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EXHIBIT 10.17
* TEXT OMITTED AND FILED SEPARATELY
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
UNDER 17 C.F.R. SECTION 200.80(B)(4),
200.83 AND 240.24b-2
United Contract No. 163872
AMENDED AND RESTATED
UNITED EXPRESS(R) AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
UNITED AIR LINES, INC.
AND
MESA AIR GROUP, INC.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ARTICLE
TITLE
PAGE
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I.
DEFINITIONS.................................................
1
II.
SCOPE, TERM, AND CONDITIONS.................................
4
A.
SCOPE
.................................................. 4
B. TERM
................................................... 5
C.
CONDITIONS..............................................
7
III.
SUPPORT SERVICES AND FACILITIES.............................
7
A.
GENERAL.................................................
7
B. SPECIAL SUPPORT
SERVICES................................ 7
C.
COMMUNICATIONS..........................................
10
D.
RESERVATIONS............................................
10
E.
OPERATIONS..............................................
11
F. STATION SUPPORT
SERVICES................................ 14
G. TARIFFS AND
SCHEDULE PUBLICATION........................ 14
H. SALES
SETTLEMENT........................................ 15
I. ADVERTISING AND
PROMOTIONS.............................. 17
J.
AUTOMATION..............................................
17
K. OTHER
SUPPLIES.......................................... 20
L. CONTRACTOR
ASSISTANCE................................... 21
IV.
AIR SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY CONTRACTOR...................
21
A. SCHEDULES AND
CHARTERS TO BE OPERATED BY CONTRACTOR..... 21
B. AIRCRAFT TO BE
USED..................................... 23
C.
INVENTORY...............................................
26
D. FLIGHT CREWS TO BE
USED................................. 26
E. INFLIGHT
SALES.......................................... 27
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V.
OPERATING RESTRICTIONS......................................
27
A. UNITED EXPRESS
OPERATIONS ONLY.......................... 27
B. NO OPERATION
OUTSIDE AGREEMENT.......................... 27
C. BREACH OF OPERATING
RESTRICTIONS........................ 28
VI.
LICENSE.....................................................
28
A. GRANT OF
LICENSE........................................ 28
B. TERMS AND
CONDITIONS GOVERNING LICENSE.................. 28
C.
INFRINGEMENT............................................
30
VII.
ADDITIONAL UNDERTAKINGS.....................................
30
A. BULK
PURCHASES.......................................... 31
B. FUEL
................................................... 31
C. PURCHASE BY UNITED
OF PASS THROUGH COST ITEMS........... 31
D.
UNIFORMS................................................
31
E. PASSES AND REDUCED
RATE TRAVEL.......................... 31
F.
SIGNAGE.................................................
32
G.
ENVIRONMENTAL...........................................
32
H. START-UP
COSTS.......................................... 32
I. AIRCRAFT
SUBSTITUTIONS.................................. 33
VIII. RATES
PAYABLE TO CONTRACTOR................................. 33
A. RATES
.................................................. 33
B. OPERATING
GOALS......................................... 36
C. MARKUP
................................................. 37
D. WIRE TRANSFER AND
RECONCILIATION........................ 37
IX.
FEES PAYABLE TO UNITED......................................
38
A. GOVERNMENT
ASSISTANCE................................... 38
X.
MAINTENANCE AND FUELING.....................................
39
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XI.
U.S. MAIL...................................................
39
XII.
INSURANCE...................................................
39
A. INSURANCE
TYPES......................................... 39
B. 30-DAY
NOTICE........................................... 40
C. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN
INSURANCE........................... 40
XIII. LIABILITY
AND INDEMNIFICATION............................... 40
A. EMPLOYER'S
LIABILITY AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION.......... 40
B. INDEMNIFICATION BY
CONTRACTOR........................... 40
C. INDEMNIFICATION BY
UNITED............................... 41
D. CONTRACTOR'S
SUPPLIES LIABILITY......................... 41
E. UNITED
DEFINITIONS...................................... 43
XIV.
REPORTS.....................................................
43
A. CLOSE-OUT
ENTRIES....................................... 43
B. BOARDING
INFORMATION.................................... 44
C. OPERATING
PERFORMANCE................................... 44
D.
INSPECTION..............................................
44
E. FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS.................................... 44
F. GOVERNMENT
FILINGS...................................... 44
G. COPY OF GOVERNMENT
REPORTS.............................. 45
XV.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND UNAUTHORIZED OBLIGATIONS........
