Release #02.054
June 18, 2002

WASHINGTON, D.C. and Indianapolis --- American Trans Air, Inc. (ATA) and the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) are pleased to announce that they have reached a tentative contract settlement covering the carrier’s nearly 1,000 cockpit crewmembers. The agreement comes after more than 25 months of negotiations including mediated talks under the auspices of the National Mediation Board (NMB).

John Tague, ATA’s president and CEO said, "This agreement meets our company’s need for competitive labor costs, while assuring our pilots equitable wages and benefits and rewarding their significant contribution to ATA’s past accomplishments and future growth plans."

"ATA flight crews are to be commended for conducting themselves with the highest professional standard throughout the negotiating process. They always maintained their focus on putting safety and our customers first," he said.

Capt. Kevin Friel, chairman of the ATA unit of ALPA, noted the significance of the agreement, stating, "Our negotiating committee worked very hard to construct a contract that will recognize the professionalism and dedication of ATA cockpit crewmembers who have devoted their careers to making ATA the first-rate major airline it is today. Even during this difficult economic climate, ATA remains well-positioned for growth and profitability in the future, and we feel this tentative agreement ideally complements and supports that business plan."

"With this tentative agreement, we successfully achieved our goal of obtaining a contract that will bring our pilots up to par with our colleagues at other major carriers in the areas of compensation, retirement, insurance, and work rules," Friel said. 

ALPA’s president, Capt. Duane Woerth, congratulated the ATA pilots and their management on reaching the agreement in an amicable manner under challenging circumstances.

The details of the agreement will be presented to the ATA cockpit crewmembers during a series of road shows that will be conducted at various bases over the next few weeks. The tentative agreement must still be ratified by ATA cockpit crewmembers. An announcement on the vote is expected in mid-July.

Now in its 29^th year of operation, ATA is the nation’s 10^th largest carrier based on revenue passenger miles flown. ATA offers significant scheduled service from Chicago-Midway and Indianapolis to 40 business and vacation destinations. Stock of the company’s parent company, ATA Holdings, Corp. (formerly Amtran, Inc.), is traded on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol "AMTR." For more information about the company, visit the website at www.ata.com.

ALPA is the world’s largest and oldest pilots union, representing 66,000 cockpit crewmembers at 43 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit the ALPA Web site at www.alpa.org.

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