CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2003 - United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) proudly announced today that it ranked No. 1 in the industry in domestic on-time performance in the full year 2002, according to the official U.S. Department of Transportationå‘s Air Travel Consumer report issued earlier today.
“This is wonderful news,” said Pete McDonald, executive vice president-operations.

“The government report offers tangible evidence that things have changed for the better at United Airlines. In a single year we vaulted from eighth place to first place in on-time arrivals.

“For United’s customers, reliable on-time service allows them to make firm plans with confidence. And for our employees this honor validates their focus on getting our flights out and in on time day after day throughout the year. And, finally, the No. 1 ranking helps to differentiate United from the pack in an industry viewed by some as a commodity,” McDonald said.

This list shows the rankings of carriers for the year 2002:

2002: 1. United 2. American 3. Continental
4. US Airways
5. America West
6. Southwest
7. Northwest
8. Delta
9. American Eagle
10. Alaska

The year 2002 was an extraordinary one for United in many ways, not the least of which was the company’s record-breaking operational performance. Employees broke 35 company records and achieved the best overall performance in the company’s 77-year history.

Among the highlights were these:

Departures exactly on-time (:00) were 70 percent, 14 percentage points higher than the company’s previous high in 1999; Departure completion was 99.2 percent, a figure that the company hasn’t approached since 1995;
Arrivals on-time within 14 minutes of schedule were at 84 percent, six points better than the previous high mark established in 1994;
All of these accomplishments came during a year when the company’s overall load factor was 73.6 percent, the highest since 2000.

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

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