45
A. INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTORS................................. 45
B. UNAUTHORIZED
OBLIGATIONS................................ 46
C. CONTRACTOR OPERATED
FLIGHTS............................. 46
XVI.
DEFAULT AND TERMINATION.....................................
46
A. OPERATIONS
DEFAULT...................................... 46
B. COVENANT
DEFAULT........................................ 47
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C.
DEFAULT BY
CONTRACTOR................................... 47
D. SIMILAR
AGREEMENTS...................................... 48
E. NON-COMPLIANCE WITH
STANDARDS........................... 48
F. CONSEQUENCES OF
TERMINATION............................. 49
G. UNITED'S LIQUIDATED
DAMAGES............................. 49
H. RESTRICTED
ACTIONS...................................... 50
XVII.
ASSIGNMENT, MERGER AND ACQUISITION..........................
50
A.
ASSIGNMENT..............................................
50
B. MERGER AND
ACQUISITION.................................. 51
XVIII. CHANGE OF
LAW............................................... 51
XIX.
TAXES, PERMITS AND LICENSES.................................
51
A. TRANSACTION
TAXES....................................... 51
B. PAYROLL
TAXES........................................... 52
C. PERMITS AND
LICENSES.................................... 52
XX.
REVIEW......................................................
52
XXI.
JURISDICTION................................................
53
XXII.
NOTICES.....................................................
53
XXIII. APPROVALS AND
WAIVERS....................................... 54
XXIV. GOVERNING
LAW............................................... 54
XXV.
CUMULATIVE REMEDIES.........................................
54
XXVI. FORCE
MAJEURE............................................... 55
XXVII. SEVERABILITY AND
CONSTRUCTION............................... 55
XXVIII.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT..............................................
55
XXIX.
CONFIDENTIALITY.............................................
55
XXX.
RELATED AND THIRD PARTY AGREEMENTS..........................
56
XXXI. ENTIRE
AGREEMENT............................................ 56
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XXXII. REFERENCES TO
TIME PERIODS................................... 56
APPENDIX A
.............................................................
58
APPENDIX B
.............................................................
59
APPENDIX C
.............................................................
60
APPENDIX D
.............................................................
61
APPENDIX E
.............................................................
63
APPENDIX F
.............................................................
64
APPENDIX G
.............................................................
66
APPENDIX H
.............................................................
68
APPENDIX I
.............................................................
77
APPENDIX J
.............................................................
78
Appendix K
.............................................................
79
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* TEXT OMITTED AND FILED SEPARATELY
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED
UNDER 17 C.F.R. SECTION 200.80(B)(4),
200.83 AND 240.24b-2
UNITED EXPRESS(R) AGREEMENT
This
Agreement, dated as of January 28, 2004, is between UNITED AIR
LINES,
INC., a Delaware corporation, with its
worldwide headquarters located at 1200 E.
Algonquin Road, Elk Grove Township, IL
60007 ("UNITED"), and Mesa Air Group,
Inc., a Nevada corporation, having its
principal mailing address at 410 N 44th
St., Suite 700 Phoenix, AZ 85008
("CONTRACTOR").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS,
United holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity
issued pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act
of 1958 authorizing United to engage
in air transportation of persons, property
and mail, and is a major airline
providing scheduled air service in both
national and international markets;
WHEREAS,
Contractor is the parent company of a group of air carriers
holding a certificate of public convenience
and necessity issued pursuant to the
Federal Aviation Act of 1958 authorizing
them to engage in air transportation of
persons and property;
WHEREAS,
Contractor is willing to cause one or more of its wholly-owned
subsidiaries to perform service on behalf
of United;
WHEREAS,
United owns various trademarks, service marks, trade names,
logos, emblems, uniform designs and
distinctive exterior and interior color
decor and patterns for its aircraft,
including, but not limited to, the service
mark United Express (hereinafter referred
to individually and collectively as
"UNITED MARKS" or "MARKS");
WHEREAS,
United has entered into agreements with several regional
carriers
to provide air transportation services
under the United Express mark for city
pairs where it is generally uneconomic for
United to operate such services;
WHEREAS,
United will provide Contractor, pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement, a non-exclusive license to use
one or more of the United Marks in
connection with Contractor's United Express
Services.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, mutual
covenants and obligations hereinafter
contained, the parties agree as follows:
I DEFINITIONS
A. "Apollo
Services" means the computerized Apollo Reservations and
Ticketing Service (or any similar or
substitute service offered by or on behalf
of United), which
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performs flight, hotel, rental car and
other travel related services,
reservations and ticket issuance
functions.
