Piedmont Airlines offers up to $187K in bonuses over five years for pilots

Piedmont Airlines offers up to $187K in bonuses over five years for pilots as it opens new crew base at Harrisburg International Airport.

Piedmont Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines has announced it will open a new crew base in May at Harrisburg International Airport in Lower Swatara Township.

“We are excited to add another crew base location first for the quality of life it offers for our pilots and flight attendants who choose to live or commute there, and second for the value it adds to our operation,” Piedmont vice president of flight operations, Steve Keefer said in a news release. “Piedmont took on many new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including expanded routes out of Chicago, and our crews performed flawlessly.”

Piedmont currently operates a fleet of aircraft out of American Airlines hubs in Charlotte and Philadelphia.

Piedmont previously had a crew base at the airport, according to Scott Miller, a spokesperson for HIA.

Piedmont currently has a maintenance base and customer service team members at the airport and a corporate presence off-site in the Middletown area.

“The new Harrisburg base will start with just 10 lines of flying and increase as the network warrants,” Piedmont president and CEO Eric Morgan said in the news release.

In addition, Piedmont plans to hire 400 pilots and 190 flight attendants in 2022. Piedmont plans to hire 60 crew members at HIA, according to Piedmont spokesperson, Crystal Byrd. Piedmont will hire a mix of both pilots and flight attendants, she said.

Piedmont employees have the same flight benefits as American Airlines’ staff members. Pilots hired this year will receive up to $187,000 in bonuses over five years, the company said. Piedmont flight attendants reached a tentative agreement on a new contract in January which includes higher wages, the airline said.

For additional information for pilot opportunities go to piedmont-airlines.com/pilots.

In other airline news out of HIA, United Airlines launched a new route to Newark, New Jersey on Friday. The destination was switched from Washington D.C. Officials say the Newark destination offers more connection opportunities, which they say is a plus as international travel begins to come back. pennlive.com