Hello, this is Jane Allen with an Update for Friday, February 18, 2005.

Last week we had a dramatic example of how skillfully our flight attendants respond in emergency situations.

The incident took place on February 8, on a Boeing 747 headed to Chicago from San Francisco. During takeoff, the door at 4 L cracked inward three to four inches as the door handle moved upward. The resulting gap around the door produced a loud noise and rush of air. The crew immediately stabilized the door, notified the cockpit and the purser, and reassured all customers while moving those nearby away from the door area. This was all done professionally, calmly and by the book. The flight attendants executed flawlessly.

The aircraft immediately returned to the airport, where San Francisco Maintenance determined that the incident was the result of a false latching condition, an unusual and rarely seen circumstance. Once the aircraft door was examined and pronounced safe, the flight continued.

I want to thank our flight attendant crew who responded to this situation with extraordinary professionalism and teamwork, earning our gratitude and the gratitude of our customers.

Our Flight Safety department continues to investigate the cause of this anomaly to ensure that it never happens again. This incident will be reviewed and may be addressed in future recurrent training classes.

This is another reminder for all of us that safety is our top priority-- which brings me to my next topic. I'd like to announce a major new development in the safety arena, the new Onboard Aviation Safety Action Program, or OSAP.

OSAP is a voluntary flight attendant self-disclosure program that has been agreed upon by United, AFA and the FAA. This safety action program encourages flight attendants to voluntarily report safety issues to management and to the FAA for resolution. Flight attendants whose reports meet the OSAP acceptance criteria will be exempt from regulatory or disciplinary action against them by the FAA and/or the carrier.

I believe providing an outlet for flight attendants to submit information without fear or hesitation creates an environment that encourages even more open and honest communication to receive and address more specific safety information than is currently being reported. We'll use this information to identify underlying systemic safety issues, find root causes, and take corrective actions to ensure that safety problems flight attendants report are addressed and reviewed on a regular schedule. The company, the AFA and the FAA believe that this program has the potential to enhance the quality of our safety initiatives here at United.

United has a similar program for pilots agreed upon by the company, ALPA and the FAA - the Flight Safety Action Program - which was implemented in 2000, and this program has proven to be very successful. It is significant that United will be the first legacy carrier to have a Safety Action Program for flight attendants approved by the FAA.

Next week you'll receive a letter in your company mailbox explaining OSAP along with a series of questions and answers. I encourage you to read through the information carefully. Onboard Updates, the 2005 RET program and the AFA Union Update will provide you with additional information throughout the year.

That's all I have for today. Fly safe and I'll talk with you again next week.