Friday, October 11, 2024 05:24 PM UTC
| Jul 2, 1940 | Piedmont Aviation incorporated in North Carolina as an aircraft sales and service business |
| Jul 1, 1941 | Civil Aeronautics Board approves Piedmont Aviation as the only federally licensed repair and overhaul facility between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. |
| Jun 6, 1944 | Piedmont Aviation applies to the CAB to conduct scheduled local service to cities in the Southeast. |
| Apr 4, 1947 | The CAB awards Piedmont a Certificate of Public Covenience and Necessity, allowing it to begin scheduled service over four routes. The certificate is placed on hold pending an appeal by an unsuccessful applicant that eventually goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
| Dec 12, 1947 | The CAB reaffirms its decision to award Piedmont a certificate, clearing the way for the airline to begin operations. |
| Jan 1, 1948 | Piedmont Airlines (PI) formed as a division of Piedmont Aviation. |
| Feb 20, 1948 | Piedmont Airlines makes its first scheduled flight between Wilmington, N.C. and Cincinnati, Ohio. |
| May 14, 1948 | Piedmont Airlines provides air service along all routes authorized by the CAB. |
| Feb 6, 1950 | The U.S. Supreme Court overturns an Appeals Court decision and upholds the CAB's decision to give a certificate to PI. This ends the legal challenges to PI's right to operate an airline. |
| Apr 1, 1951 | Piedmont Airlines publishes first issue of employee paper, the Piedmonitor. |
| May 26, 1952 | The CAB renews PI's certificate for seven years in "special recognition" of its outstanding service. |
| Feb 26, 1954 | Piedmont Airlines carries its millionth passenger since it began scheduled service. It is the first local-service airline to carry a million passengers. |
| Dec 1, 1954 | Construction begins on PI's new office building and hangar across from Winston-Salem's Smith Reynolds Airport. The complex is completed in February 1956. |
| Jun 1, 1955 | Piedmont Airlines carries first class mail for the first time. |
| Dec 6, 1955 | CAB awards Piedmont Airlines a permanent certificate. |
| Nov 8, 1957 | Piedmont Airlines files a route application with the CAB which includes service to ATL and DCA. If approved, the new service would add 2,952 route miles and 10 new cities and nearly double the system. Approval comes almost five years later on March 20, 1962. |
| Nov 14, 1958 | Regular service with the F-27 begins between Cincinnati and Wilmington. |
| Feb 1, 1961 | The company applies for authority to provide helicopter service between Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore, but service never materializes. |
| Dec 4, 1961 | Piedmont Airlines agrees to buy 17 44-passenger Martin 404 aircraft from TWA for $3.25 million. First 404 service begins January 15, 1962. |
| Feb 20, 1962 | Piedmont Airlines retires the last of its DC-3 aircraft on the 15th anniversary of its first scheduled flight. |
| Mar 6, 1962 | CAB authorizes multiple new routes in nine states plus Washington, D.C., expanding PI's system by 50 percent. New service ties PI's system to Baltimore and Atlanta. |
| Jun 1, 1962 | First Piedmont Airlines stewardess training class held in Winston-Salem. |
| Jan 6, 1963 | Piedmont Airlines and Allegheny Airlines (predecessor to USAir) offer a joint fare, the lowest air fare ever offered in the world by scheduled carriers. For $99, a foreign passenger may buy a ticket permitting unlimited travel for 30 days over the airlines' routes. The fare is the first joint tariff ever offered by any local service carriers. |
| Dec 17, 1963 | A Piedmont Airlines F-27 becomes the first commercial aircraft to land on a new landing strip near the Wright Brothers Monument at Kitty Hawk, N.C., marking the 60th anniversary of powered flight. |
| Oct 21, 1964 | Piedmont's Board of Directors authorizes a cash dividend of 10 cents per share on the company's common stock. It is the first cash dividend to be paid by any publicly-owned local service airline. |
| Oct 31, 1964 | For the first time in PI's history, the airline boards 100,000 passengers in a single month. |
| Dec 4, 1964 | Piedmont Airlines achieves its goal of carrying one million passengers in a year. It ends the year having carried 1,078,028 passengers. In October that year it had exceeded 100,000 passengers in a month for the first time, having carried 100,824 passeners. |
