PI merger

[Philjr]

One of the more amazing thing was calling in with a mechanical problem......we would pull into the gate and the mechanic would be standing in the jetway with the part and his tool box just waiting for us to get out of his way so he could fix it. The first writeup I had post merger the mechanic walked on board the ac got the log book, walked out came back 40 minutes later with an orange sticker, placed it, walked out and never said a word. And don't forget U had to hire what.....600 additional mechs just to do pushbacks!! Brilliant

It was fun then free coffee and donuts at the gate for everyone and sticky tabs made life easy.The early days with PI in GSO.

 

[700UW]

They didnt hire 600 mechanics for pushbacks, there was only mtc in about 40 stations when we merged, they hired mechanics when the CLT hangar opened.

Right after the merger hangars started closing, SAN, the engine shop, UCA, ILM and several other stations. It was actually a shuffling of headcounts that was occuring.

 

[Glucose Intolerant]

Colodny wanted to sell the 767s, sell the London route and yank the First Class seats out of the PI jets. He may have been a nice man but he HAD NO CLUE what to do with a 454 plane airline. The stories are enless re: lost opportunities.

Just change the name(s)........same as it is TODAY only worse.

 

[banshee74]

They didnt hire 600 mechanics for pushbacks, there was only mtc in about 40 stations when we merged, they hired mechanics when the CLT hangar opened.

Right after the merger hangars started closing, SAN, the engine shop, UCA, ILM and several other stations. It was actually a shuffling of headcounts that was occuring.

700...You mean that with half the airline going to a new policy of using mechanics for dispatch and receipt (pushback) did not create any greater need for hiring more A&P licensed folks...that is not the way I remember it.

 

[a320av8r]

After 20 years we are still mourning the merger with USAir. Was Piedmont really that good? Yes it was! We all pulled together and actually looked forward to going to work. Piedmont was still rated as the top US air carrier 10 years after it ceased to exist!
Mr. Davis' quote says it all- "If you're driving down the road and see a turtle sitting on a fence post, don't be too impressed. That turtle didn't get there by itself".

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/?CID=34

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/

 

[nycbusdriver]

After 20 years we are still mourning the merger with USAir. Was Piedmont really that good? Yes it was! We all pulled together and actually looked forward to going to work. Piedmont was still rated as the top US air carrier 10 years after it ceased to exist!
Mr. Davis' quote says it all- "If you're driving down the road and see a turtle sitting on a fence post, don't be too impressed. That turtle didn't get there by itself".

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/?CID=34

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/

Back in the early 1980s. PI and DL pilots happened to be in contract negotiations at the same time. The employee/management relations at PI were so good, that when the PI pilots signed their contract after a quick negotiation, the DL pilots code-a-phone had a message on it bemoaning the fact that the PI pilots had actually gotten MORE than their ask from the company.

Now we have to fight to even get what we have in black-and-white in our current contracts.

 

[UPNAWAY]

What I dont understand is Peidmont and PSA had that can do spirit how come that did not continue on?

Would I be wrong to assume that Allegheny killed it?

 

[700UW]

It was US Air when they bought PI and PS, it was a policy called mirror image, instead of looking at PS and PI and saw what made them successful and profitable they said you will do everything the way US does it, end of story.

So they tried to eliminate the PI and PS culture and impose US's culture on PI and PS.

 

[wings396]

On the subject of hiring mechanics for R&D purposes, I know that they did hire around 50 in EWR alone at the time of the merger. I can imagine that the numbers system wide had to be in the hundreds based on this. At that time EWR was a large station with 10 gates, and roughly 12 RON's. Can't even count how many times I had to let a flight sit wating to be parked by a Mtc crew. I realize that is the way it was supposed to be, but it was hard to operate that way after all those years of doing it as a ramper. Colodny and his boys were tossing cash around like a bunch of drunks, but we all know that it didn't take very long for it to dry up...And we have been paying for their mistakes ever since. Still amazes me how anyone could merge 2 profitalbe airlines together and coming up with the mess that followed. From my standpoint, marketing (the lack of it) was the biggest issue overlooked by US Air Mgmt.

 

[rvolkcpa]

After 20 years we are still mourning the merger with USAir. Was Piedmont really that good? Yes it was! We all pulled together and actually looked forward to going to work. Piedmont was still rated as the top US air carrier 10 years after it ceased to exist!
Mr. Davis' quote says it all- "If you're driving down the road and see a turtle sitting on a fence post, don't be too impressed. That turtle didn't get there by itself".

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/?CID=34

http://www.jetpiedmont.com/commercials/

As a customer, I wonder what the combined airline would be like today if Piedmont had acquired US Airways. I have to believe it would be stronger.

Maybe the 20th anniversary is the time to instill the "Piedmont spirit" in all current employees, from top to bottom. Many flight personnel still demonstrate that spirit today. Management should try to be guided a bit by the Piedmont spirit and communicate to both customers and employees that it is taking steps to make the current US Airways one of the premier carriers in the US.

 

[Dog Wonder]

It was US Air when they bought PI and PS, it was a policy called mirror image, instead of looking at PS and PI and saw what made them successful and profitable they said you will do everything the way US does it, end of story.

So they tried to eliminate the PI and PS culture and impose US's culture on PI and PS.

You don't suppose any one in Tempe is old enough to have learned from those mistakes?

 

[ggiby]

"US Westways" a model of (fill in the blank) airline can be


Imagine (without crying, if you can) the powerhouse US/PI could have been under Gordon Bethune. He turned CO from the joke of the industry after what Lorenzo had done into what it is today. So sad. Maybe, just maybe, there is another Gordon Bethune out there. DP sure ain't it.

Imagine being proud of an airline.

It Was US that Canned Bethune.... ? :down:

Not PI... Bethune went on to bigger and better things, however he was great and if
he had been able to stay.... we Would have been able to avoid that crazy dude Wolf :huh:

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

It was US Air when they bought PI and PS, it was a policy called mirror image, instead of looking at PS and PI and saw what made them successful and profitable they said you will do everything the way US does it, end of story.

You said it, brother! AL was a fine airline as well, but did not learn from the success of the acquired carriers.




So they tried to eliminate the PI and PS culture and impose US's culture on PI and PS.

"Plus la change...."

 

[SS255]

As a customer, I wonder what the combined airline would be like today if Piedmont had acquired US Airways. I have to believe it would be stronger.

I feel the same way about EA. If it hadn't gone under, would I still be flying it? And if so, would it be the same EA?

My gut feeling is that if PI had been the surviving entity, it would not have been as great as all that. Better, perhaps.......but not as good as things were prior to the merger. Merging two very different corporate cultures is always challenging, even under good management. One side will inevitably be unhappy with the outcome, and being forced to conform to another company's culture. .......Not to mention all of the outside forces that have encroached upon the airline industry in the past 20 years.

I prefer to think of PI as it was, forever etched in time as a wonderful airline. I'm glad that US still has some of the old PI folks in its ranks to remind us of what a great airline they were. Now, if US would only bring back Piedmont Punch as a "Heritage Beverage."

 

[Hello Newman]

I know that many here will sing the praises of Uncle Ed, but he left a huge mess for Seth to deal with by leaving too soon after the PI & PSA mergers.


Ed Colodny was required to retire at age 60, as decreed by the company charter, had he stayed at the helm a few more years, it would've been a much different story