April 15, 2008

“For the past several years, mergers and consolidation have been part of the vernacular of the airline industry. Monday’s announcement of a merger involving Delta and Northwest Airlines could be just the first of a series of announced marriages between major U.S. carriers.

“Most airline analysts believe an announcement involving United Airlines and Continental will soon follow Monday’s Delta and Northwest news. The management teams of United and Continental must understand one hard fact: the pilots of our respective airlines will not allow any merger unless management meets or exceeds our demands to be treated fairly and equitably. Our concerns will be addressed before we ever agree to allow our airlines to merge.

“If a merger benefits airline executives, Wall Street financial groups and legal firms at the expense of pilots and the flying public, we will use all lawful means necessary to ensure the transaction is unsuccessful. We are not going to stand by and watch as our futures are controlled by others. Pilots on both sides of a merger must be fully involved and will play a significant role in the acceptance or rejection of an attempted merger.

“We have real concerns regarding any transaction involving our airlines, and we have repeatedly asked our respective companies to acknowledge and address those concerns prior to making any merger or consolidation announcement. We will not stand idly by while the CEOs and their executives attempt to merge our airlines without regards to the long-term feasibility of the final entity.

“Let there be no mistake. This is not about pay or benefits. This is about survival. We will fight, on every possible front, any attempt to merge our airlines at the expense of the pilots.”