| Jan 20, 1966 | Piedmont Airlines orders six 90-passenger Boeing 737 jets with an option for six more, the largest such order placed by a local-service airline. Delivery begins in April 1968. |
| Apr 20, 1966 | Piedmont Airlines orders 10 44-passenger Fairchild-Hiller-227B prop-jets to replace the aging F-27. Delivery begins in November 1966. |
| Sep 30, 1966 | CAB authorizes PI to begin service to New York City and new service to Washington, D.C. at Dulles International Airport. |
| Nov 1, 1966 | Piedmont Airlines opens the Piedmont Aerospace Institute to train aircraft mechanics and technicians. It remains open through December 1984. |
| Mar 15, 1967 | Piedmont Airlines leases two Boeing 727 jet airliners to use pending delivery of B-737s. |
| Mar 15, 1967 | The FH-227B is put into service. |
| Apr 1, 1967 | Piedmont Airlines breaks ground for new $8 million home office and maintenance facility at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem. Building is occupied in August 1968. |
| Oct 18, 1967 | Piedmont Airlines board authorizes purchase of 21 Nihon YS-11 jets to replace aging Martin 404s. Delivery begins in May 1968. |
| Apr 9, 1968 | Piedmont's first Boeing 737, the PI Pacemaker, sets new speed record for twin-jet transports during delivery flight, flying 2,501 miles from Seattle to Wilmington in four hours and 47 minutes. |
| May 16, 1968 | Piedmont Airlines takes delivery of first YS-11. The Cherry Blossom Pacemaker is put into service on May 19. |
| Aug 1, 1968 | Regular service with the B-737 begins. |
| Oct 25, 1968 | New headquarters building on North Liberty Street in Winston-Salem is dedicated. |
| Dec 1, 1969 | Piedmont Airlines begins service to Chicago. |
| Feb 15, 1970 | Last of the Martin 404s is replaced with YS-11. PI now operates a fleet powered only by jet turbines. |
| May 8, 1971 | Piedmont Airlines opens new Central Reservations Office in Winston-Salem with computerized reservation system. |
| Oct 25, 1975 | Last FH-227 makes its final flight. |
| Dec 31, 1977 | Piedmont Airlines exceeds four million passengers for the year. The final tally is 4,167,954 passengers. |
| Sep 25, 1978 | Piedmont Airlines stock listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. |
| Apr 1, 1980 | Piedmont Airlines opens a second reservations office, in Nashville, Tenn. |
| Mar 25, 1981 | Piedmont Airlines announces order for eight more 737s with options for 20 more, to begin delivery in 1982. Order will make PI's 737 fleet the largest in the world. |
| May 6, 1981 | Tom Davis steps down as president and takes new role as chairman and CEO; Executive Vice President William R. Howard is named president. |
| Jun 8, 1981 | Piedmont Airlines opens third reservations center, in Orlando, Fla. |
| Aug 3, 1981 | Piedmont Airlines opens the Thomas H. Davis Training Center in Winston-Salem for training pilots, flight attendants, avionics technicians, station agents and dispatchers. |
| Dec 11, 1981 | Norfolk & Western Railway becomes the largest holder of PI stock with purchase of approximately 20 percent of PI's outstanding shares. |
| Dec 11, 1981 | Piedmont and Norfolk and Western Railway Company enter into a stock purchase agreement whereas Norfolk and Western agrees that until January 26, 1987, it will not acquire more than 20.5% of the total combined voting power of all securities of Piedmont, or dispose of the Shares it owns in a block. In addition, the agreement provides for Norfolk to designate two nominees for election to Piedmont's Board of Directors and for Piedmont to designate one nominee for election to Norfolk's Board of Directors. |
| Jan 1, 1982 | Piedmont Airlines sponsors NASCAR race team of Richard Childress, making it the first airline to sponsor a NASCAR. |
| Mar 14, 1982 | Piedmont's Pacemaker N259P, the Shenandoah Pacemaker, arrives in Winston-Salem and Piedmont officially retires the YS-11 from service. In doing so, Piedmont becomes an all jet airline. |
| Mar 29, 1982 | Piedmont Airlines opens fourth reservations center, in Reston, Va. |
| May 1, 1982 | Piedmont Airlines opens Presidential Suites at 18 locations on its route system. |
| May 2, 1982 | Piedmont Airlines pioneers the modern hub system with opening of new $64 million terminal in Charlotte, N.C. |
| May 10, 1982 | A Piedmont Boeing 737-200 takes to the sky with the first all female crew onboard a jet aircraft. Our crew consisted of Captain Cheryl Faye Peters, First Officer Rebecca Rose Schroeder, and Flight Attendants Paula Lanier, Dolly Wenat and Cindy Perry. |
