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
Piedmont Airlines logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
PT PDT PIEDMONT
Founded1961; 60 years ago (1961)
as Henson Airlines
Commenced operations1962; 59 years ago (1962)
AOC #HNAA001A[1]
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programAAdvantage
AllianceOneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size57
Destinations55+
Parent companyAmerican Airlines Group
HeadquartersSalisbury, Maryland
Key peopleEric Morgan (President & CEO)
Employees9,800+ (April 2019)
Websitepiedmont-airlines.com

Piedmont Airlines, Inc. /ˈpiːdmɒnt/ is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland,[2] near the city of Salisbury.[3] The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Airlines to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on American Eagle flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by American Airlines. Piedmont also provides ground handling and customer service for airports in the northeastern and western United States.

Piedmont operates a fleet consisting of exclusively Embraer ERJ145 regional jet aircraft.[4] Its main base is Philadelphia International Airport with an additional hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The company has a team of more than 9,800 employees, operating flights to nearly 50 destinations.

Started in 1961 as Henson Airlines, the airline was rebranded in 1993 to re-use the name of Piedmont Airlines (1948–1989), one of the predecessors of today's American Airlines, to protect the brand.

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.[4] 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 Dash 7 turboprops.[4]

In 1983, Piedmont Aviation bought Henson Airlines 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.[5] 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.[4]

The Piedmont name was resurrected in 1993, when USAir (the erstwhile Allegheny Airlines that became US Airways) 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 Suburban Airlines, 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 and Allegheny were likewise re-branded as US Airways Express carriers. US Airways merged Allegheny Airlines into Piedmont in 2004.

Operations[]

The airline had more than 7,000 employees, as of December 2017. As of December 2017, the airline operated approximately 400 daily flights to more than 55 destinations.[6]

As of August 2018, Piedmont is currently the exclusive operator at Williamsport Regional Airport, and Salisbury Regional Airport.

Piedmont Airlines currently flies under the American Eagle brand, after a merger of American Airlines and US Airways in December 2013.

The airline operates maintenance bases in Albany, Charlotte, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Richmond, Roanoke and Salisbury.[7]

Crew bases[]

Piedmont has crew bases in two locations:[6]

Fleet[]

An American Eagle ERJ-145 on approach to BWI. N693AE
A US Airways Express Dash 8 at Albany International Airport

As of January 2021, the Piedmont Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft.[8]

Piedmont Airlines Current Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers
Y Total
Embraer ERJ145 57 — 50 50
Total 57 —

Retired fleet[]

A Short 330 of Henson Airlines in Allegheny Commuter livery at BWI in 1983
Piedmont Airlines Retired Fleet
Aircraft[4] 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 8-100 1993 2017 Embraer ERJ145 Last flight was November 29, 2017.
Bombardier Q200 1996 2008
de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 2000 2018 Embraer ERJ145 Last flight was July 4, 2018.[9]

Incidents and accidents[]

  • On September 23, 1985, Henson Airlines Flight 1517, a Beechcraft B99 Airliner 15-passenger turboprop airplane, crashed near Grottoes, Virginia. The crash was fatal to all 12 passengers and both crewmembers; This was the first fatality of a female commercial U.S. pilot, First Officer Zilda A. Spadaro-Wolan. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that part of the probable cause of the crash was the airline's failure to standardize the cockpit configurations of its aircraft and on its failure to provide adequate training to its pilots.[10]
  • On November 16, 2008, Flight 4551, a US Airways Express Dash 8 turboprop operated by Piedmont Airlines, took off from Lehigh Valley International Airport at 8:20am heading to Philadelphia International Airport, had to make an emergency landing.[11][12] The flight crew was indicated that the front nose gear hadn't come down and had to make a flyover the runway for confirmation. Of 35 passengers and 3 crew, there were no injuries. The aircraft (N326EN) incurred only minor damage and was returned to service shortly thereafter.
  • On January 1, 2011, US Airways Express Flight 4352, a Piedmont Airlines-operated Dash 8-100 turboprop forced an evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and fighter jets were scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base after Flight 4352 suffered radio problems on approach to Washington, DC's Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and strayed into restricted airspace.[13][14] The Capitol was evacuated for approximately 20 minutes until the Dash 8 aircraft landed at Reagan National Airport.
  • On January 7, 2011, a Dash 8-100, operating as Piedmont Airlines Flight 4507 under US Airways Express from Philadelphia International Airport to Tweed New Haven Regional Airport in Connecticut was struck by lightning over the Long Island Sound.[15] The captain reported electrical problems and diverted safely to Long Island Macarthur Airport due to more favorable weather conditions. The aircraft had 33 passengers aboard who were then bussed to New Haven.
  • On May 18, 2013, US Airways Express Flight 4560 made a belly landing at Newark Liberty International Airport after landing gear would not extend. All passengers and crew members were evacuated safely.[16]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  2. ^ "Career Opportunities." Piedmont Airlines. Retrieved on May 20, 2009. "5443 Airport Terminal Rd Salisbury, MD 21804 "
  3. ^ "Our Company". Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Piedmont History". Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  5. ^ Flight International 12–18 April 2005
  6. ^ a b "Piedmont Airlines > Our Company > What We Do > Crew Bases". piedmont-airlines.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  7. ^ http://piedmont-airlines.com/News/Latest-News1/Post/2768/Piedmont-expands-maintenance-network-to-Albany-NY
  8. ^ "Piedmont Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  9. ^ "After 33 years, Piedmont Airlines retires planes that revolutionized regional industry". Delmarva Daily Times. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  10. ^ 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."Aircraft Accident Report: Henson Airlines Flight 1517" (PDF).
  11. ^ "Accident: Piedmont DH8C at Philadelphia on Nov 16th 2008, nose gear did not deploy". avherald.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  12. ^ "Aviation Photo #1445445: De Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 Dash 8 - US Airways Express (Piedmont Airlines)". Airliners.net. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  13. ^ Sarah Brumfield (January 1, 2011). "Pilot error prompts evacuation of U.S. Capitol building". thestar.com. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  14. ^ Mary Compton (January 1, 2011). "Jets Scrambled Over Capitol Hill Airspace Scare". ABC News. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
  15. ^ "US Airways Conn.-bound flight safely lands in NY". The Seattle Times. 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  16. ^ NBC News (May 18, 2013). "Plane makes belly landing at Newark Airport, no injuries reported". Retrieved May 20, 2013.

External links[]

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