you have any plans to travel through
the system and speak with employees?
As indicated in my June 24 letter to employ
ees, I intend to travel throughout the system to
meet as many people as possible. By the time
this article is printed I’ll have already visited
Charlotte, Baltimore, and Dayton and plan to
visit more stations as my schedule will allow.
Any special message for employees?
First, keep up your outstanding performance.
As I also mentioned in the June 24 letter. Pied
mont is such a fine organization because of you
and your efforts. Individually and collectively,
you are responsible for Piedmont’s success. It is
Tbm Schick
because of your dedication, professionalism and
commitment to safety and service that we have
such a fine reputation.
Second, be patient with the merger process.
Excellent policies and procedures are being in
tegrated and implemented, but it takes time to
do them properly. We’ve had a series of good and
successful decisions concerning the merger, such
as pay parity for customer service and reserva
tions personnel, and adopting first-class service
throughout the combined company. More deci
sions are being implemented every day. We will
continue to communicate these decisions as
quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Third, USAir is a fine company. All the ingre
dients for success in this merger are present,
including a strong management team and excel
lent personnel. By completing this merger, we
can become the premier carrier in the industry.
Achieving a successful merger is in each of our
best interests, and it’s also in the best interest of
our passengers.
/A little background
Tom Schick joined Piedmont in 1986 as
vice president-maintenance and engineer
ing. He was named senior vice president-
operations in August 1987 and was elected to
his current position as president and chief
operating officer on June 24.
Schick, 46, began his airline career in 1961
at Pan American World Airways. He held a
number of positions at Pan Am, including
director-base material support and director-
inventory management. He joined USAir in
1979 where he also held various positions,
the latest as vice president-maintenance be
fore joining Piedmont.
Schick holds a bachelor of science degree
in business administration from the State
University of New York at Albany and an as
sociate degree in management from the State
University of New York at Farmingdale. A na
tive of New York City, he and his wife, Col
lette, who have three daughters, live in
Winston-Salem.
Jl
WO' questions cover seniority, sports
As of mid-July, we have received more than
2,100 calls on the ‘800’ information line which
have generated over 1,050 individual responses
as well as general answers in the Piedmonitor
and Declassified. The following is a sampling
of some of the questions and management’s
responses;
Q. If we were unable to sign up for the em
ployee stock purchase plan offering, which be
gan in March and ends in December, will we
have another opportunity?
A, The employee stock purchase plan’s offerings
are only made once a year. Typically, a new offer
ing has commenced one month after the previ
ous offering has concluded. Although the board
of directors has not yet considered a ninth offer
ing under the plan, if such an offering were to
commence on February 1, 1989, enrollment
forms would be due on Friday, January 13, 1989.
Above answer provided by Jack Walker, chief
financial officer.
Q, I have received a new seniority date for ser
vice pin awards. Do I use this date for bidding
. . .sick leave?
A. station agents accrue three types of senior
ity, each of which is used for different purposes;
1. Company—The date of most recent full
time employment which may be adjusted giving
credit for one-half of post-May 1979, part-time
service. Company seniority is used to determine
vacation eligibility, sick leave eligibility, pension
credit eligibility and vesting.
2. Department—Begins on the first day of em
ployment within the department. Department se
niority is used to determine furlough and recall
privileges, shifts and days off and vacation and
holiday scheduling.
3. Service—This date is the accumulation of
company service, regardless of breaks in employ
ment. The service seniority is used to determine
eligibility for service pins and the employee term
pass.
We are in the process of reviewing all Piedmont
employee seniority dates, and particularly those
with previous part-time service, to ensure com
patibility with USAir seniority policies.
In reference to this specific inquiry, the answer
is no. The newly-adjusted service seniority date
is only applicable to those items indicated in
definition number three above.
Above answer provided by Ray Welch, director-
personnel administration.
Q, Does USAir have company activities such
as softball tournaments for sports enthusiasts?
A, USAir employees, on their own, are involved
in a number of sporting activities including soft
ball teams; basketball (see sports section, page
8), golf and hockey tournaments; a running
club; an amateur radio club; and others. How
ever, the best way to find out about sports activi
ties is to develop contacts with USAir employees
in your city. Both the USAir News and the Pied
monitor publish information on activities of
these clubs and tournaments for employees who
are interested in participating.
Above answer provided by Mike Clark, director-
public relations.
Flight attendants honored in Washington, DC
In special ceremonies held in Washington,
DC in June, two Piedmont flight attendants,
Francesca Falbo and Susan Fuller, were hon
ored by the Association of Flight Attendants
for their assistance to passengers during an
aircraft emergency.
The two CUT-based flight attendants were
aboard Flight 486 from Charlotte to Columbus,
OH, on April 14 when the right engine of the
aircraft disintegrated. Falbo and Fuller were
recognized for calming passengers and help
ing them to put on oxygen masks when debris
from the engine pierced the fuselage causing
rapid decompression.
Falbo has been a flight attendant since Decem
ber 1985. Fuller joined Piedmont in April 1986.
Special commemoration was given to Aloha
Airlines flight attendant C.B. Lansing who died
during the incident aboard Aloha Flight 243 on
April 28, and to Pacific Southwest Airlines flight
attendants Debbie Neil, Debra Vuylsteke and
Julie Gottesman, who were killed in the Califor
nia crash of PSA Flight 1771 in December 1987.
Also honored at the ceremonies were Aloha
Airlines flight attendants Michelle Honda,
Amy Jones-Brown and Jane Sato-Tomita, and
Horizon Air flight attendant Kim Wailker.
Piedmonitor • Juiy '1988