Expect the separate announcement about a solo contract soon. I believe it will run something like this:

"From the Chairman:

As so many of you have witness since the announcement of the merger of two of the airlines. Continental and United, our progress towards achieving a pilot contract has been slow and painful at best. When I was recently asked about the delays, lack of substantial progress and what may be the root cause of them I was reminded of restoration of a classic car. In an effort to maintain originality of the components of the car it is often necessary to spend major efforts to rebuild and restore these to factory specifications. However, often times the wear, tear and corrosion are just too great for restoration. Even after spending many hours of detailed effort to do so they must be discarded and replaced with newly manufactured parts and so it is with our contract negotiations.

I am sad to announce the necessity to allow the former United pilot group to negotiate on their own and attempt to achieve a contract which meets their individual needs. I am also pleased to announce we, the former Continental pilot group, have achieved a historical contract agreement with United Airlines..."