This week I'll talk about our Monthly Operating Report for February and Ted's expansion. I also have an update on the handheld units for Buy on Board sales and I would like to close by recognizing a Chicago-based flight attendant crew.

To start with, the company issued its Monthly Operating Report for February, which continues to demonstrate our steady progress with regard to the company's restructuring. We reported that we have met our debtor-in-possession or DIP financing covenants for the 13th straight month. In February, we had a net loss from operations of 112 million dollars, which was an improvement of approximately 195 million dollars over last year. Mainline passenger unit revenue improved 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, and this was well ahead of the industry average. Our mainline unit costs in February improved 14 percent from the same month a year ago. We can attribute these improvements to the good work everyone continues to do to fundamentally change the way we do business at United.

By now you have heard that Ted is coming to Chicago. When fully operational, Ted will offer daily roundtrip service from O'Hare to Tampa, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix and Ft. Lauderdale. Chicago is our largest and busiest hub, and as such, it is a crucial market for our company. It is important that our Chicago customers have access to the full portfolio of our product offerings, and with the arrival of Ted, they will. This flying will be assigned to O'Hare-based flight attendants. Please remember that you can complete Ted qualification training from any domicile LRC. If you are on a computer with Internet access outside of United's network , you can access Ted training if your computer meets the minimum system requirements. Detailed instructions and system requirements are available on the My Domicile site on SkyNet.

As I reported in a previous Update, flight attendants identified a shortage of handheld devices used to compute Buy on Board sales. We have determined that the caterer's processes for "turning" the units is the cause of the shortage. Here are the actions we've taken to improve the situation. We are working closely with caterers to develop standard operating procedures for the kitchens to significantly improve turn times for the devices. We've put people in the field to monitor the product and catering operations, and we've initiated daily conference calls to review the previous day's operation. In addition, the caterers have agreed to purchase additional units which will be placed into service by March 29. You can help by ensuring the handheld and cash envelope are returned to the first class liquor cart and sealed with the new cable locks. You should begin to see improvements immediately.

I know some of you have experienced difficulty with the credit card swipe feature of the handheld devices, and we are addressing that too. Our handheld supplier is looking at a larger read area that will reduce the number of error responses. Our supplier is still working on the technical details but I'll keep you informed of our progress.

I know that it is essential for you to have the necessary tools to do your job. I want you to know that we are delaying the next phase of the mainline expansion of Buy on Board until May 1 from April 1, to ensure the caterers deliver as promised.

Before I end this week's message, I want to recognize three flight attendants for their outstanding service on my flight from O'Hare to Tampa two weeks ago. They worked together as a cohesive team, despite having been re-assigned to this flight from three different assignments. Weather delays and a large amount of carry-on baggage made for a challenging boarding. Added to that, a medical emergency arose just before take off. This crew handled all of these challenges with the utmost professionalism and competence and went on to provide excellent service once we were in the air.

My thanks to Chicago-based flight attendants Michele Dubester, Shameka Turner and Keith Van for doing great work under very difficult circumstances. Your commitment to service quality was evident throughout the flight and it was a pleasure to witness your extraordinary teamwork.

That's all for this week. Thanks for listening.