(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 16, 2001 ) WASHINGTON, D.C. - American (NYSE: AMR), Delta (NYSE: DAL) and United (NYSE: UAL) airlines today announced a new partnership with Boeing (NYSE: BA) aimed at providing millions of worldwide airline passengers each year with two-way broadband connectivity to e-mail, the Internet, corporate intranets, live television and entertainment, and other services while in flight.

In a joint news conference, three of the world's leading airlines and Connexion by Boeing announced they have signed a Letter of Intent to pursue forming a new global business venture to provide broadband communications and data services to commercial aircraft. The proposed venture would be jointly owned by Boeing and the three airlines, with Boeing serving as the major shareholder with overall management responsibility.

"It will take this kind of collaboration to bring a high-quality service to the airline passenger and the entire marketplace," said Scott Carson, president, Connexion by Boeing. "Each of the airlines and Boeing bring together a critical mass to help ensure success for this service with airline passengers and the global airline industry."

Upon signing definitive agreements, Boeing and the airlines each will contribute funding, certain intellectual property, and other assets necessary to carry on the business of the proposed venture. As part of the definitive agreements, the three airlines will equip a total of 1,500 aircraft with the venture's innovative, high-speed broadband Internet connectivity service, which will retain the Connexion by BoeingSM name. The timing of the first installation will be in the second half of 2002.
"This is an exciting new frontier for each of the founding airlines," said James A. Beer, vice president, corporate development and treasurer for American Airlines. "Our goal is to bring a high-quality service to the market - one that will materially enhance the productivity of passengers while in flight. This joint effort between the four companies is essential to ensuring we create a service that will be valued by customers."

The next steps will involve the three airlines and Boeing working together to further develop the venture's service offering and business plan, and complete the definitive agreements required to launch the new service.

"The three airlines and Boeing bring exceptional familiarity with aircraft and leading-edge space and aviation technology," said Ray Valeika, senior vice president - Technical Operations, Delta Air Lines. "This provides the expertise necessary to develop a quality product that is attractive to the industry as a whole."

"There currently is no service comparable to this in the market," said Larry DeShon, senior vice president - Marketing for United Airlines. "Each of the airlines brings an unprecedented level of knowledge about the in-flight connectivity needs of passengers. In the end, it is passengers who will truly benefit from this service."

Current long-term forecasts show the worldwide commercial airplane fleet of about 14,500 jetliners growing at a rate of 4.8 percent a year. In the next 24 hours alone, 4.7 million people will board 41,500 flights around the world.

"The scope of the installations will allow the venture's system and service to be designed and developed for reasonable costs," said Boeing's Carson. "That's good news for both the airlines and their passengers."

Connexion by Boeing, the first truly broadband communication service for people on the move, is the market-leading initiative working to bring today's high-speed, cable-quality Internet and company intranet data services to the airborne environment. Airline passengers will soon be able to choose from a multitude of personalized real-time services including Internet and corporate intranet access, e-commerce, live television and entertainment, transmission and receipt of data, shopping, travel and destination information. Airline operators also will benefit from in-flight access to airline and crew data not available through traditional communication channels. For additional information, visit the Connexion by Boeing web site at www.connexionbyboeing.com.


American Airlines, a subsidiary of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2001. With a fleet of 719 aircraft, American is one of the largest scheduled passenger airlines in the world and employs more than 117,000 people around the globe. Together with its regional affiliate, American Eagle, American serves 238 cities in 51 countries with more than 4,100 daily flights. American is the only airline to offer "More Room Throughout Coach." For more information, please visit http://www.aa.com/.


Delta Air Lines' goal is to become the No. 1 airline in the eyes of its customers, flying passengers and cargo from anywhere to everywhere. People choose to fly Delta more often than any other airline in the world on 5,234 flights each day to 367 cities in 64 countries on Delta, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection carriers and Delta's Worldwide Partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that gives customers extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. For more information, go to http://www.delta.com/.


United Airlines offers nearly 2,300 flights a day on a network that spans the globe. United NewVentures is a wholly owned subsidiary of UAL Corp. that was created to focus the airline's Internet initiatives and investments into one company. United.com, the official Web site for United Airlines, allows passengers to research flight, schedule and fare information and purchase travel on over 500 airlines worldwide. More information and a complete list of available services and functions can be found at http://www.united.com/.

# # #


Public Relations Contacts:
Boeing: Terrance Scott or Sherry Nebel (in Washington, D.C.)
(949) 790-1511 or (703) 465-3667
Sean Griffin (In Seattle)
(253) 773-5879

American Airlines: Dale Morris (In Washington, D.C.)
Cell: (817) 480-0482

Gus Whitcomb (American Airlines H.Q.)
(817) 967-1577

Delta Air Lines: Delta Air Lines Corporate Communications
(404) 715-2554

United Airlines: Chris Brathwaite
(847) 700-2278
(847) 700-5538 (Main media line)

Contact Information:
Boeing
Joseph Nchor
Tel:
Email us


This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.