| Jul 1, 1982 | Piedmont opens the Dayton hub with 16 daily flights to 9 destinations. Hub soon defies analysts' predictions and exceeds traffic projections. |
| Jul 2, 1982 | Flight 328, a B737-200 traveling from Norfolk to Newark, is flown by an all-female crew, a first for PI and the airline industy. In the cockpit are Captain Cheryl Peters and First Officer Becky Rose; and flight attendants include Paula Lanier, Dolly Wenat, and Cindy Perry. |
| May 4, 1983 | Piedmont Airlines founder Tom Davis retires as chairman and CEO. Piedmont President William R. Howard is named CEO. |
| May 8, 1983 | Piedmont Airlines opens $11.5 million maintenance facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, NC. |
| Jun 30, 1983 | Piedmont boards one million passengers in a month for the first time in it's history. |
| Jul 15, 1983 | Piedmont opens third hub in Baltimore, MD. with 29 daily flights to 14 destinations. |
| Jul 29, 1983 | Piedmont Airlines receives approval to acquire Henson Aviation, Inc. based in Salisbury, MD as a subsidiary - this is the first time in aviation history a certified airline has owned its own regional partner. Henson begins operations as a PI regional airline on October 30, 1983. |
| Dec 31, 1983 | Piedmont Airlines ends 1983 as the 10th largest airline in the United States, and the 17th largest in the world, with 11.7 million passengers in 1983. |
| Apr 1, 1984 | Piedmont Airlines begins transcontinental service to the West Coast with daily flights to Los Angeles from Charlotte and Dayton. With Los Angeles service, PI offers first-class service for the first time. |
| Apr 1, 1984 | Fokker F-28 joins PI's fleet. |
| Nov 1, 1984 | Piedmont Airlines introduces its Frequent Flyer Bonus Program. |
| Nov 1, 1984 | Piedmont adds transcontinental service to San Francisco. |
| Nov 15, 1984 | Piedmont joins the ranks of a major airline with annual sales in excess of $1 billion. This occurred in just six years after airline deregulation. |
| Jan 1, 1985 | Air Transport World magazine awards PI its prestigious "Airline of the Year" award for 1984. |
| Mar 1, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines opens a fifth reservations center, in Dayton, Ohio. |
| Apr 19, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines takes delivery of its first Boeing 737-300, a significant improvement over the 737-200 models. The B-737-300 begins service on May 1. |
| May 1, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines signs agreement with Sunbird Airlines, making it the first commuter carrier tied into PI's reservation and route system. |
| May 1, 1985 | First B737-300 enters service. |
| Sep 14, 1985 | Piedmont's computer reservations system, the CAREsystem, opens in Winston-Salem. |
| Oct 1, 1985 | Piedmont puts into action "Project Omaha", the codename for 68 daily intrastate Florida Shuttle flights serving 10 cities within Florida. |
| Oct 1, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines opens F-28 Training Center in Tampa, Fla. |
| Oct 2, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines announces merger agreement with Empire Airlines based in Utica, N.Y.; the acquisition is completed May 1, 1986. |
| Nov 1, 1985 | Britt Airways and Jetstream International join the PI commuter system. |
| Nov 1, 1985 | Piedmont Airlines Flight 481 makes history as the first commercial aircraft and Piedmont the first air carrier in the world to be certified for use of a windshear detection/alerting system onboard its aircraft. |
| Feb 1, 1986 | Piedmont Airlines acquires Empire Airlines based in Utica/Rome, NY. As an operator of 15 Fokker F28 twinjets, Empire has a compatible fleet and a large presence in the important upstate New York and New England markets. |
| Mar 30, 1986 | Bill Howard holds closed door meetings with certain executives at USAir concerning a possible business combination between Piedmont and USAir. |
| Apr 30, 1986 | Piedmont stock traded at a high of $44 1/4 and closed at $43 3/4. This compares to a high of $29 1/2 and a closing price of $29 one year earlier. |
