On a cold day in February, 1948, a small DC-3 took to the skies over Wilmington, North Carolina enroute to Cincinnati, Ohio with intermediate stops in Southern Pines, Charlotte and Ashville, North Carolina, Tri-Cities, Tennessee and Lexington, Kentucky.
Piedmont Airlines Flight 41 was carrying one paying passenger, Piedmont's founder T.H. Davis who was not yet 30 years old and a handful of local dignitaries.
From this humble beginning, Piedmont Airlines grew from the smallest of 17 local and trunk airlines to become the 6th largest airline in the United States in terms of passengers carried, flying over 200 jet aircraft from Los Angeles to London and more revenue passengers annually than British Airways, Pan Am or TWA while consistently placing in the Top 3 U.S. flag carriers with the fewest passenger complaints according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In recognition of its outstanding success, Piedmont Airlines was named Air Transport Worlds' "Airline of the Year" in 1984.
August 5th, 2024, marks the 35th anniversary of the merger with US Airways (formerly USAir) and the end of scheduled operations as Piedmont Airlines. On September 27, 2005, US Airways was purchased in bankruptcy by America West Airlines. A merger of the two airlines' FAA operating certificates occurred on September 25, 2007 (the US Airways certificate survived), ending the 24-year history of the America West Airlines name. On December 09, 2013, US Airways purchased American Airlines in bankruptcy and US Airways and American Airlines merge to form American Airlines Group, operating today as the NEW AMERICAN AIRLINES since October 16, 2015.
While the "Route of the Pacemaker" no longer exists, the spirit of Piedmont that came to life on that fateful day in February, 1948 lives on in the men and women who served our customers with that "PIEDMONT KNOW HOW"!
We invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy the web site
as you explore the history and accomplishments of
THE ORIGINAL & LEGACY
PIEDMONT AIRLINES!