B.
"Contractor Location"
means any
airport terminal facility where Contractor provides
Contractor's
United Express Services pursuant to this
Agreement and Contractor, but not
United, has employees stationed (including
any terminal facility where
Contractor provides Contractor's United
Express Services pursuant to this
Agreement that is different from the
terminal facility from which United
operates in the same airport).
C.
"Contractor's United Express Services"
means the
services or operations provided and maintained by Contractor or
its affiliates in connection with providing
scheduled air transportation service
as a United Express Carrier and related
ground and other services to United and
its affiliates pursuant to the terms of
this Agreement (including, without
limitation, the services required under
ARTICLE IV).
D. "United
Express Service Standards" or "Service Standards"
means the
procedures prescribed by United that describe United's approved
standards, policies, requirements and
procedures for various activities relating
to the provision of air transportation
services. These Service Standards are
provided in APPENDIX H.
E.
"Default"
means,
individually or collectively, a SECTION A DEFAULT, a SECTION B
DEFAULT, a SECTION C DEFAULT, a SECTION D
DEFAULT, or a SECTION E DEFAULT, each
as defined in ARTICLE XVI.
F.
"Designated Personnel"
means all
of Contractor's employees who provide Contractor's United
Express Services in job classifications
requiring direct public contact.
Furthermore, this covers all customer
service, ramp service, pilots, and flight
attendants.
G.
"Effective Date"
shall have
the meaning set forth in ARTICLE II.B.
H.
"Environmental Laws"
means all
federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, and
airport rules, regulations and policies
relating to pollution or the
environment, including, without limitation,
laws and regulations relating to
emissions to the air, discharges to surface
and subsurface waters, safe drinking
water, the storage, release, disposal,
transport or
2
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handling of chemicals, pollutants,
contaminants, wastes, hazardous substances,
petroleum and petroleum products, and
aircraft noise, vibration, exhaust and
overflight.
I. "Ground
Handling Duties"
means the
provision of one or more of the following: (1) lavatory
service,
(2) overnight cabin cleaning, (3) loading
and unloading of baggage, mail and
freight, (4) receipt and dispatch, (5)
baggage delivery, and (6) provisioning
personnel and storage space.
J. "Ground
Handling Provider" means, for each city in which Contractor
operates flights in Contractor's United
Express Services, either United or
another entity selected by United (which,
in some cities, will be Contractor) to
provide ground handling services to
Contractor in that city.
K. "Joint
Location"
means any
airport terminal where Contractor provides Contractor's United
Express Services pursuant to this Agreement
and both United and Contractor have
employees stationed.
L. "Marks"
or "United Marks"
shall have
the meaning set forth in the recitals of this Agreement.
M.
"Rates"
shall have
the meaning set forth in ARTICLE VIII
N.
"Related Agreements"
shall have
the meaning set forth in ARTICLE XXX.
O.
"Revenue Passenger"
means each
passenger traveling on Contractor in connection with
Contractor's United Express Services who
holds a ticket (electronic or
otherwise), flight coupon, voucher or other
form of document that (i) entitles
that passenger to board an aircraft and
(ii) is issued pursuant to or in
connection with a published or unpublished
fare. Passengers traveling on a
purchased ticket (including ID50 airline
industry reduced rate tickets),
wholesaler voucher, or voucher issued as
denied boarding compensation, shall be
considered to be Revenue Passengers. In
addition, passengers traveling on a free
ticket as (or as part of) a Mileage Plus(R)
award or a free ticket issued in
conjunction with a two-for-one fare or
other similar fare established by United,
shall be considered to be Revenue
Passengers. A passenger traveling on any other
type of free or service charge-based
ticket, including, but not limited to, a
site inspection ticket, or wholesaler
compensation ticket, any travel agent or
wholesaler traveling on a positive space or
space available ticket, and any
employee of United, Contractor or any other
carrier traveling on
3
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either a positive space or space available
ticket, shall not be considered a
Revenue Passenger. All Revenue Passengers
shall be considered when calculating
any Monthly Incentive Payment.
P.
"Support Services"
means
those activities set forth in ARTICLE III which are related to
the
operation of airline services except during
flight.
Q.
"Termination Date"
shall have
the meaning set forth in ARTICLE II.B.
