Hi, it's Glenn. It is Monday the 27th of September and I am calling today from Denver.

Today, crude oil hit a record of $49.74, almost $50 per barrel, and is showing absolutely no signs of returning to historical levels.

These fuel prices continue to aggravate a brutal competitive environment in which excess capacity, low cost competition and aggressive pricing across the industry negatively impact revenues.

In fact, industry revenues in August, typically one of the best months of the year, actually dropped by 3.7%, even with very high load factors. Our own revenue for August, announced last week in our monthly operating report, dropped 5%.

As a Bear Stearns analyst said in a report last week: “This is nothing new. It is a force that has been in play in an exaggerated sense since 9/11."

We know the competitive landscape is forever changed. We also know that it will continue to change. And we know there will ultimately be fewer players, and we are going to be one of those that succeeds.

Our competitors are all trying to work through the same issues that we face, which is intensifying and driving this highly competitive and extraordinarily difficult business environment for everyone.

Even with the excess capacity of today, more seats continue to be added, resulting in more frequent and more deeply discounted fare sales.

Last week, American Airlines lowered its earnings guidance for the third quarter, citing all of these factors.

The stocks of American, Delta, AirTran and Continental have all been downgraded. As one newspaper reported last week, new lenders are now staying away from the industry, making access to capital even more difficult. And, since our last call, US Airways has filed for bankruptcy for the second time.

How we and our competitors manage in this environment will be critical in determining who will succeed in the long term.

For us, at United, this is no time for denial. Denial about the realities of this industry, or denial with regard to our own situation at the company.

As we have said so many times, the only way to create a future for this company, is to deal with the difficult issues head on, and seize the opportunities. That is how we have managed our many successes to date, and that is how we are going to be successful going forward.

Finalizing, in this market environment, a business plan that will be robust enough to attract exit financing and position us to be competitive in that marketplace is, as I said in my last call, the one, single most important thing that we have to do together.

As I have said repeatedly, we must use our time constructively to find viable solutions to issues in order to succeed. It is clear to me that we have that opportunity to do so.

It is important that you have the facts - a clear understanding of the complex issues that we have to resolve.

With regard to one issue in particular, pensions, I receive calls and requests from employees and many others, asking that we find solutions that we believe are not available to us. What we need are realistic solutions - actionable proposals that can be executed in the current harsh market environment. In this industry, today, there are no easy answers.

So, we have distributed to key groups and posted on SkyNet, a pension information memorandum which is intended to provide a common foundation and understanding for constructively addressing the pension issue. I encourage you to read the executive extract of the memorandum which gives a good understanding of the economic and competitive factors that we face as we work to develop a viable business plan.

As I said in my weekly letter to our Board of Directors on Friday, in preparation for our meeting later this week, this is the world United must confront today and for the foreseeable future. The challenges we are facing make it abundantly clear that we must continue to work expeditiously to reduce our cost structure even further and press forward with our efforts to attract suitable financing.

We are up to these challenges at United. Over the past two years we have demonstrated the ability to succeed in the face of difficult circumstances, and we will do so again, creating a sustainable, competitive enterprise for the long term.

So, until the next call, keep your heads up, stay focused on our customers, stay focused on your relationships with one another and, above all, stay united.