Hi, this is Glenn and I am calling from Beijing, China.

I am joined today by Sidney Kwok, United’s country manager in China.

Several weeks ago, on the call, I was joined by Dan Sailors, a mechanic in the heat transfer unit in San Francisco. On that call, Dan talked about the LEAN program, which, as we all remember, is about rethinking how to most effectively manage maintenance and engineering work.

Through the LEAN program, we are working to improve our competitive advantage, with the goal of enhancing maintenance service for United and attracting other airline customers to our San Francisco maintenance center. We are focusing on the things that we do best, which means growing our business in engines, landing gear, high-tech components, avionics and line maintenance.

We also recognize that there is work where we at United do not have an advantage. That work is performed for us by vendors in the U.S., Korea and other countries, now including China.

I am pleased to be here in Beijing to meet with our corporate customers, our employees, our partners and the U.S. ambassador. But I am also here with Greg Hall and his colleagues on the United Services team, to join with senior executives of Air China and Ameco, which is a joint venture of Lufthansa Technik and Air China, to announce that Ameco will now be performing heavy maintenance on our 777 fleet. Ameco has a reputation for high quality work and cost efficiency. We are confident that they will be a strong partner for United, just as Air China has been a strong partner for us over the years.

Maintenance is only part of our work in China however, where we have grown dramatically in recent years in both our passenger and our cargo business. China is a key priority market for United. So, I have asked Sidney to update all of us on the call about our new Ameco partnership, as well as all of the other activities for Sidney and his team here in China.

So, Sidney, I'll turn the call over to you.

Thanks, Glenn.

We have just announced this important partnership with Ameco. Ameco’s work on our 777 fleet, which was previously done by another vendor, will start in October this year and run for five years, through 2009.

We have just completed a wide range of technical audits, including the testing of computer systems and other technology. We are extremely pleased with the results of these audits and are looking forward to many years of cooperation with Ameco, with Lufthansa, and, in particular, Air China.

In fact, our partnership with Air China goes well beyond the 777 program that we announced today. In 1997, United started providing maintenance services for P & W engines... and the United Services team is in Beijing today, working with Air China to secure additional engine work. Air China, and its subsidiary airlines, remains our largest maintenance customer in the Asia-Pacific region, generating significant revenue for United.

In 2003, United and Air China entered into a very important commercial partnership that includes codesharing, frequent flyer benefits and airport lounges. And, both of us codeshare on each other’s nonstop flights between China and the United States, including Beijing to San Francisco, New York, L.A. and Chicago, as well as Shanghai to San Francisco and Chicago.

United also codeshares on Air China flights to seven cities in domestic China, including Shenyang, Xi’an, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Shenzen... and these are all cities with high market potential. While Air China is not yet part of the Star Alliance, we believe that they would be an ideal member.

What I want to stress is that a strong partner like Air China is important to our success in China, which is growing faster than any other aviation market in the world. China’s tourism revenue was more than 25 billion U.S. dollars in 2004, making it the fifth largest in the world... and the forecast is that by 2014, China will have the largest number of air passengers in the Asia-Pacific region.

And so, what are we doing to meet the demands of this growing market?

We have doubled our capacity to China in the last year. While we are currently flying all the flights allowed under the U.S.-China bilateral agreement, we continue to look for opportunities to fly to even more cities, such as Guangzhou in the Pearl River delta region, which accounts for a third of China’s imports and exports. In the spring of 2004, United was the first U.S. carrier to open a sales office in Guangzhou, helping us significantly grow revenue from that region.

We are preparing for the year 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, and our team has been on the road promoting United in cities well beyond Beijing and Shanghai, such as Chengdu. Chengdu is a city of 11 million people and a growing center of economic activity. We will continue to work to bring our branding and name to the many growing cities across China.

We will continue to build on our strengths in China. With 28 weekly nonstop flights between the U.S and China, we provide more U.S.-China passenger service than any other U.S. carrier. We offer more choice to our customers and more know-how in the market. We have maintained our market-leading position in China and we are, in short, the premier airline flying between China and the United States... and we are committed to maintaining that position for many years to come.

At the same time, we are working to give back to China. By working together with the Civil Aviation Department of China, we have been providing management training programs to senior Chinese airline executives, including bringing them to our facilities in Chicago, in Denver and San Francisco to share our knowledge and experience.

Next year, we will celebrate our 20th anniversary in China... and we are just as excited and proud to be here today as we were 20 years ago. We look forward to a bright future of meeting the air travel needs of this growing and dynamic country.

Glenn, thanks and back to you.

Thank you, Sidney.

Every time that I've come to China, I am impressed by the growth that one sees all around you. I am equally impressed by the commitment of Chinese companies -- and that of our new partner Ameco in particular -- to high quality standards of work.

As we look forward to growing our business in China, we need to develop strong partnerships, we need to understand and meet the needs of Chinese customers, and we need to build our brand and our reputation.

My sincere thanks to Sidney and the United team in China for the work they are doing on behalf of all of us and for the company. Indeed, it's a terrific example of one company worldwide. I'll look forward to my next opportunity to visit China to see the progress as it develops over the years.

That’s all for now. I’ll be talking to you again soon. Until then, stay focused on our customers and on one another...and stay united as one company.