December 16, 2005

Greg Davidowitch, MEC President AFA

Dear Greg:

We are fortunate at United to have many of the industry's best flight attendants. They take outstanding care of our customers. They are skilled and prepared to ensure our customers' safety. And they are largely dependable and reliable in a manner that enables our operations to run smoothly.

However, there are specific times during the year when even a small change in dependability can negatively affect our operation. The period between December 15 and January 4 is one of those times.

However, there are specific times during the year when even a small change in dependability can negatively affect our operation. The period between December 15 and January 4 is one of those times. It is always one of the busiest times of the year, and it is a time when operating on schedule is of utmost importance. From the perspective of our customers, our flight attendants and our other constituents, we want to manage dependability to help keep our operations on schedule and running as smoothly as possible during this time.

As you may recall, we had to declare critical coverage during the 2004 holiday period to attempt to meet our staffing needs. Critical coverage is a situation of last resort that can negatively impact a significant number of flight attendants, particularly those who are not scheduled to work and whose own holiday plans may be disrupted.

Much work and planning has been done to ensure that we have good flight attendant coverage during the 2005 holiday period and that we avoid being in a critical coverage situation. Ultimately, it will take all of this effort and steady-state dependability from our flight attendants to avoid any operational impact.

The fact are that absences, including sick time use and missed trips, significantly increase during the holiday period. This is true every December. For instance, during the 2004/2005 holiday period, the average number of flight attendants who were out sick exceeded the average daily rate for the rest of 2005 year by 461. This means that 461 fewer flight attendants day were covering their assignments on a daily basis during this busy period. This number does not include missed trips. Whether these flight attendants were using sick leave, family leave, or did not fly for another reason, assignments were not being covered at an unusually high rate. Over the holidays, this creates a hardship for other flight attendants who have to be reassigned, whose trips are extended, or who have to work short staffed. This situation also negatively affects our customers if their experience is impacted by staffing shortages or whose trip is delayed by lack of crew.

Our outreach around this issue was only to the seven percent of our flight attendants who, according to our records, were absent during the holiday period in at least two of the past three years. Absences due to maternity leave or long term leaves due to illness or injury were not included. By calling attention to this matter, we hope to make this time of year easier for the other 93 percent of our flight attendants.

Under no circumstances do we want flight attendants to come to work if they are sick or otherwise unable to perform their duties. To the contrary, we want them to seek treatment they are in need. While we have the right to request documentation from any flight attendant regarding an absence, we are specifically requiring it of the seven percent of flight attendants who received this letter due to their pattern of absence. Since we give flight attendants the option to visit either a United medical facility or a personal physician, the flight attendant will bear the cost of the latter.

Flight attendants who have a documented reason for missing a flight assignment will have no issue. However, for the sake of those flight attendants who faithfully work their schedule during the holiday period, and for the sake of the customers that fly with us, it is important that we all pull together to deliver the best performance possible.

Sincerely,

Lisbeth Lee Mack
Managing Director - Field Support, Health and Safety
Onboard Service

Cc: Jane Allen, John Nelson, Domicile Directors and Managers