Piedmont Airlines

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This article is about the airline founded as Henson Airlines in 1962, but currently called Piedmont Airlines. For the airline founded as Piedmont Airlines in 1948, see Piedmont Airlines (1948–1989).
Piedmont Airlines
250px
IATA ICAO Callsign
PT PDT PIEDMONT
Founded 1962
Commenced operations 1948
Hubs As American Eagle:
Focus cities As American Eagle:
Frequent-flyer program AAdvantage
Airport lounge Admirals Club
Alliance Star Alliance (affiliate; 2004-2014)
Oneworld (affiliate; 2014-present)
Fleet size 38
Destinations 47
Parent company American Airlines Group
Headquarters Salisbury, Maryland
Key people Stephen R. Farrow (CEO)
Employees 5,221 (2013)
Website piedmont-airlines.com

Piedmont Airlines, Inc. /ˈpiːdmɒnt/ is an American regional airline operating for American Eagle, formerly US Airways Express. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group, headquartered in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland,[1] near the city of Salisbury.[2] It conducts flight operations using Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.[3] Its main base is Wicomico Regional Airport, Salisbury, with hubs at Philadelphia International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

History

The airline was formed in 1961 by Richard A. Henson as Henson Aviation, a fixed-base operator in Hagerstown, Maryland. It began its first scheduled flights to Washington National Airport in 1962 under the Hagerstown Commuter name, later changed to Henson Airlines.[3] Allegheny Airlines (which became US Airways, which in turn has now merged with American Airlines) and Henson began one of the world's first code sharing arrangements in 1967. Henson re-branded itself as an Allegheny Commuter carrier using Beechcraft 99 aircraft. It initially developed a route structure serving Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore, while establishing a new headquarters for Allegheny Commuter at Salisbury, Maryland in 1968. In the 1970s, the airline upgraded to Short 330 and de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops.[3]

In 1983, Piedmont Aviation bought Henson and re-branded the airline as "Henson, The Piedmont Regional Airline." Under Piedmont's control, the airline expanded rapidly, particularly in Florida. Both were purchased by the USAir Group in 1987 with Piedmont absorbed two years later and Henson's aircraft repainted in USAir Express livery.[4] The 1980s saw rapid growth by the company with the upgrade of its fleet to the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft and fleet expansion. With the growth in capacity, the airline expanded to Florida, including numerous intrastate routes in Florida, and it opened a maintenance facility in Jacksonville.[3]

The Piedmont name was resurrected in 1993, when USAir (now American Airlines) renamed Henson to "Piedmont Airlines", to protect the Piedmont brand name, which could be used by others if not exercised in trade use for a period of time. USAir continued this practice by changing the name of its two other wholly owned regional airline subsidiaries, Jetstream and Allegheny Commuter, to PSA Airlines and Allegheny Airlines, respectively. (Pacific Southwest Airlines was the name of a California-based airline merged into USAir.) In 1997, USAir was renamed US Airways, and Piedmont was likewise re-branded as a US Airways Express carrier. US Airways merged Allegheny Airlines into Piedmont in 2004.

Operations

The airline had 5,221 employees, as of October 2013. As of October 2013, the airline operated 300 daily flights to 47 unique destinations.[5]

As of December 2013, Piedmont is currently the exclusive operator out at Tweed New Haven Airport, Hilton Head Airport, and Williamsport Regional Airport, and is the only operator out of Salisbury–Ocean City–Wicomico Regional Airport.

Piedmont Airlines flights were rebranded as American Eagle on October 17, 2015, due to US Airways' merger with American Airlines in December 2013.

Crew Bases

Fleet

A US Airways Express Dash 8 at Albany International Airport
Short 330 of Henson Airlines at Baltimore–Washington International Airport on 11 September 1983

As of April 2015, the Piedmont Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[6][7]

Piedmont Airlines Current Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 25[8] — 37 Introduced in 1984.
de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 11 — 50 Introduced in 2001, purchased used[9]
Embraer ERJ-145 1 19 50 Will begin revenue service Spring 2016, aircraft are used from Envoy Air[10]
Total 37 20

Retired fleet

Piedmont Airlines Retired Fleet
Aircraft[3] Introduction Retired Replacement(s) Notes
Beechcraft Model 99 1967 1987 Short 330
Short 330 1977 1989 de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100
de Havilland Canada Dash 7 1979 1997 de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300
de Havilland Canada Dash 8-200 1996 2008 In use by other carriers[9]

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Career Opportunities." Piedmont Airlines. Retrieved on May 20, 2009. "5443 Airport Terminal Rd Salisbury, MD 21804 "
  2. ↑ "About Piedmont." Piedmont Airlines. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Piedmont.htm
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ ERJ-145s coming in December
  11. ↑ The first female commercial U.S. pilot fatality involving a propeller aircraft was that of First Officer Zilda A. Spadaro-Wolan, in the Henson Airlines flight 1517 turboprop crash of September 23, 1985 near Grottoes, Virginia.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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