US regional airline Piedmont has announced it is in the process of pulling “dozens” of parked Embraer 145s out of storage at Pinal Airpark in the Arizona desert.
The airline plans for two aircraft to leave per month from now through to February 2025, increasing the Piedmont fleet to 70 aircraft to support the American Airlines network. All of Piedmont’s 145s in storage were previously operated by Envoy Air.
The first aircraft – Aircraft N928 – was removed in June, and once heavy maintenance checks and conformity to Piedmont’s internal airline specifications are complete, it will join the fleet. The airline said the timeline from starting the removal process to joining the line is around two and a half months.
“Bringing our first plane out of long-term storage is a big deal,” said Bill Arndt, Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering at Piedmont Airlines. “Bringing parked aircraft from storage and returning them to the line is a sure sign of recovery and growth for Piedmont.”
With additional lines of flying, Piedmont’s maintenance department is focused on hiring additional workforce to handle the increased workload – emphasised by its Tuition Payment Program. “With 30% of our airplanes in maintenance every night, we need 42 additional AMTs to accommodate maintaining 70 aircraft,” Arndt added.
Photo: Piedmont
