Without a TA, our current scope language would prevent them from ever operating less block hours between the U.S. and UK than we are currently operating, or they'd have to end the JV. However, with our current scope language, they could grow Virgin unlimited and grow us zero as long as they didn't shrink our block hours from present. In other words, our current language gives us our current level as a floor, but would allow them not to share growth with us.

With this new TA, we share in growth after Virgin Atlantic grows about 5% higher from where they are now. We paid for that promise of growth sharing by allowing the company to shrink our global level of international block hours by about 100,000 hours or year. But we currently don't have a global level of block hours that we 're guaranteed. In other words, this new language allows us to share growth after Virgin grows an additional 5%, in return for a global minimum of international flying that is 100,000 hours per year lower than we're currently flying.

It's essentially a bet on growth. If Virgin grows more than 5%, then we share that growth. If we shrink, the company can shrink us by 100,000 international block hours per year AND keep the virgin JV. If we kept our current language and they reduced our block hours at all between the US and U.K., they'd have to give up the JV.

Carl