Fellow American Eagle Pilots, It has been nearly nine months since American Airlines and American Eagle

Airlin es filed for bankruptcy protection. Early on, both management teams announced p lans to abrogate or otherwise modify labor agreements with the various unionized labor groups. American's management began first with American's organized labor, an d later, Eagle management made proposals to the Eagle labor groups. In the first few days following the bankruptcy filing, your ves crafted a mission statement and outlined a strategy for ss. As a unified group the MEC decided that the best course o seek a consensual agreement with management providing job rificing our quality of life. elected representati the bankruptcy proce of action would be t security without sac

Yesterday evening, ALPA reached a consensual agreement in principle (AIP) with m anagement which is quite different than the 1113 bankruptcy term sheet that mana gement would seek to impose if it obtained rejection of our current contract in an 1113 litigation. Late last night and again this morning, the MEC reviewed th e AIP and ultimately authorized the Negotiating Committee to work with managemen t on drafting full contract language for the MEC's review and approval before a pi lot ratification vote could occur. We anticipate that it will take the negotiators at least two weeks before final language is ready for the MEC's consideration. In an effort to avoid speculation as to what the AIP contains, we are working to disseminate later tonight a compa rison between the AIP and management's 1113 bankruptcy terms sheet. However, we c an hopefully put some of your minds at ease by sharing with you that as part of the AIP: We will not take cuts to our pay rates; We will not take longevity reductions; and We will not take reductions to our retirement contributions.

Understandably, there will be intense interest in the details of the AIP, and it is our goal to provide as much detail and information as possible surrounding t his negotiation. Our focus is currently set on drafting final contract language based upon the agreed principles. We will make every effort to keep you update d on the progress of this task and the next steps to come, knowing that you are rightfully concerned about unnecessary delays. As we work on contract language and explanatory materials, we will make signific ant efforts to educate our Pilot-2-Pilot volunteers about the AIP's specific bulle t point items so that they can also help answer your questions. Now more than e ver, it is imperative that every Eagle pilot have access to the facts and the tr uth. We caution you to avoid speculation and use your judgment when you hear fr om someone who claims to know someone who knows more details about the AIP or what transpired during the negotiation. As many of us know from experience, rarely do the facts in these circumstances hold up to scrutiny when compared to legitimat e information. In anticipation that the MEC may approve final language and send it to the pilot group for your vote, the SPC under the guidance of the MEC will begin schedulin g domicile road show schedules, and set up a streaming video version on the ALPA .org site for those unable to attend a live show. While we prepare contract lan guage for the MEC's review, please review the materials we distribute and continue engaging your MEC representatives. Lastly, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our Negotiating Committee, A LPA expert advisors, attorneys, and MEC members who sacrificed countless hours a way from home and their families in order to reach this agreement in principle.

Once contract language is finalized, we ask that you take sufficient time to rev iew it in detail as it is a substantial change from our current collective barga ining agreement. We encourage you to ask questions, contact the various ALPA re presentatives, and sufficiently educate yourself about the AIP. Fraternally, Captain Tony Gutierrez MEC Chairman