R. "United
Express Carrier"
means an
air carrier which has been contractually given a non-exclusive
license to use the mark United Express and
one or more other United Marks in
connection with providing air
transportation service to United pursuant to an
agreement between United and such air
carrier.
S. "United
Location"
means any
airport terminal facility where Contractor and United both have
operations and United, but not Contractor,
has employees stationed.
T.
"United's Actual Cost"
means any
and all costs or expenses actually incurred by United, not
including any markup by United, any
allocation of administrative or overhead
expenses, or any administrative service
charge imposed by United.
U.
"Aircraft Used in United Express Service"
means any
type and amount of aircraft set forth in APPENDIX A.
II. SCOPE, TERM, AND
CONDITIONS
A.
SCOPE
The scope
of this Agreement pertains to type and amount of Contractor's
aircraft set forth in APPENDIX A, and as it
may be amended in accordance
herewith from time to time.
4
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B.
TERM
1.
TURBOPROP: This Agreement becomes effective on July 6, 2003 at
1:01
a.m., Chicago, Illinois time, on (the
"EFFECTIVE DATE") and shall terminate 10
years from the effective date (the
"TERMINATION DATE"), unless it is terminated
at an earlier date by United giving written
notice * months prior to the *
anniversary of the Effective Date, or as
otherwise set forth under the
provisions of this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, those
provisions of this Agreement that
specifically require actions prior to the
Effective Date shall be effective upon
execution of this Agreement. * months
prior to the Termination Date, United and
Contractor shall engage in discussions
regarding the potential extension of the
Agreement or ramp down schedule for
Contractor's United Express operations;
provided, however, that the decision to
extend or ramp down the Agreement shall be
at United's sole discretion. The
terms of any extension of the Agreement
will be mutually agreed upon by
Contractor and United.
(i) DELIVERY OF
TURBOPROPS: Turboprops must be delivered and ready
to enter the United Express schedule on the
dates described in Appendix A.
(ii) CONSEQUENCES FOR
LATE DELIVERY OF TURBOPROPS: If any Turboprop
is delivered later than * after the dates
set out in Appendix A other than for
reasons set forth below *. If, upon
inspection, an aircraft is determined by
Contractor to have any damage that must be
repaired, or if the aircraft is
damaged after takeoff en route to
Contractor for delivery, Contractor will have
the choice either to repair or replace the
aircraft. If Contractor chooses to
repair the aircraft, the * deadline will be
extended by no longer than the time
spent repairing the aircraft after the
original * deadline. If Contractor
chooses to replace the aircraft, the *
deadline will be extended by no longer
than the time it would have taken to repair
the aircraft. The inspection
mentioned above must take place on or
before *, regardless of the date of this
contract, and if Contractor determines from
such inspection that repairs will be
necessary, Contractor must advise United of
this delay by no later than * or
this extension of the delivery deadline
will be waived. For no other reason will
the * deadline be extended. In such a case
where repairs are required,
Contractor will use commercially reasonable
efforts to expedite the repairs to
the aircraft.
2.
REGIONAL JET: This Agreement as it relates to the RJ-50 and
RJ-70
(collectively, "RJ") fleet becomes
effective on August 1, 2003 at 1:01 a.m.,
Chicago, Illinois time (the "RJ START
DATE").
a. INITIAL
RJ-70: The first * 70-seat or 64-seat Regional Jet
("RJ") aircraft, as the case may be, will
be divided into three tranches of *, *
and * aircraft, respectively ("RJ
Tranches"). The term of this Agreement for (a)
the first RJ Tranche, which shall consist
of the * RJ aircraft having the
earliest lease expiration dates, will
expire December 31, 2011, (b) the second
RJ Tranche of * RJ aircraft will expire on
December 31, 2012, and (c) the third
RJ Tranche, which shall consist of the * RJ
aircraft having the latest lease
expiration dates, will expire on December
31, 2013. Upon expiration of this
Agreement for each RJ Tranche, and if
United
-----------------------------
*Confidential Treatment Requested
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and Contractor do not thereupon extend the
term of this Agreement for such RJ
Tranche, then ramp down of the aircraft for
such RJ Tranche out of the terms and
conditions of this Agreement will take
place gradually over * following
termination at a rate of no more than *
aircraft per month, to be mutually
agreed upon by United and Contractor.
(i) DELIVERY OF
INITIAL RJ-70s: RJ-70s must be delivered and
ready to enter the United Express schedule
on the dates described in Appendix A.
