The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-16
FIRST FLIGHT

rMOl FLlUNl
to take the case to Federal court
Piedmont's application was also
opposed by four OF the 1lVe
members of the city council, VINO
favored State Airlines.
The county commissioners,
while more or less lukewarm to
piedmont in a "hands-off'' atti-
tude toward entering the con-
troversy, made this fact known
in meeting between itself ana
city council June Is, when the
two bodies met and split over
the matter.
The Winston-Salem concerns
application was also opposed by
five other airlines, including
Delta and Eastern.
CABS first decision awarding
Piedmont the right to serve TINS
area first came last April 4:
State won a reargument OF that
decision. and thereafter, 1t was
matter of wait-and-see, and
hearings, both in Washington ana
here until the final decision was
handed down yesterday.
piedmont's network will serve
the following cities:
l. Between the alternate terml-
nails of Cincinnati and LOUIS
Vile to Bristol, Va, via Lexlng-
ton. London-Corbin and Md
dlesboro-Harlan. ,,,.,
?. Between Bristol and Will
min oton via Asheville. Charlotte,
pinehurst and Fayetteville.
8. Between Bristol and More
head City, via WiAston-Saiem'
Greensboro-High Point, Raleigh
Durham, Goldsboro and New
Bern. (The line will operate be-
tween New Bern only between
Nav / and Oct. 81 each year.)
4. Between Cincinnati and Nor
folk, via Portsmouth, Ohio, Ash
land, KY, Huntington, W. Va,
Charleston, W. Va, Beckley, W.
Va, Princeton-Bluefielt-, w. Va.
Roanoke, Va, Lynchburg, Char-
lottesville and Richm |, Va.
S. Between Roanoke and VIII
mington Via Danville, Va,
Greensboro-High Point, Raleigh
Durham and Fayetteville.
Meanwhile, it was reported by
the Associated Press from Char
lotte, that indications were that
as Piedmont takes to the air it!
will have to fend off State Air
lines, of Charlotte, in the fed
eral courts.
Soon after the Civil Aeronau-
tics Board announced the award
to Piedmont of certificate to|
operate a 1,700-mile network OF
feeder air routes across North
Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia,
Kentucky and Ohio, State an
nounced it would appeal the
boards decision either through
action in the 4th U. S. Circuit
Court at Charlotte or through !
the District of Columbia Federal
Court.
State contends that Piedmont
has been awarded routes for
which only State applied, an
authorization which the Char
lotte firm claims is contrary to|
law.
H. X. Gilbert, Jr., of Char
lotte, States president, said his
firm would definitely take the
issue into court. He said his COM
pany has so days in which to
file an appeal. He was not pre-
pared to say whether State
would seek an Injunction to pre-
vent Piedmont from inaugural
ing service before court adjudica-
ton can be had.
In Winston-Salem, R. D. Hager,
assistant to President Tom Davis
of Piedmont, said his company
is "pretty far along" with its
plans to begin service on the
routes for which it now holds
a CAB certificate good for. three
years
Piedmont's pilots, he said, have
Checked out over the routes.
contracts have been made for
with other carriers,
and three DC-3 planes are ready
to begin flights and others are
available.
One of States complaints is
that it did the research spade
work which led to it's applica-
ton to inaugurate feeder service
over this pattern of routes and
the CAB took its findings and
gave it's routes to Piedmont.
Gilbert said State isn't quitting
the fight because 'the CAB de-
cisicn is irreconcilable."