Also, as far as UAL goes, as long as some progress is being made at the bargaining table, no matter how small, the mediation board really won't consider a request. There has to be no progress being made for the mediation board to take the requests seriously. This is not pie in the sky wishful thinking for filing for mediation. The game is rigged against labor and this is how it is played. It really is all up to Kirby. We are years away from a strike--more likely only a 30-day cooling off period, probably 6 months minimum away from requests for mediation--then a year or more in mediation. If the wheels fall off during this summer and Kirby wants a solution, he knows what he must do. He thinks UAL is positioned fairly well for the summer flying, I don't think so much. Just do your jobs and everything will happen as it may.[/QUOTE]

I’m out on LTD, but still stay up to date on ALPA and company communications. I recall some slides saying this would be the first year that flying would not drop off after summer - we would be in continuous growth mode for several years now. But most of these comments talk about getting through the summer. Has something changed?