Release #07.DAL5
November 20, 2007

Delta Air Lines Pilots Union Rallies Pilot Members

Atlanta – Captain Lee Moak, master chairman of the Delta Air Lines pilots union, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), rallied pilots to be engaged in their union in response to hedge fund and other institutional investors seeking transactions through consolidation. What follows is an excerpt from Capt. Moak’s letter to the pilots sent Tuesday, November 20.

“Pardus’ demand for a merger between Delta and United is a poisonous vision built upon an artificial timeline and focused primarily on a financial transaction. In essence, the demand is nothing more than another version of a hostile takeover of Delta Air Lines. As we demonstrated in the case of the US Airways assault on our company, we can stop a consolidating event that is not in our best interests, and we will treat the demands by Pardus no less seriously that those presented by US Airways last year.

In broader terms, the Delta MEC’s position on industry consolidation has been and remains clear. We recognize that consolidation is an ever-present possibility in our industry, and at some point may become inevitable or even desirable. One consolidating event could very likely trigger competitive responses from the managements of other carriers resulting in industry-wide consolidation. We are not opposed to consolidation per se, and given the right set of circumstances, a merger proposal could draw our support. Without that support, however, any attempt at consolidation involving Delta will fail.

On the other hand, should a rational merger proposal present itself, our support will be contingent on our involvement from the earliest stages of the proposal with a real and meaningful stake in the new entity.

In my last Chairman’s Letter, I sent a message of readiness. Our Merger Committee is fully involved in studying various potential consolidation scenarios. The committee is working closely with outside legal counsel specializing in the field of mergers and acquisitions. At the recent MEC meeting, the MEC unanimously approved a resolution to retain the Merger Assessment fund, valued at over $1 million, rather than refund it as previously planned.

We are well prepared, but we must continue to build upon our efforts as we ready ourselves for the potential consolidation battle ahead. In the coming weeks, you will see the tempo of our operations increase as it has in the past when we are faced with threats to our careers and our profession. I am asking you to recommit yourself to staying informed and available when you are called into action. We will not stand idly by and let Pardus or any other parties succeed in their attempts to reshape our company or this nation’s airline industry for personal financial gain.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA represents 60,000 pilots at 42 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 7,000 active DAL pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the Delta pilots’ website at www.deltapilots.org.

SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association
CONTACT: ALPA, Kelly Regus, 404-763-4925 office