| May 1, 1986 | Empire Airlines merges with the Piedmont family. With the merger, Piedmont gains 1,000 new employee's and family members, 15 F28-4000's, a hub in Syracuse and adds 11 new cities to its route map for a greatly enhanced presence in the northeast. Piedmont now has a fleet of 149 aircraft including 63 737-200s, 13 737-300s, 20 F-28-1000s, 19 F-28-4000s and 34 727-200s flying 1,177 daily departures to 87 airports (111 cities) in 27 states, the District of Columbia Ottawa and Montreal, Canada, making PI an international carrier. |
| May 28, 1986 | At the company's annual stockholder meeting, an ammendment to the corporate charter passes requiring any potential buyer to pay for the stock in cash, and pay a fair price to each stockholder, as determined by the performance of Piedmont stock on the open market. If the potential buyer would not agree to such terms, then the sale would have to be approved by either 75 percent of all stockholders, or a majority of the board members. Board members will also be divided into three "classes" with a third of the members' terms expiring each year. In response to a question concerning the possibility of a Piedmont merger, Bill Howard said numerous combinations have been proposed. "The problem has been that Piedmont has done well on its own, and any consolidation with another airline would have to ensure that the merged Company would be as strong as Piedmont is today," Howard said. "We have simply been unable to find such a partner." |
| May 30, 1986 | Piedmont becomes the sixth US flag carrier to board over two million passengers in a single month, joining American, Delta, Eastern, TWA and United. |
| Jun 1, 1986 | Piedmont inaugurates service to New York's Kennedy airport and begins a marketing alliance with TWA that "feeds" 20 TWA destinations in Europe and the Middle East. |
| Jun 4, 1986 | Piedmont announces it is the launch customer of a new generation Boing 737 aircraft - the 737-400 with an order for 25 aircraft and options for 30 more. Delivery is set to begin in September, 1988 and to be completed by December, 1989. |
| Jun 19, 1986 | Piedmont launches the largest advertising campaign in it's history targeting New York City. |
| Jul 15, 1986 | Actor McLean Stevenson joins Piedmont as part of marketing campaign. |
| Jul 25, 1986 | Piedmont and the City of Charlotte file a joint application with the U.S. Department of Transportation to designate Charlotte as a gateway to London, England and Piedmont as the carrier to operate transatlantic flights on the route. Piedmont also announces the order for 6 Boeing 767-200 Extended Range widebody aircraft with options for 6 more. Delivery of the 767 is set to begin in May, 1987. |
| Aug 15, 1986 | Piedmont boards the millionth passenger on the "Piedmont Shuttle" network in Florida. |
| Aug 21, 1986 | Tom Schick, former Vice President-Maintenance Operations for USAir, joins Piedmont as Vice President-Maintenance and Engineering. |
| Aug 25, 1986 | Piedmont stock soars to a new record high of $47. On August 30, 1985, Piedmont stock closed at $31 1/2. |
| Sep 11, 1986 | Piedmont, the City of Charlotte, and civic parties of the Tampa Bay area file a joint petition with the Department of Transportation asking the DOT to shift the dormant Tampa gateway designation for London to Charlotte and that Piedmont be selected to fly the route. |
| Sep 30, 1986 | Discussions held between Piedmont and Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA) in respect of a possible transaction involving the acquisition of TWA by Piedmont. |
| Oct 1, 1986 | Piedmont celebrates first anniversary of The Piedmont Shuttle in Florida. |
| Nov 15, 1986 | Piedmont announces "The airline rated highest in service without even having First Class, introduces First Class" and plans to offer First Class on every aircraft in the fleet by summer, 1987. |
| Nov 30, 1986 | Piedmont adds another major record by boarding more than 100,000 passengers in a single day. |
| Dec 15, 1986 | Bill Howard named Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; Bill McGee named Executive Vice President. |
| Dec 15, 1986 | Piedmont has 18 737-300s, 62 737-200s, 25 F28-4000s, 20 F28-1000s and 34 727-200s for a total of 159 aircraft and now serves more cities east of the Mississippi River than any other airline. |
| Jan 12, 1987 | PI purchases its corporate headquarters building, One Piedmont Plaza, and adjacent building, Two Piedmont Plaza; and announces plans to lease both a new three-story addition to its computer reservations center and a new office building next to its Winston-Salem reservations center. |
