Exhibit 99
For Immediate Release Contact: Rick DeLisi
May 28, 2003 Director, Corporate Communications
Page 1 of 2 (703) 650-6550
Atlantic Coast Airlines and Bombardier Aerospace Announce
Agreement on Revised Delivery Schedule for Regional Jets
Dulles, VA, (May 28, 2003) - Atlantic Coast Airlines, the
Dulles, VA-based United Express and Delta Connection
regional carrier (ACA) (NASDAQ/NM: ACAI) today announced it
has agreed with Bombardier Aerospace on a revised schedule
for its remaining CRJ-200 aircraft originally scheduled to
be delivered through April 2004 for its United Express
program. The new schedule is as follows:
- 6 will be delivered immediately
- 2 will be delivered during the fourth quarter 2003
- 6 will be delivered during the fourth quarter 2004
- 28 will be delivered in 2005
Financing has been arranged for the eight aircraft to be
delivered in 2003 using a mix of traditional and non-
traditional financing sources. ACA anticipates that it will
be the equity owner of at least six of these aircraft. The
arrangement with Bombardier also provides ACA with further
flexibility with respect to the aircraft now scheduled for
delivery after 2003, dependent on its reaching a
satisfactory arrangement with United Airlines.
The company anticipates that it will remove six of its J-41
turboprop aircraft from its United Express service in the
coming months.
Statements in this press release and by company executives
regarding its relationship with United Airlines, Inc. and
regarding projections and expectations of future aircraft
deliveries, availability of financing, future payments by
United, operations, earnings, revenues and costs represent
forward-looking information. A number of risks and
uncertainties exist which could cause actual results to
differ materially from these projected results. Such
factors include, among others: United's decision to elect
either to affirm all of the terms of the company's United
Express Agreement, or to reject the agreement in its
entirety, the timing of such decision, any efforts by United
to negotiate changes prior to making a decision on whether
to affirm or reject the contract, the ability and timing of
agreeing upon rates with United, the company's ability to
collect pre-petition obligations from United or to offset
pre-petition obligations due to United,
the company's ability to collect post-petition amounts it
believes are due from United for rate adjustments and
United's ability to successfully reorganize and emerge from
bankruptcy; the continued financial health of Delta Air
Lines, Inc.; changes in levels of service agreed to by the
company with its code-share partners due to market
conditions, and willingness of finance parties to continue
to finance aircraft in light of the United situation and of
market conditions generally, the ability of these partners
to manage their operations and cash flow, and ability and
willingness of these partners to continue to deploy the
company's aircraft and to utilize and pay for scheduled
service at agreed upon rates; general economic and industry
conditions; additional acts of war; and risks and
uncertainties arising from the events of September 11, the
impact of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
on travel and from the slow economy which may impact the
company, its code-share partners, and aircraft manufacturers
in ways that the company is not currently able to predict.
These and other factors are more fully disclosed under "Risk
Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in ACAI's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2002 and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three-
month period ended March 31, 2003. These statements are
made as of May 28, 2003 and ACA undertakes no obligation to
update any such forward-looking information, whether as a
result of new information, future events, changed
expectations or otherwise.
ACA operates as United Express and Delta Connection in the
Eastern and Midwestern United States as well as Canada. The
company has a fleet of 142 aircraft-including a total of 112
regional jets-and offers over 825 daily departures, serving
84 destinations.
Atlantic Coast Airlines employs over 4,800 aviation
professionals. The common stock of parent company Atlantic
Coast Airlines Holdings, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq
National Market under the symbol ACAI. For more information
about ACA, visit our website at www.atlanticcoast.com.