(ii) CONSEQUENCES FOR
LATE DELIVERY OF RJ-70S: If any RJ-70
is delivered later than * after the dates
set out in Appendix A, *. In the case
where any of the RJ-70s cannot be delivered
because of a delay by Bombardier of
RJ-900s to Contractor for reasons wholly
related to Bombardier manufacturing
(including Bombardier employee strikes),
and in the case that Bombardier can
produce verifiable proof that the delivery
of the RJ-900s was a) delayed (and
the period of delay) and b) delayed for
reasons wholly related to Bombardier
manufacturing (including Bombardier
employee strikes), then *.
b. RJ-50:
For * 50-seat Regional Jet ("RJ-50") aircraft, the term
of this Agreement will expire no later than
December 31, 2008 and will
correspond to the introduction of the *
Replacement RJ 70s as outlined in
ARTICLE FII.B.2.c.
(i) DELIVERY OF
FIRST FIVE RJ-50S: First * RJ-50s must be
delivered and ready to enter the United
Express schedule on the dates described
in Appendix A.
(ii) CONSEQUENCES FOR
LATE DELIVERY OF FIRST FIVE RJ-50S: If
any RJ-50 is delivered later than * after
the dates set out in Appendix A *.
(iii) DELIVERY OF LAST TEN RJ-50S: Contractor must provide
delivery dates for each of the Last *
RJ-50s at any time at its discretion
before *. Once Contractor has submitted to
United the delivery dates for the
Last * RJ-50s, at United's sole discretion
United will be entitled to accept or
decline authorization of these aircraft on
an aircraft by aircraft basis. If
accepted, Contractor must deliver the RJ50
on the date set out in the Last *
RJ-50 Schedule. If declined, Contractor
will no longer be authorized to add the
declined aircraft to United Express' Fleet
and no payments or penalties will be
owed by United on such declined
aircraft..
(iv) CONSEQUENCES FOR
LATE DELIVERY OF LAST TEN RJ-50S: If
any RJ-50 is delivered later than * after
the dates set out in Last * RJ-50
Schedule, *.
c. 15
REPLACEMENT RJ 70S: The delivery of * RJ70s will occur no
sooner than the withdrawal of the * short
term RJ50s on a one for one basis. *
All Replacement RJ-70 deliveries (and the
corresponding RJ-50 retirements) must
be completed by no later than *. The term
for the * replacement RJ 70s shall
expire * from the delivery of each
individual RJ70, but in any case no later
than December 31, 2018.
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*Confidential Treatment Requested
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(i) DELIVERY OF
REPLACEMENT RJ-70S: Contractor must advise
United of the delivery date of each
Replacement RJ-70 no later than * before the
delivery date of each RJ-70. Contractor
must advise United of the delivery dates
of all RJ-70s no later than *. Replacement
RJ-70s must be delivered and ready to
enter the United Express schedule on these
dates.
(ii)
CONSEQUENCES FOR LATE
DELIVERY OF REPLACEMENT RJ-70S: *.
C.
CONDITIONS
1. RENEWAL OPTION. Upon expiration of this Agreement, for each
RJ-70
Tranche and for the RJ-50 fleet, United may
renew the term hereof for each RJ
Tranche aircraft and for each RJ-50
aircraft for an additional term of *, on the
then existing terms and conditions, upon at
least * written notice prior to the
end of such term.
PILOT CONSIDERATION for 70-seat Regional
Jet Employment for Furloughed United
Pilots. Contractor acknowledges that United
has been required to furlough some
of its pilots over the past several years.
As additional consideration, with the
exception of Paragraph 11 of the Letter
03-22, Contractor has agreed to
provisions outlined in Letter 03-22, Letter
03-23 and Letter 03-24, "Job
Opportunities for Furloughed United Pilots"
between United and the Air Line
Pilot Association dated August 21, 2003,
August 21, 2003 and September 5, 2003,
which is incorporated herein by reference.
United retains the right to recall
furloughed pilots hired by Contractor.
Should United decide to recall
aforementioned pilots within * months of
any pilot's Contractor hire date,
United will reimburse the aforementioned
pilots for Contractor's pilot prorated
training costs of $* per CRJ pilot, $* per
Dash-8 pilot and $* per B1900 pilot,
prorated by the number of months remaining
until that pilot's * anniversary as
compared to the full cost over *.
III. SUPPORT SERVICES AND
FACILITIES
A.
GENERAL
1. SUPPORT SERVICES. United and Contractor will provide Support
Services and facilities to the extent and
in the manner set forth in the
subsequent provisions of this ARTICLE III.
