Exhibit 99
For Immediate Release Contact: Rick DeLisi
July 21, 2003 Director, Corporate Communications
(703) 650-6550
REVISION:
Atlantic Coast Airlines Revises Date for
Second Quarter 2003 Earnings Release
Changed to Wednesday, July 30rd at 2:00pm Eastern
Dulles, VA, (July 21, 2003) - Atlantic Coast Airlines, the
Dulles, VA-based regional carrier (ACA) (NASDAQ/NM: ACAI)
today announced that it has rescheduled its second quarter
2003 earnings release to Wednesday, July 30th from the
previously announced release date of Wednesday, July 23rd.
On July 30th at 2:00pm Eastern, the senior executives of the
company will conduct a live webcast.
The Company has reached a tentative settlement with United
Airlines regarding rates for 2003 service under its existing
United Express Agreement. As a result, the Company requires
additional time to finalize and obtain approvals for the
tentative settlement and has elected to delay its earnings
release by one week in order to properly incorporate the
results of the tentative settlement into its second quarter
2003 financial results. The Company also announced today
that it will not complete the retirement of all of its J-41
turboprop aircraft originally planned by December 31, 2003,
and as a result, intends to reverse, in its second quarter
results, the portion of the prior charges for the retirement
of those aircraft that will not be retired prior to year end
2003.
As previously announced, ACA and United have also been
engaged in discussions related to the terms of a new
agreement to replace the existing United Express Agreements
between the parties. Although the Company and United
continue to talk regarding proposed terms, the parties have
not reached an agreement on terms satisfactory to the
Company, and there can be no assurances that the Company and
United will reach such an agreement in the future. The
Company continues to develop contingency plans to allow it
to establish an alternative to the United business in the
event that satisfactory arrangements for future United
Express service cannot be agreed with United. The Company
would pursue such an alternative if it concludes that the
alternative offers more favorable prospects than offered by
United. The Company cannot predict the timing or outcome of
any decision by United with respect to the Company's code
share arrangements.
The webcast will be hosted by:
- Kerry Skeen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
- Richard Surratt, Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer
Instructions to hear the webcast:
The live webcast can be accessed directly through the ACA
website at
www.atlanticcoast.com (go to the "For Investors" section).
NOTE: Replays of the webcast will be available for
five business days following the conference call.
Statements in this press release and by Company executives
regarding its implementation of new business strategies and
its relationship with United Airlines, Inc., as well as
regarding 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 risks
and uncertainties include, among others: United's option
under bankruptcy rules to assume or reject the existing
United Express Agreement, the timing of such decision,
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
effect of any bankruptcy court review of the tentative
agreement on 2003 rates, and the fact that the Company
cannot predict the timing or outcome of United's decision
process or required approvals; the timing and impact on the
Company's ability to implement an alternative business plan
of any disengagement by the Company as a United Express
carrier; the continued financial health of Delta Air Lines,
Inc.; 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, any of which may impact the Company, its aircraft
manufacturers and its other suppliers in ways that the
Company is not currently able to predict. Certain of these
and other risk 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 July 21, 2003 and ACA undertakes no obligation to
update any such forward-looking information, even in the
event that the status of its negotiations with United
changes, or as a result of any other 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 total fleet of 148 aircraft-including 85 CRJs
and 33 328JET regional jets-and offers over 840 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.