singh4us
Senior
Oftentimes when speaking with veteran US Airways employees, they reminisce about their fondest memories of how life used to be "Back In The Day!"
What are some of your's???
What are some of your's???
"Back In The Day" US, PI, AL, PS
- Thread starter singh4us
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Seatacus
Veteran
Doing power-outs instead of pushbacks. We did both kinds, roll forward and turn and open reversers and back out.
Dilligas
Veteran
😀
1983...
Piedmont (the original) employees signed up for payroll deduction from our checks and bought Tom Davis a Mercedes to show our appreciation and respect for the man upon his "retirement" who made a great airline and the family atmosphere we felt.
The gift was presented on a summer day at the "Piedmont Olympics" held at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem. It was great seeing Mr. Davis do a slow lap around the track in his new car, smiling and waving out the window.
Those were the days.
RIP, Tom. Thanks for all the great Speedbird memories.
1983...
Piedmont (the original) employees signed up for payroll deduction from our checks and bought Tom Davis a Mercedes to show our appreciation and respect for the man upon his "retirement" who made a great airline and the family atmosphere we felt.
The gift was presented on a summer day at the "Piedmont Olympics" held at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem. It was great seeing Mr. Davis do a slow lap around the track in his new car, smiling and waving out the window.
Those were the days.
RIP, Tom. Thanks for all the great Speedbird memories.
drifterreno
Veteran
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This was not a fond memory but a very memorable one in my carrier. Our reservation center was on the 5th floor of the Sun Bank building at WDW in Orlando. It was a beautiful clear day--not a cloud in the sky and we were so happy to be able to watch challanger lift off from the Cape. Low and behold--tragically that was her last liftoff and we will never forget that cloud of smoke that hung in the sky eye level with our office--and was still there as we drove home in tears. Long rest our Challanger crew.
singh4us
Senior
WOW!!
Thanks for sharing this! I am not a veteran of that era but I really appreciate all of our history. Mr Davis was a great leader and legendary Pacemaker. RIP Mr.Davis.
I remember back in the early '90s seeing a B767 in Baltimore ("Back in the Day" when we were still flying BWI-LGW)which was named for Mr Davis. Is that Bird still around, does anyone know? What about the B757 Nancy Davis Pacemaker??
I also found this regarding Mr Davis (one of many):
http://www.businessnc.com/archives/2003/03...n_piedmont.html
The Home-Grown Airline
By Walter R. Turner
Tar Heel Aviation's First Century
...
With his exceptional memory of names, Davis organized socials for the workers and their families and listened to concerns and suggestions. “He could relax with the guys over a scotch and soda,” Barber remembers. “He loved his people, and they loved him.”
...
Davis knew how to cultivate loyalty among employees, passengers, business associates and stockholders. Recalls Zeke Saunders, a retired senior vice president for operations and maintenance: “His main quality was his ability to get along with and motivate people.” Throughout his career and retirement, Davis answered every letter with a typewritten response.
...
When Davis retired in 1983, airline employees demonstrated their affection by organizing a huge retirement party in Winston-Salem, giving him a Mercedes-Benz, which he drove the rest of his life, and establishing scholarships in his name at Wake Forest University. He remained a member of Piedmont’s board of directors, serving as chairman of the executive committee. Bill Howard, a former vice president with Eastern Air Lines who had been with Piedmont five years, became president and CEO.
...
Overcoming great odds, Davis established Piedmont Airlines and helped it grow into a company that brought economic strength, vitality and prestige to North Carolina. During his lifetime, he received a number of civic and aviation awards. One of his most cherished honors was the Tony Jannus Award, presented to airline founders, industry leaders and investors who contributed to the advancement of scheduled air service.
“Tom Davis,” says aviation writer and historian Robert Sterling, “was a class act.”
Walter R. Turner is a historian at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer. His article was excerpted from The North Carolina Century: Tar Heels Who Made a Difference, 1900-2000, with permission of the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte.
Also:
JetPiedmont.com (Piedmont Aviation Historical Society)
http://www.jetpiedmont.com
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ILMgwm
Member
Simply, I miss Piedmont Punch and Smoked Almonds. It was unique during the 80's. Maybe something in terms of catering need to be relived?
Dog Wonder
Veteran
In CLT commuters, before it was contracted out, there was an annual Christmas Tree Throw. It was in honor of a Manager who lost it over the holidays and threw the Christmas tree out of the breakroom (trailer) door.
The rules were simple, whoever screamed the best curses and threw the tree the furthest won. An intense and hilarious competition.
The rules were simple, whoever screamed the best curses and threw the tree the furthest won. An intense and hilarious competition.
TheWatcher
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Back in the 80's Piedmont free liqour Norfolk to Newark in direct competition with Peoples Express 🙂
RowUnderDCA
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ooooh.. I remember the smoked almonds, now that you mention it.
I couldn't agree more! Thankfully you can still buy Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds in most grocery stores. A little bit of heaven in a can.
$19.00 ow with full service no chep thrills.
I got hired with PI on December 1. I still couldn't believe it when the station manager handed all of us new hires that white envelope with the $100.00 bill in it. None of us could believe it. It made us feel like one of the team and part of the PI family. What a gesture. Making $6.25 an hr and getting an extra hundred bucks was incredible. I fondly remember days with PI before US Air came in and introduced their cool nothern efficiency. That's when the wheels began to fall off the whole thing.
How about when you would call to list on a flight and the res agent would voluntarily pull up all the other flights for you, unsolicited!!
Now the agents can't spend but so much time per customer or they will get reprimanded.....since there are so few res agents left <_< !!
That's efficiency alright.
Now the agents can't spend but so much time per customer or they will get reprimanded.....since there are so few res agents left <_< !!
That's efficiency alright.
N965VJ
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Crew Scheduling workarounds!
- Pass Sick; don’t file a pay claim and your supervisor never knew about it.
- Leveling yourself.
- Remember signing in for a trip using those phones down in the crew room? Finding out what the phone number was so you could sign in from Colodny West.
