Hey everyone,

I have only been flying US Airways since '98. I know many of you have been with US over many, many years.

Who were good CEO's that US had? Were they liked both by the customer and the employees? Why did they leave?

I just thought this topic might be kind of interesting to bring up.

Troy

Hey everyone,

I have only been flying US Airways since '98. I know many of you have been with US over many, many years.

Who were good CEO's that US had? Were they liked both by the customer and the employees? Why did they leave?

I just thought this topic might be kind of interesting to bring up.

Troy
The goods ones were as follows..........................







l4pi

Your kidding??? There had to be someone way, way back in the day I would think or no? Wow this is a bit shocking.

T

The goods ones were as follows..........................







l4pi

Wow, that's a long list! :p

Were there any at PI?

Wow, that's a long list! :P

Were there any at PI?
Tom Davis

Who were good CEO's that US had? Were they liked both by the customer and the employees? Why did they leave?


I would guess that the list of CEOs that were "liked" by empoyees that are unionized would be very short indeed. And in a challenging industry during down cycles, probably like l4p's list.

Tom Davis

Mr. Davis would visit ALL of the airports on a regular basis and seemed to remember everyones' name. The respect and admiration he shared with the Piedmont employees was legendary. Someone who has a better memory than me should tell the stories about the employees buying him a car and contributing to the purchase of a plane.

Not sure about the plane, but when Mr. Davis retired in 1983, the employees of PI bought him a new Mercedes-Benz convertible and established a Thomas H. Davis scholarship at Wake Forest. As far as I know, that endowment still exists. The story goes that the mechanics presented him with a personalized license plate that said "PIEDMONT", Some how I don't see the employess doing this today.

On a personal note I met Mr. Davis during the 1980 and 1982 NC electoral campaigns. He was one the most memorable gentlemen I ever met. He was a true leader and gentleman. He would be sadden to no end if he could see the airline today,

And I believe that Mercedes was painted Piedmont blue. :D I think the personalized license plate actually belonged to another employee who gladly gave it up for Mr. Davis.

Bill Howard was CEO of Piedmont when they sold to US. I'm sure there's some bad blood amongst the former PI employees about letting that sale happen. Up until that time, Mr. Howard had a pretty good reputation as a CEO.

I took my first plane ride on EA when I was 10. 3 years later, I flew PI for the first time. At the age of 13, I could see the difference in employee attitudes and courtesy. It was like flying with family. I never flew anyone but PI thereafter right on up til the day of the merger. Obviously, I've flown some other airlines since, but PI is still my favorite.

And I'm sorry for getting off topic.... (An NC native being nostalgic on a Saturday afternoon.) :D

Not sure about the plane, but when Mr. Davis retired in 1983, the employees of PI bought him a new Mercedes-Benz convertible and established a Thomas H. Davis scholarship at Wake Forest. As far as I know, that endowment still exists. The story goes that the mechanics presented him with a personalized license plate that said "PIEDMONT", Some how I don't see the employess doing this today.

On a personal note I met Mr. Davis during the 1980 and 1982 NC electoral campaigns. He was one the most memorable gentlemen I ever met. He was a true leader and gentleman. He would be sadden to no end if he could see the airline today,


Sorry but did Mr. Davis pass on? I don't know anything about him.

Sorry but did Mr. Davis pass on? I don't know anything about him.

Yes, he passed away a few years back...

Tom Davis was a great CEO. His daughter is still a f/a for the company, I believe. They named a 737 after his wife who was terminally ill at the time, and she sadly passed away shortly after she christened it.
One CEO that was pretty popular at US, actually when it was still called Allegheny, was Ed Colodny. I met him on a couple of occasions and he was a very nice guy. He never sat in f/c, always insisted on sitting in coach and he was pretty good at remembering names as well. I think he always remembered me because I was the little Piedmont gal that married a US pilot long before the merger. :)

His daughter is still a f/a for the company, I believe.
We went to college together and the last I heard two years or so ago she was still a F/A with the company. Guess that tells you how old I am. :)

As nice a guy as Uncle Ed is (he is curently President of UVM), he unfortunately lacked the vision necessary to make USAir into what it needed to be. I long ago read an article in which he is interviewed and he states that they had Bermuda authority for almost 5 years before they started service, and at one time after the name change to USAir, but before the 737's, he considered trading in all of the jets for turboprop aircraft.

Now Seth Schofeld is a double-edged sword. Had he succeded in getting all of the wage and labor concessions he wanted during the last downturn, US might be in a better situation than they are now in terms of transforming into a LCC.

Rakesh, Wolf and Segal are nothing more than carpetbaggers.

Colodny is no longer the president of UVM... He is now running the local hospital in Burlington digging it out of a major scandel he inherited.

Wow, that's a long list! :p

Were there any at PI?

Bill Howard was a great man who ran a great team at PI. I credit Tom Davis for instilling the PI spirit in the ranks, and Bill Howard's vision for taking PI from regional airline to international carrier in such a short time.