All such Support Services and
facilities set forth in this ARTICLE III
will be furnished only with respect to
Contractor's United Express Services.
2. APPROVAL OF SUPPORT SERVICES. United reserves the right to
approve or disapprove the implementation of
any Support Services or facilities
offered to Contractor for Contractor's
United Express Services by any third
party at any location. Such approval shall
not be unreasonably withheld.
B. SPECIAL
SUPPORT SERVICES
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*Confidential Treatment Requested
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In addition to other services to be made available to or provided
to
Contractor pursuant to this Agreement, and
as summarized in and in accordance
with APPENDIX B (City Pairs and Ground
Handling) and APPENDIX C (Contractor
Support Services), United agrees that it or
its designees will provide and
Contractor agrees to use the following
services and facilities for Contractor's
United Express Services, be they provided
by United or its designee:
1. USE OF THE UNITED DESIGNATOR CODE
All scheduled air transportation provided by Contractor as a part
of
Contractor's United Express Services will
be displayed by United in Apollo
Services, the Official Airline Guide
("OAG") and all other computerized
reservations systems, using the appropriate
United designator code, "UA" or
"UA*," and a flight number within a range
of flight numbers assigned by United.
2. USE OF APOLLO SERVICES
In selling and providing Contractor's United Express Services,
Contractor will only use Apollo Services,
including United's automated check-in,
United's ticketing (including United's
electronic ticketing service,
E-Ticket(SM)) and boarding passes, advance
seat reservation system and United's
automated baggage tag printing and baggage
tracing systems.
3. PARTICIPATING IN UNITED'S MILEAGE PLUS(R) PROGRAM
At United's discretion, all passengers with paid tickets
traveling
on a flight segment included in
Contractor's United Express Services, whether or
not in conjunction with a United flight
segment, will be awarded mileage credits
for United's Mileage Plus Program or any
other frequent flyer program as
specifically approved by United. Contractor
shall not participate in the
frequent traveler program of any other
carrier in connection with Contractor's
United Express Services, unless otherwise
mutually agreed between United and
Contractor in writing. United has sole
discretion concerning decisions relating
to accrual or redemption of award travel on
Contractor's United Express flights.
In addition, United will bear the cost of
providing redemption travel and
receive all revenue and benefits from the
sale of frequent flyer credits (e.g.
miles) related to Contractor's United
Express service.
4. USE OF UNITED TICKET STOCK, BAGGAGE TAGS AND TICKET WALLETS
In selling air transportation of passengers and property, both
on-line and off-line, Contractor will use
only United passenger ticket stock,
ticket wallets and baggage tags in
connection with Contractor's United Express
Services. Unless otherwise agreed, United
will provide to Contractor all United
passenger ticket stock, United airway
bills, United cargo bills and other
shipping documentation for all Contractor's
United Express Services, and United
will provide to Contractor ticket wallets
and baggage tags for Joint Locations
and United Locations only; provided that
such quantities do not exceed
reasonable levels. Contractor shall
reimburse United, at United's Actual Cost,
for all
8
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documentation requested by Contractor.
Ticket wallets, baggage tags and other
passenger processing documents approved by
United will be acquired by Contractor
for all Contractor Locations through a
supplier designated by United. Contractor
shall be required to convert to the use of
different ticket wallets, baggage
tags and other passenger processing
documents upon * prior written notice to
Contractor by United.
5. CREDIT CARD SALES AND REJECTS; BAD CHECKS
Contractor will use only credit-industry or airline-industry
standard credit card vouchers and receipts
in connection with credit card sales
for tickets, cargo, excess baggage or other
services on Contractor's United
Express Services. * Contractor will
reimburse United for the expenses of such
discount fees and credit card rejects.
Contractor will absorb the risk of bad
checks used as payment for tickets and
vouchers written by Contractor for
passage or freight in connection with
Contractor's United Express Services.
6. DENIED BOARDING
a. In the
event of voluntary or involuntary denied
boardings, Contractor shall make a good
faith effort to rebook United Express
customers on the next available flight
operated by one of United's code share
partners, such as US Airways, or a Star
Alliance partner, provided that the
routing is logical and does not seriously
inconvenience the customer.
b.
