I'd like to begin by sharing some good news. We are preparing to recall approximately 300 flight attendants from voluntary furlough effective December 1. The recall is necessary because there has been an increase in aircraft hours due to better than anticipated passenger demand. Although we recognize that the flight attendants who will be recalled have to return earlier than expected, this recall is based on the creation of more jobs and more flying, which is good news for our division and our company. And it is certainly a far cry from where we've been over the last few years. Affected flight attendants will be notified of the recall next week.

As promised last week, I'd like to share with you today Onboard Service's new mission statement. It will serve as the cornerstone of our division's business plan and it reflects the critical role we all play in United's successful future. It is accompanied by a set of fundamental behaviors that will shape how we do our business, and business objectives that will form the basis of our division's business plan for the next three years.

When the Onboard leadership team set out to develop our mission, we agreed it had to do several things. It needed to be actionable, achievable and convey a sense of purpose. It had to support the overall vision for United Airlines, reflect the fundamental behaviors that will shape how we do our business, and be in line with our long-term objectives. It also had to have worldwide application and be understandable and relevant to all division employees.

Now, I'm fully aware that over the years, many mission statements have come and gone, and more than likely, most have been forgotten. Let me assure you that this is not a program or a slogan - it is simply what we will do going forward. I know that our actions will speak louder than the words. The Onboard Service mission is this:
Onboard contributes to our company's success by consistently delivering safe, reliable, attentive service to our customers and colleagues.

On first blush, it may seem that this mission states the obvious, so let me share the thought process behind its development.

Why did we start with the phrase "Onboard contributes to our Company's success?" We did this because it's clearer than ever that we are in this together and ours must be a collective success, not just divisional or individual success. The success of one division, or a group of individuals, is not enough. The company must succeed for us to thrive.

Why did we use the term "consistently" in describing what we will provide our customers and colleagues? We know consistency is important to our customers, and its important to our colleagues we support internally. While they don't expect every service experience to be identical, we must provide safety and service at a level of consistency and excellence our customers and colleagues can count on.

The next phrase, "delivering safe, reliable, attentive service," is at the core of who we are and what we do.

Safety has been and will be our prime directive. It is foremost in the planing and execution of our work. That's why it is mentioned first among the core objectives.

Reliability is next. It is fundamental to our business and it means much more than on time performance. It is our commitment to do what we say and what is expected of us every day, from start to finish.

The third term that describes the core of our mission is "attentive" service. Frankly, we thought long and hard about what separates us from our competition in service. We knew this service standard had to have application from the most basic LCO product to our most complex international services, from first class to economy class. We considered "personalized" service, but we knew it is not realistic that on all flights, in every class of service, that each customer would receive personalized service. But we can provide "attentive" service, day in and day out, to our customers and colleagues.

Finally, you might ask why did we use the phrase "customers and colleagues." The reason for using customers is obvious -- they make our world go around. Colleagues may be less obvious. We wanted to make it clear that all of these standards apply to all of the United team members we work with every day. That's how we are going to execute on our part of the business.

At the end of the day, these are only words on a piece of paper. It is up to all of us to bring our mission statement to life. It should guide us every day, through every decision, and during every interaction with customers and colleagues. I'll end on that note, with a reminder that next week I'll talk about our division's fundamental behaviors.

Finally, in my previous messages and during my domicile visits, I've talked about my commitment to communication, and my desire to increase opportunities for two-way dialogue. In support of that objective, we developed Rumor Central for SkyNet. And now Jane's Q and A is available via the Onboard Service homepage. This is an opportunity to have your questions answered by a member of the Onboard leadership team. I hope you will take a minute to check it out the next time you are in SkyNet. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks to all of you for the great job you've done this past week. Have a great weekend. I hope you spend part of it planning how you'll use the special thank-you travel certificates announced in last Monday's NewsReal. You've earned them!