Release #06.DAL24
September 5, 2006

Safety and Security Top Concerns for SkyTeam Pilots Association Meeting

NEW YORK CITY, NY -- The Delta MEC, the governing body of the Delta pilots’ council of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), will host a meeting of the SkyTeam Pilots Association (SPA) at the Muse Hotel in New York City from Wednesday, September 6 through Friday, September 8. Five years after the savage 9/11 attacks, airline pilots remain the last line of defense for the hundreds of millions of passengers who have entrusted their lives to these professionals. Yet, many airline managements worldwide fail to provide their own pilots, those at the “tip of the spear,” with access to vital safety and security information and participation in crucial meetings. Safety and security concerns, both domestic and international, will be only two of the many topics discussed during the three-day meeting. The SPA pilot representatives will work together to address the many concerns of the many pilot groups represented.

Press Q&A Opportunity
Who: Members of the press (bring credentials)
What: The SPA will host a press question and answer period.
When: Friday, September 8, 2006, 10:30AM to 11:30AM
Where: at the Muse Hotel located at 130 West 46th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenue).
Pilot representatives from major airlines will be on hand for questions, leading off with Captain Lee Moak, Delta MEC Chairman.

About SkyTeam:
SPA (SkyTeam Pilots Alliance) was founded in October 2000 as a logical step leading towards closer cooperation among pilots employed by the Sky Team carriers. Since then, pilot representatives have been meeting regularly twice a year and SPA meetings became a main source of data interchange amongst the various pilot groups located worldwide.

The SkyTeam Pilots Association consists of pilots from nine member airlines around the world who maintain international codeshare agreements with Delta Air Lines. Member pilot groups include Air France, Alitalia, AeroMexico, Czech Republic, Korean Air, KLM, Continental, Northwest and Delta. Additionally, the Aeroflot pilot group will be inducted into the SkyTeam Pilots Association during this week’s meeting. Together, SkyTeam pilots fly almost 350 million passengers per year (nearly one of every four airline passengers in the world) to 684 destinations in 133 countries.

About ALPA:
Founded in 1931 and celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, ALPA represents 61,000 pilots at 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 6,000 active DAL pilots and 400 furloughed DAL pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the Delta pilots’ website at www.deltapilots.org.

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