Release #04.CAL3
July 26, 2004

HOUSTON---Uniformed pilots of ExpressJet Airlines will conduct informational picketing at Continental Airlines’ hub airports in Houston, Cleveland and Newark on Monday, July 26, 2004, to protest management’s unwillingness to address key compensation, job security and work rule issues satisfactorily in negotiations.

The pilots will picket on Monday, July 26, in Houston from 8am to 6pm at Terminals B and D; Newark from 8am to 6pm at Terminal C, and Cleveland from 8am to 6pm. Pilot media spokespersons will be on-site to talk with reporters.

Collective bargaining with ExpressJet began in July 2002. Pilots agreed to management’s request to delay the start of bargaining for six months to accommodate airline industry disruption after September 11, 2001.

"On ExpressJet’s second quarter earnings call last week, ExpressJet’s CEO told financial analysts that real progress was being made in pilot negotiations. Our pilots disagree. Management’s unwillingness to move the negotiating process to a conclusion has caused Continental Express pilots to be without a new contract for almost two years. There is no reason for collective bargaining to continue this long," said Capt. Jay Panarello, chairman of the Master Executive Council of Continental and Continental Express pilots, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA).

Thanks to the efforts of its pilots and other employees, ExpressJet Airlines (dba Continental Express), was voted Regional Airline of the Year in 2003. ExpressJet earned over $108M profit in 2003 and almost $60M in the first half of 2004 alone.

Over 2,500 Continental Express pilots safely transport more than 35,000 passengers to almost 140 destinations daily on over 235 state-of-the-art Embraer jets. These destinations are located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas and range from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Continental Express, which operates 1300 daily flights for Continental Airlines, is the sole provider of small jet service for Continental Airlines in its Newark, Cleveland and Houston hubs, and is the largest small jet operator in the world.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is the bargaining agent for the 6,500 pilots of Continental and Continental Express. ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilot union, representing 64,000 airline pilots at 42 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. www.alpa.org

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ALPA contact: Gordon Shattles, 281-987-3636