Contractor is required to provide to United, upon
specific written request from United,
specific station information regarding the
weight restrictions and aircraft
limitations which could results in Denied
Boardings. Such requests shall be made by
United's Revenue Management Department
(WHQIM) and responses from Contractor shall
be provided within * weeks of such
request.
c. United
will pay Contractor the Unit Rates per completed
passenger for interrupted trip expense
(RJ-50 and RJ-70 only) as set forth in
Appendix D. Contractor and United agree to
review the interrupted trip expense
six months after execution of this
agreement. If Contractor's actual
uncontrollable costs are below $* per
passenger, Contractor will reduce this
rate to the actual cost for the remainder
of this agreement.
7. TICKET AND BAGGAGE HANDLING FEES
All ticket handling, baggage handling and other service charges
and
fees assessed by carriers other than United
relating to Contractor's services
(including, but not limited to,
Contractor's United Express Services) will be
absorbed directly by United.
8. CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING
On a schedule, at a place, to an extent, for a number of
persons,
and in a manner determined by United,
United will provide training for
Contractor's instructors
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that United deems sufficient to permit
Contractor's instructors to be able to
provide and train others to provide
customer services for Contractor's United
Express Services. Contractor will have no
obligation to pay United for such
training. However, Contractor agrees to
adhere to the United Express Standards
of Service as outlined in APPENDIX H for
all Customer Service of their United
Express flights.
C.
COMMUNICATIONS
1. TELEPHONE AND DATA LINES
United, at its expense, will provide and maintain or arrange for
the
provision of reservations telephone lines
connecting the cities served by
Contractor in connection with Contractor's
United Express Services with United's
Reservations Centers. United, at its
expense, will establish, operate and
maintain or arrange for the provision of
the data circuits from Contractor's
airport ticket offices and other selected
locations linking the United-approved
data processing equipment at those
locations with Apollo Services. United, at
its expense, will also provide and arrange
for Contractor's SOC Communication
with Apollo Services. United will
determine, at its sole discretion, the
necessity and feasibility of installing all
such communications equipment. All
other telephone expenses, such as
Contractor's long distance expenses shall be
borne by Contractor as a station operating
expense.
2. PROTECTION OF CIRCUITS
Contractor will take all necessary precautions to protect the
data
circuits provided for Contractor's use
pursuant to this Agreement by United or
its designee.
D.
RESERVATIONS
1. RESERVATIONS FUNCTIONS
United agrees to provide, at its expense, the following
reservations
functions for Contractor's United Express
Services:
a.
Answering reservations telephones, providing information
regarding schedules and fares, making
bookings and providing other services
normally associated with airline
reservations services in accordance with
United's established procedures.
b.
Providing personnel so that telephone calls are answered
at a service level determined by
United.
c.
Answering all calls terminating on specified telephone
lines as United or United Express, at
United's option.
d. To the
extent practicable, re-accommodating and
notifying passengers of confirmation on
United, Contractor and other airlines
and clearance from wait-list.
e.
Reviewing and processing inbound prepaid ticket advices.
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f.
Providing reservations services to the hearing impaired
via a special telephone number during
normal business hours.
2.
APOLLO SERVICES ACTIVITIES
Contractor agrees to use Apollo Services for the following
activities for Contractor's United Express
Services, which are to be provided by
United:
a.
Establishment, maintenance, display and change of
passenger name records (PNRs).
b.
Confirmation of passengers against seat inventory on
Contractor's United Express Services and
United's scheduled flights and on other
airlines where flight availability is
maintained in Apollo Services.
c.
Maintenance of seat availability for Contractor's United
Express Services scheduled flights.
d.
Transmission of availability status messages (AVS) for
Contractor's United Express Services
scheduled flights to other airlines with
which United has an agreement in accordance
with Standard Industry Passenger
Procedures (SIPP).
e. Process
inbound reservations messages received from
ARINC addressed to Contractor.
f.
Routing of
all inbound messages received from ARINC,
other than as stated in ARTICLE III.A.1.d
above, to a computer message queue.
3. CRS FEES
Computer Reservations System ("CRS FEES") charged to Contractor as
a
result of passengers booked on Contractor's
United Express will be passed
through to United without markup and
subject to invoice audit by United. As soon
as possible, United shall pay such CRS fees
on behalf of Contractor.
E.
