February 6, 2001
Release #01.08

Dulles, VA – Pilots at Atlantic Coast Airlines and ACJet, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International, today ratified the tentative agreement in principle reached with Atlantic Coast Holdings, Inc. on January 9, 2001. The new contract includes industry-leading pay rates, significant improvements in retirement, and provides training guarantees that will enhance career opportunities for Atlantic Coast and ACJet pilots.

The ALPA leadership at Atlantic Coast and ACJet voted to accept the tentative agreement after polling the entire pilot group, including apprentice members.

Capt. John Swigart, chairman of the Atlantic Coast and ACJet ALPA unit, stated, "We have spent the past two weeks educating our pilots on the details of this agreement to be sure they could make an informed decision. I am confident that we have achieved a contract that meets the needs of all Atlantic Coast and ACJet pilots, in the short-term and long-term. As we transition into an all-jet fleet over the next couple of years, this contract ensures that our pilots and our airline will stay at the top of the industry."

The new four-and-a-half-year agreement takes effect by the end of this week and includes a provision mandating that face-to-face negotiations commence six months prior to the amendable date. Atlantic Coast and ACJet pilots negotiated this contract in just ten months and the preceding contract in eleven months. "The expeditious precedents for negotiations at Atlantic Coast and ACJet clearly demonstrate our pilot group’s and our airline’s professionalism and commitment to our passengers," added Capt. Swigart.

Atlantic Coast Airlines operates as a United Express carrier throughout the east and in the Midwest with bases at Washington Dulles and Chicago’s O’Hare. ACJet is the newest Delta Connection airline, operating an all jet fleet in the Northeast out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport and Logan Airport in Boston.

Found in 1931, ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilots union representing 59,000 crewmembers at 49 airlines in the U.S. and Canada.

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ALPA Contact: Stacy Platone 703.481.4440