Piedmont Airlines (1948–1989)
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2009) |
|
||||
| Founded | 1948 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1989 (integrated into USAir). | |||
| Operating bases | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | |||
| Hubs | Charlotte/Douglas International Airport Baltimore/Washington International Airport | |||
| Secondary hubs | James M. Cox Dayton International Airport Syracuse Hancock International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 12 different types of aircraft | |||
| Destinations | 95 (Sept 1988) | |||
| Company slogan | Flight of the Pacemaker | |||
| Headquarters | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | |||
| Key people |
Thomas Henry Davis - Founder William R. Howard - CEO |
|||
Piedmont Airlines (IATA: PI, ICAO: PDT, Call sign: PIEDMONT) was a major airline in the United States which operated from 1948 until merged into USAir in 1989. Its headquarters were at One Piedmont Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a building that is now part of Wake Forest University.[1][2]
In April 1989, shortly before it merged into USAir, Piedmont had 22,000 employees.[1] In September 1988 it flew to 95 airports from hubs in the eastern United States; its prop affiliates flew to 39 more.
Contents |
History[edit]
The company that would become Piedmont Airlines was founded by Thomas Henry Davis (1918 – April 22, 1999[3]) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1940 when Davis purchased Camel City Flying Service and changed the name to Piedmont Aviation.[4] Piedmont originally operated as an airplane repair service and a training school for pilots in the War Department Civilian Pilot Training Program. In 1944 Davis filed an application to run a passenger flight service in the southeast. After several years of lobbying government agencies and fighting legal challenges from other airlines, Piedmont received authorization on January 1, 1948. The first flight, from Wilmington, North Carolina to Cincinnati, was on February 20, 1948.[5]
Davis grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[6] As a child, he loved airplanes and often used his allowance to take flying lessons. He took pre-med classes at the University of Arizona.[3][6] At the same time, he worked as a part-time flight instructor.
Foundation[edit]
Like most airlines before deregulation Piedmont did not have hubs. The airline flew jets to small airports and connected unlikely city pairs with jet flights. Kinston, North Carolina, and Florence, South Carolina; Roanoke, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina; Lynchburg, Virginia, and New York City's LaGuardia Airport; Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Bristol/Kingsport/Johnson City, Tennessee; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Lynchburg, Virginia.
Its early routes stretched from Wilmington, N.C., northwest to Cincinnati, Ohio, with numerous intermediate stops. Early routes were operated with Douglas DC-3 aircraft.
Expansion[edit]
Revenue passenger traffic, in millions of passenger-miles (scheduled flights only)[7]
| Year | Pax-Miles |
|---|---|
| 1951 | 44 |
| 1955 | 69 |
| 1960 | 94 |
| 1965 | 287 |
| 1970 | 745 |
| 1975 | 1061 |
Piedmont began with the Douglas DC-3 and later added the Fairchild F27 and Martin 4-0-4. It started FH 227B flights in 1967 and YS-11A flights in May 1969. In August 1953 it scheduled flights to 26 airports; in May 1968 it served 47 airports.
Its first jets were 92-seat Boeing 727s, first delivered in 1967. Boeing 737-200s arrived in 1968 and larger Boeing 727-200s were added from 1977. One Boeing 727 that Piedmont bought from Northwest Orient Airlines had been involved in the D. B. Cooper hijacking in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1955 the network extended from Cincinnati and Louisville east to the coast from Norfolk to Myrtle Beach. At the end of 1978, still under U.S. route regulation, Piedmont's routes reached north to New York, west to Denver, Colorado, and south to Miami, Florida.
Deregulation[edit]
Following airline deregulation in the late 1970s the airline grew rapidly and developed a hub at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Piedmont bought Empire Airlines, based in Utica, New York, in 1985.[1] Passenger-miles for the merged airline in 1987 were almost nine times Piedmont's RPMs in 1977.
Later hubs included Baltimore/Washington International Airport; James M. Cox Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio; and Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York. Nonstops from Charlotte to the west coast started in 1984; these 727-200s were Piedmont's first jets with a First Class section.[1] Nonstop 767s Charlotte to London Gatwick Airport started in 1987. Shortly before USAir acquired it Piedmont was the first airline to announce fleet-wide adoption of the Traffic Collision Avoidance System.[1]
Absorption into USAir[edit]
Piedmont's expanding route system, its loyal passenger following, and its profitability caused it to gain notice among other airlines for a potential buyout. In August 1989, Piedmont Airlines was absorbed by USAir (formerly Allegheny Airlines), which had previously focused its route network around the northeastern states. The combined carrier became one of the East Coast's largest airlines. USAir subsequently changed its name to US Airways, which then merged with America West Airlines.
Piedmont Airlines still exists as a brand within US Airways, and flies out of many locations doing business as US Airways Express.
Historical fleet[edit]
- Boeing 737-400
- Boeing 767-201ER (The B767 aircraft enabled Piedmont to introduce new international transatlantic service flying nonstop between Charlotte and London Gatwick)
- Douglas DC-3
- Fokker F27 "Friendship"
- Fokker F28 "Fellowship" (formerly operated by Empire Airlines which was acquired by Piedmont)
- Fairchild Hiller FH-227
- Martin 4-0-4
- NAMC YS-11
Accidents[edit]
On October 30, 1959, Piedmont suffered its first crash when Flight 349 slammed into Bucks Elbow Mountain near Charlottesville, Virginia due to a navigational error, whose cause remains in dispute. Twenty-six of the 27 people aboard died.
On July 19, 1967, Piedmont suffered another fatal accident when Flight 22, a Boeing 727, collided with a Cessna 310 over Hendersonville, North Carolina. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the pilot of the Cessna went off course, placing his aircraft in the path of the 727.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 1, 1989. 113.
- ^ http://www.emporis.com/building/1piedmontplaza-winstonsalem-nc-usa
- ^ a b http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/24/arts/thomas-h-davis-dies-at-81-founder-of-piedmont-airlines.html
- ^ "Piedmont Aviation Employee Newsletter Archives on DigitalNC.org". Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ "JetPiedmont.com, website of the Piedmont Aviation Historical Society". Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ a b http://www.jetpiedmont.com/thd/
- ^ Handbook of Airline Statistics (biannual CAB publication)
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Piedmont Airlines |
- Piedmont Aviation Historical Society
- Carolinas Aviation Museum Custodian of the Piedmont Airlines DC-3 (Airworthy & formerly owned and operated by Piedmont Airlines and USAir)
- Story of Piedmont
- Piedmont Timetables
- "Sole survivor: Wreck of Flight #349"
