Thomas H. Davis: Founder, Chairman, & CEO

— "The model of how good an airline can be" —

Piedmont Aviation was incorporated in July 1940 as a general aviation sales and service company. The airline division was established in 1947 as a local service carrier. The first Piedmont Airlines flight was flown on February 20, 1948 between Wilmington, NC and Cincinnati, OH with a 21-passenger DC-3. The total fleet consisted of three DC-3s and less than 100 employees. Piedmont's operation was based on providing good customer service in the Southern hospitality style.

Piedmont's greatest expansion came when the industry was deregulated in 1978. Piedmont was named 'Airline of the Year' in 1984. Forty years after the first flight, its route structure included 121 airports serving 144 cities including 2 cities in Canada, 1 in the UK, and 7 destinations in the Bahamas with over 24,000 employees. In 1989, Piedmont was acquired by USAir.

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