United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) continued a year-long trend of operational excellence by placing first in the latest Department of Transportation (DOT) statistics for on-time performance and for completing 99.6 percent of its scheduled flights in October.

United also set a record yesterday (Sunday, Dec. 1, 2002) by having 90.5 percent of its seats filled, carrying more than a quarter-of-a-million passengers.

Compared to 2001, United moved up from ninth place to first in on-time arrivals, with nearly 90 percent of its flights in October arriving within 14 minutes of schedule - the measure used by the DOT to calculate on-time performance.  United also posted the fewest cancellations in the industry.  In addition, the company’s mishandled bag rate per 1,000 customers was near the top of the industry, bumping the airline up from eighth place last year to fourth.

“Despite the challenges that our airline faces, our employees continue to put the customer first and that’s clearly evident in the DOT statistics,” said Pete McDonald, United executive vice president-Operations.  “Our employees should be very proud that we’ve been able to pass all of our competitors and give our customers the kind of dependability they expect from United.

“No matter which course our recovery takes it will be business as usual at United.  And that means that United Airlines and its employees will continue to give our customers the best possible travel experience in the industry,” he continued.

News releases and other information about United Airlines can be found at the company’s website, www.united.com.

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