(CHICAGO) August 15, 2001 -- At a press conference held today at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, a group of United Airlines Chicago-based pilots stood beside Capt. Rick Dubinsky, Chairman of the United Airlines Pilots Master Executive Council, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, and Capt. Steve Forte, United’s Senior Vice President of Flight Operations, to outline why they believe Mayor Daley’s plan for increased capacity at O’Hare creates a world-class all-weather airport that can operate at peak efficiency for consumers while delivering world-class safety standards.

"Chicago is a world class city and it deserves a world class airport. -- one that is designed to operate at the highest level of safety and at peak efficiency in both good and bad weather-- and we, the United Airlines pilots support that concept, " said Dubinsky

Dubinsky and Forte stressed that United pilots share the mayor’s sense of urgency to solve the delay crisis at O’Hare not just for the short term, but for the long term. In addition, the two captains stressed that pilots strongly endorse the operational efficiencies of the new plan, which will allow pilots to fly their flight plans and deliver their customers to their destinations on time. Mayor Daley’s proposed plan will increase capacity by 50 percent in its first phase and will increase capacity by 97 percent in bad weather when fully completed.

"As a pilot and as a representative of Chicago’s hometown airline, we think the Mayor’s plan creates the eight most-important straight lines in aviation. This airport design is on par with the world’s finest and most-efficient airports. The new plan is a simpler layout; and, simpler translates into safer and more efficient," said Forte.

Dubinsky and Forte noted the economic costs to airlines that results from operational delays in terms of added fuel, crew misconnections and diversions, noting that those are costs which are felt particularly keenly by employees who have invested in their airline.

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