| Jan 14, 1987 | Piedmont announces 1986 earnings grew to a record $72.4 million on operating revenues of $1.87 billion. Piedmont carried 22,795,759 passengers in 1986, up 26.3% from the previous year. |
| Jan 15, 1987 | Piedmont earns Air Transport World's "1986 Financial Management Award". In accepting the award Howard Mackinnon, Piedmont's Senior Vice President-Finance stated, "We are one of just three airlines to have earned a profit each year since deregulation. This award is evidence of our ability to grow while maintaining a strong balance sheet, and is further evidence of the hard work by each of our 20,000 employees." |
| Jan 26, 1987 | Norfolk and Western files an amendment to its Schedule 13D, which states it owns approximently 19.44% of Piedmont shares. The Amended 13D also stated that Norfolk had retained an investment banking firm to assist it in analyzing its alternatives with respect to Piedmont and its investment in Piedmont, and to advise it in connection with the possible acquisition of Piedmont. The Amended 13D further stated that Norfolk intended to explore with Piedmont the possibility of an acquisition of Piedmont and the Norfolk should no longer be considered a passive investor in Piedmont. |
| Jan 30, 1987 | Piedmont's stock soared to another record high of $58 3/8. On January 30, 1986, Piedmont's stock closed at $39.00. |
| Feb 1, 1987 | Henson Airlines, The Piedmont Regional Airline, begins "Shuttle Link" service to eight Florida cities with 32 daily departures. Henson serves 38 airports in 12 states and is now the nation's fifth largest regional carrier in terms of passengers boarded. |
| Feb 4, 1987 | The Board of Director's of Piedmont hold a special meeting at which it appoints a Special Committee of independent directors to consider, and advise the Board with respect to any proposals to acquire Piedmont. The Board also authorizes First Boston Corporation to assist the Special Committee in evaluation and negotiation of any proposals to acquire Piedmont and to advise the Special Committee with respect to fairness, from a financial point of view, of any proposals. Immediately after its appointment, the Special Committee meets with a director of Norfolk and Piedmont and other representatives from Norfolk, at which meeting Norfolk indicated it was prepared to pay approximately $63 a share in cash to acquire Piedmont. |
| Feb 5, 1987 | Bill Howard receives a letter from Edwin Colodny, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of USAir, in which USAir proposes to acquire Piedmont in a merger transaction in which Piedmont shareholders would receive $63 per Share, payable part in cash and part in common stock of USAir. |
| Feb 9, 1987 | Piedmont's "new" DC-3 arrives at its new home in Winston-Salem. The DC-3 will be used by Piedmont's marketing department for airshows and other special events to tell Piedmont's success story. |
| Feb 13, 1987 | Bill Howard receives a second letter from Ed Colody at USAir which states a revised proposal offering either USAir common stock valued at $71 or a combination of USAir common stock valued at $34 and $34 in cash. |
| Feb 16, 1987 | Piedmont announces a proposed acquisition of Piedmont by Norfolk Southern Corporation for $65 a share in cash. Piedmont also announced it had received two alternate proposals to acquire Piedmont from USAir Group. USAir proposes either a merger in which common stock of USAir having an average market price of $71.00 would be exchanged for each Piedmont share provided that no more than 1.90 and no less than 1.55 USAir shares would be issued for each Piedmont share, -OR- a part cash/part stock merger in which a combination of $34 in cash and a fraction of USAir shares having an average market value of $34.00 would be exchanged for each Piedmont share provided that no more than .91 shares and no less than .74 shares be issued for each Piedmont share. |
| Feb 19, 1987 | USAir delivers to Piedmont a further proposal to acquire Piedmont in a two-step transaction consisting of a cash offer for 50.1% of the fully diluted outstanding shares at $71 per share, to be followed by a merger in which each remaining share would be converted into USAir common stock having a market value of $73. The third USAir proposal was conditioned on Piedmont granting USAir the option to purchase up to 18.5% of the outstanding shares at a price of $71 per share. The Special Committee, in lieu of the third USAir proposal, withdraws its recommendation of accepting the Norfolk proposal of $65 per share in cash. |
