This is Jane Allen with an Update for September 23, 2005.

This week I had a chance to talk with pursers from across the system who attended the purser seminar at WHQ. It was an excellent exchange as we talked quite candidly and realistically about the issues we face, and the day-to-day challenges of providing the highest level of service to our customers.

I was impressed with how focused these pursers were on moving forward and competing vigorously in the marketplace. We talked about the tremendous opportunity that lies before us as we move to exit from bankruptcy and take on the challenge of besting the competition. Our opportunity is particularly unique given the bankruptcies of two major competitors and the financial difficulties others face. While we have many challenges remaining, we have definite reasons for optimism. The outlook is less optimistic for some of our competitors. They sit today where we were back in December of 2002 - at the bottom of the hill - and we're now poised at the crest. This is our chance to hit the accelerator - not just to do well - but to win.

We've already made tremendous progress, and our monthly operating results, which we announced on Wednesday, clearly reflect that progress.

Our operating profit for August was 80 million dollars, which, excluding the 125-million-dollar increase in fuel expense, was 217 million dollars better than last year. If you include our fuel expense, our results were still 92 million dollars better than last year, and that's with a 43 percent increase in the cost of fuel this August over last year.

Our mainline unit costs, excluding fuel, decreased by 5 percent and our revenue increased 9 percent.

We also turned in exceptionally strong operational performance in August- despite harsh weather conditions in the U.S. Gulf region. Our on-time departure :00 performance was 65.6 percent for August, 2.6 points above our goal, and we exceeded all of our other system operations goals.

These results are tangible evidence that while fuel costs remain very high, our business plan is working and a reflection of the good work you do everyday in serving and taking care of our customers. The hard work we have done collectively to restructure our airline is paying off.

I know I've said it before, but the key to our long-term success remains continuous improvement - to get better each and every month. We must remain focused on running a great airline by reducing costs, improving our operational efficiency and increasing our revenue. And we must continue to make sound business decisions and the changes necessary to deliver performance that outpaces that of our competitors. Judging by how far we've come so far - I know we can do it.

Finally, we enter the weekend with a great deal of concern for everyone bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Rita. In preparation, we suspended our operations in Houston last night, after up-gauging several scheduled flights and adding an extra section to make sure that none of our customers or employees were left behind. We also cancelled all Houston layovers, and evacuated the flight attendants and pilots that were already there on layovers. We expect to resume operations late Saturday afternoon if conditions permit. Our Human Resources department is prepared to open a Rita response center this weekend, if necessary. As they did after Hurricane Katrina, our folks in the Flight Attendant Service Center are prepared to make calls to the flight attendants in the affected area if necessary. My thoughts will be with our employees and others whose lives, families or homes are in the path of Hurricane Rita - may they weather the storm safely and unharmed.

That's all I have for today. Thank you for making it a safe and successful week.