Hello, this is Jane Allen with an update for Friday, August 29, 2003.

As United flies into the last weekend of a summer that has been full of changes and challenges, our airline is "on a roll." That's because United is gaining momentum each passing day with good news about our financial situation, operating performance and customer service ratings. That kind of movement is just what United needs to propel itself out of Chapter 11 and back into its rightful place as a leader in the business of flying people to destinations worldwide.

The good news about United is threefold:
First, as reported in Monday's NewsReal, the company in July continued to generate positive cash flow. In other words, United no longer is spending more money than it is taking in, as was the case when the company filed for bankruptcy. Instead of burning through several million dollars of cash per day, the company in July had an operating profit and increased its cash balance by $48 million dollars. United's stronger cash position demonstrates that the company's cost-reduction efforts are kicking in and revenue-improvement initiatives -- such as Fly Three, Fly Free and Go. Go. Stay. -- are producing results.

It's also significant that United in July met its debtor-in-possession or DIP financing agreements for the sixth consecutive month. These agreements require the company to reduce its costs and meet certain earnings targets in order to continue to have access to the funds we need to operate the airline. United also expects to meet the requirements for its DIP financing in August.

Another piece of good news is that United in July set a new monthly load factor record of 82.9 percent and, at the same time, ran an excellent operation. The July record broke one set in June, and there's a good chance we'll set another record in August. In addition to high loads, we had challenging weather across much of the U.S. Midwest and East Coast. Despite those complications, United achieved a 98.7 percent completion rate for the month of July and nearly 81 percent of our flights arrived within 14 minutes of schedule. Thanks to all of you who helped diminish the weather's impact on our operation, enabling United to maintain its industry-leading on-time performance for the past 12 months.

Also noteworthy are United's Marketrak ratings. Year-to-date through July, our top customers' perceptions of flight attendant service were the best since 1994 for North America and remained above goal for both North America and International flight attendant service. "Top customers" are North American travelers who fly 11 or more times annually, and international customers who fly three or more times annually. Flight attendant service is a key factor that customers consider when deciding whether to fly United again. I salute those of you on the front lines for maintaining such a high level of service, despite the many changes and distractions you've faced in the past few months.

I know that it's been a bumpy ride lately, with the transition to the new contract, the longer duty days and the shorter layovers. Add to that the many recent flight attendant retirements, the aircraft schedule changes that impact your work schedules, the high load factors and the frequent irregular operations, and it's nothing short of amazing that you continue to focus so well on our customers.

All of us in Onboard and throughout the company have had our lives and our work disrupted by the painful process of restructuring the company. The good news here is that we've made great headway in right sizing our business and achieving the productivity and cost-savings allowed by our new labor contracts. While there's still much that remains to be done before we can emerge from Chapter 11, I am very optimistic that we are headed in the right direction and that we will succeed.

As we continue to work toward a more stable operating environment for our employees and our customers, we are pleased to be joined by the flight attendants returning Aug. 31 from voluntary or involuntary furloughs or 5L.ANP status. Whether your absence was by choice or by company necessity, we appreciate the contribution you made to the company and to your coworkers. Welcome back!

In addition, beginning Sept. 30, a number of flight attendants may be serving our customers from different domiciles. Due to attrition, furlough awards and/or scheduling changes, we recently made transfers available to our domiciles in DCA, DEN, JFK, ORD, SEA and SFO, as well as LAS and PHL. We awarded transfers to about 180 flight attendants Aug. 28. We will continue to evaluate our needs and award transfers, as needed, through the month of October with report dates through Oct. 30. While this was a business decision, we are pleased that it will provide these individuals the opportunity to move to their desired work location.

My domicile visits this week took me to Boston and Miami, where I enjoyed warm weather and a warm reception from my hosts. I also had the opportunity to talk with many of our flight attendants and support staff at those locations and the AFA local council presidents. It was invigorating to be out in the operation, hearing your views and seeing the fine work you do for our customers. As always, thanks for listening to this message. Whether you are working over the next few days, or enjoying some time off, have a safe and enjoyable weekend.