| Mar 4, 1987 | Carl Icahn, Chairman of the Board of TWA informs Piedmont that TWA was proposing a merger of USAir with TWA in which USAir shareholders would receive $52 per share in cash. Icahn also indicated that, if a negotiated transaction was not acceptable to USAir, TWA might commence a tender offer for up to 51% of USAir's outstanding common stock at a price lower than $52 per share. Piedmont's Board of Directors vote to postpone an definitive action in respect to the third USAir proposal. |
| Mar 5, 1987 | USAir delivers its final proposal to acquire Piedmont in a two-step all cash transaction. The proposal consisted of the Offer and Merger, in which holders of shares would receive $69 per share in cash. Like the former offer, the final proposal was conditioned on the grant of an option by Piedmont to USAir, to purchase up to 18.5% of the outstanding shares at $69 per share. |
| Mar 6, 1987 | Piedmont Airlines and USAir, the last of the original local service airlines still in operation, reach agreement to merge. Agreement is announced the following Monday, March 9, 1987. |
| Mar 7, 1987 | The Special Committee and the Board of Directors of Piedmont meet to consider the final USAir proposal. Due to the all cash nature of the final proposal, any doubts relating to TWA's offer for USAir were resolved. Piedmont and USAir enter an agreement providing for the acquisition of Piedmont by USAG Acquisition Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of USAir Group. Piedmont and USAG will merge, and Piedmont will survive as a wholly-owned subsidiary of USAir Group. |
| Mar 9, 1987 | The Board of Directors of Piedmont Aviation, Inc. (with two directors absent) unanimously approve the merger agreement. USAir commences a cash tender offer for all of Piedmont's common stock at a price of $69 per share or $1.59 Billion dollars, the most expensive airline merger to date in the history of US aviation. |
| Mar 15, 1987 | Henson Airlines increases "Shuttle Link" service in Florida adding 6 destinations and 25 daily flights. The Piedmont Shuttle in Florida now has 134 daily intra-Florida jet departures between 12 Florida cities. |
| Mar 17, 1987 | TWA announces it has temporarily abandoned its attempt to takeover USAir. |
| Mar 23, 1987 | USAir seeks to buy 100 percent of Piedmont's stock through a voting trust but the DOT limits the purchase to 51% of the shares on a fully diluted basis. |
| Mar 30, 1987 | Piedmont stock hits another record high, closing at $70 1/8. On March 31, 1986, Piedmont's stock closed at $41 1/2. |
| Apr 3, 1987 | USAir's tender offer for Piedmont stock expires. Approximately 92% of Piedmont's stock is tendered. The tender is oversubscribed and USAir pays $69 a share for about 9.3 million shares which, combined with the shares it already owns, will comprise 51% of Piedmont's stock on a fully diluted basis. USAir returns the remaining shares to the stockholders. |
| Apr 23, 1987 | Piedmont Airlines receives approval to begin trans-Atlantic service to London. Service is inaugurated June 15. |
| Apr 23, 1987 | PIEDMONT TO LONDON! The Department of Transportation grants final approval of Piedmont's London application. |
| May 1, 1987 | London reservations office opens. |
| May 21, 1987 | Piedmont's first Boeing 767-200, "The Pride of Piedmont", arrives in Charlotte and is escorted to Gate C-2 by Piedmont's restored DC-3. |
| Jun 15, 1987 | Piedmont flight 160 departs Charlotte enroute to London's Gatwick Airport carrying 187 passengers. The once little airline that first scaled the Blue Ridge mountains to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River Valley, and then grew to touch the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean had now leaped the greatest barrier in its history - the Atlantic Ocean. Piedmont also introduces systemwide First Class service. |
| Jul 1, 1987 | Piedmont's fleet includes 2 767-200s, 62 737-200s, 28 737-300s, 25 F28-4000s, 20 F28-1000s and 34 727-200s for a total of 171 aircraft. |
| Jul 15, 1987 | In a USA TODAY series this month entitled "Frustrated Flyers", Piedmont ranked second among the 10 major airlines in "excellence" with Delta receiving the highest marks. In addition, Piedmont led the majors in on-time performance from January-May with 75% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule |
| Jul 23, 1987 | Piedmont Aviation shareholders approve the merger agreement between Piedmont and USAir Group. Over 59% of the shareholders represented at the meeting voted to approve. |
| Aug 1, 1987 | Tom Schick, Vice President-Maintenance and Engineering elected Senior Vice President-Operations. He replaces Gordon Bethune who left the Company to pursue other opportunities. |
| Aug 13, 1987 | William R. McGee, one of PI's original employees, is named president and CEO upon resignation of William R. Howard. |
| Aug 13, 1987 | Bill Howard resigns from Piedmont. Bill McGee, a 40 year Piedmont veteran elected Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. Bill McGee becomes the third person to head the corporation since the company's founding in 1940. |
| Sep 21, 1987 | The Administrative Law Judge reviewing the Piedmont/USAir merger recommends that the merger be disapproved, contrary to the previously announced positions of both the Department of Transportation's Public Counsel and those of the Justice Department. |
| Oct 30, 1987 | U.S. Transportation Department approves Piedmont-USAir merger. PI becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of USAir Group on November 5. |
| Oct 30, 1987 | Department of Transportation gives final approval to Piedmont/USAir merger; Piedmont's stock closes at $63, up $1.25 on the day the Department of Transportation gives final approval to Piedmont/USAir merger; Piedmont's stock closes at $63, up $1.25 on the day. |
| Nov 1, 1987 | Piedmont becomes first airline in the world to announce the purchase of and plans for fleetwide installation of TCAS-II units, an air born computer system that will warn pilots of midair collisions. |
| Nov 2, 1987 | America West appeals the DOT decision approving the Piedmont/USAir merger to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. |
| Nov 3, 1987 | US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denies the AmericaWest motion to postpone the merger of Piedmont/USAir until a legal appeal of the merger can be heard. |
| Nov 5, 1987 | Piedmont and its 23,000 employees becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of USAir Group. |
| Jan 15, 1988 | USAir Group combines to carry 61.4 million passengers in 1987; Piedmont announces it flew 25.4 million; USAir flew 24.8 million; PSA flew 11.2 million. |
| Feb 20, 1988 | Piedmont Airlines celebrates 40 years of scheduled airline service. |
| Mar 1, 1988 | Piedmont's fleet includes 62 737-200s, 39 737-300s, 34 727-200s, 20 F28-1000s, 25 F28-4000s and 5 767-200s for a total of 185 aircraft serving 96 airports (123 cities) in 30 states plus the District of Columbia, Ottawa, Montreal, London and Nassau. |
| Jun 1, 1988 | Piedmont operates 257 daily jet departures from Charlotte; 129 from Baltimore; 76 from Dayton. |
| Jun 24, 1988 | Tom Schick is named president and chief operating officer upon William R. McGee's resignation. |
| Jun 24, 1988 | Bill McGee resigns from Piedmont; Tom Schick is elected Piedmont's President and Chief Operating Officer; Ed Colodny named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont. |
| Sep 6, 1988 | Piedmont Airlines opens new 80,000 square-foot Flight Training Center, including the world's first B-737-300/400 training simulator, at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. |
| Sep 15, 1988 | Piedmont Airlines takes delivery of world's first Boeing 737-400. The airplane is christened the Thomas H. Davis Pacemaker in honor of PI founder Tom Davis; other B-737-400s will not be named. |
| Nov 1, 1988 | For the first 9 months of 1988, Piedmont posts a net profit of $117.5 million on operating revenue of $1.9 billion compared to USAir's net profit of $78.3 million on operating revenues of $2.1 billion. |
| Dec 1, 1988 | Piedmont's fleet includes 62 737-200s, 42 737-300s, 8 737-400s, 6 767-200s, 34 727-200s, 20 F28-1000s, and 25 F28-4000s for a total of 197 aircraft serving 96 airports (123 cities) in 29 states plus the District of Columbia, Ottawa, Montreal, London and Nassau. |
| May 31, 1989 | Piedmont's on-time performance falls eight spots since October, 1987 landing Piedmont in 12th place out of 13 airlines. |
| Aug 4, 1989 | Piedmont Airlines operates its last flights. Operations continue the next day as USAir. |
| Aug 4, 1989 | The last flight of Piedmont Airlines departs Dayton bound for South Bend, IN. |
| Aug 5, 1989 | Piedmont Airlines and USAIR merge. |