OPERATIONS
1. SCHEDULED SERVICE UPDATE
Contractor will provide accurate updates of its flights' planned
and
actual departure and arrival times
(including updates of irregularities) in
Apollo Services as soon as the planned
flight schedule is changed and the flight
departs and arrives or suffers an
irregularity. Specifically, this includes
updating the out, off, on and in times for
the aircraft within * minutes of the
occurrence of each event. In the event of
flight delays, cancellations or other
schedule irregularities affecting
Contractor's United Express Service flights,
and as soon as information concerning such
irregularities is available,
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Contractor shall update Apollo Services to
reflect such information and, when
requested by United, notify the designated
United organization. For delayed
flights, Contractor shall provide updates
to Customers and Apollo in no less
than * minute intervals. For purposes of
this Agreement, such scheduled and
actual departure and arrival and
irregularity information shall be known as
"FLIFO." United will notify Contractor in
writing as soon as practicable after
United determines that Contractor has
failed to update FLIFO in a timely and
accurate manner. If Contractor fails *
times in any consecutive * period (the
"FLIFO THRESHOLD") to update FLIFO in a
timely and accurate manner as soon as it
becomes evident to Contractor that a
schedule deviation shall take place, then
upon notification by United to Contractor,
Contractor shall pay United damages
of * for each occurrence over and above the
first * occurrences during such *.
United agrees to bill Contractor any amount
owed under this Section within *
after the end of each calendar * period
during which Contractor has exceeded the
FLIFO Threshold. Such damages shall be
United's exclusive remedy for
Contractor's non-compliance with this
paragraph and may be collected by setoffs
against other amounts owed by United to
Contractor hereunder.
2. NO FLIGHT DISPATCH DUTY
Contractor will be solely responsible for, and United will have
no
obligations or duties with respect to, the
dispatch of Contractor's flights. For
the purposes of this ARTICLE 2, the term
"dispatch" will include, but will not
be limited to, all planning of aircraft
itineraries and routings, fueling and
flight release.
3. COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES
Contractor hereby represents, warrants and covenants that all
air
transportation services performed by it
pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise
will be conducted in full compliance with
all applicable statutes, orders, rules
and regulations, whether now in effect or
hereafter promulgated, of all
governmental agencies having jurisdiction
over Contractor's operations,
including, but not limited to, the Federal
Aviation Administration ("FAA") and
the Department of Transportation ("DOT").
Contractor's compliance with such
governmental statutes, orders, rules and
regulations will be the sole and
exclusive obligation of Contractor and
United will have no obligation,
responsibility or liability, whether direct
or indirect, with respect to such
matters except as otherwise expressly
provided herein. Additionally, Contractor
will comply during the term of this
Agreement with the United/United Express
Safety Standards, as described on APPENDIX
G.
4. WEATHER INFORMATION SERVICE
From time to time and upon the request of Contractor or its
flight
crews, United may furnish Contractor's
flight crews with such U.S. Weather
Bureau information or data as may be
available to United; provided that (i) in
furnishing any such weather information or
data to Contractor, neither United
nor its employees or agents will be
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responsible or liable for the accuracy
thereof and, (ii) any and all costs or
expenses associated with such weather
information or data are carrier controlled
costs and will be paid by Contractor.
5. FLIGHT INTERRUPTION MANIFESTS
Contractor shall use United FIMS to rebook customers who are
denied
boarding on any United Express flight.
Contractor's Customer Service employees
shall rebook the customer based on the
ticketed class of service. If
Contractor's employees upgrade the customer
inappropriately, United will bill
Contractor for the incremental cost of the
upgrade. Contractor shall use
reasonable best efforts to rebook customers
on United code share (e.g. US
Airways) or Star Alliance partner flights
provided it does not seriously
inconvenience the passenger.
6. DIVERSIONS
United will pay Contractor under the terms of this Agreement for
all
Contractor United Express diverted flights
that are completed within * hours of
the scheduled arrival time. The cost of
busing will be borne by the Contractor
at all times and is not reimbursable by
United. Contractor will use its best
efforts to assure that no bus segment
exceeds * as defined in the Apollo mileage
database. In the event a diverted flight is
not completed within the * hour time
frame, United will pay Contractor for the
originally scheduled departure
provided that both of the following
conditions apply (i) the diversion is
outside of the control of Contractor and
(ii) the destination airport was open
for FAR Part 121 flights at the time of
departure and forecasted to be open at
the time of arrival. Contractor will pay
for any repositioning costs, which
costs shall not be reimbursable by United.
Upon request by United, Contractor
and United agree to meet to discuss
opportunities to reduce the number of
Contractor diversions and costs associated
with such diversions.
7. GROUND DELAY PROGRAM
Contractor will participate in United's ground delay program,
which
stipulates that United may request
Contractor to cancel, and Contractor shall
cancel, flights to free ATC slots at a hub
when the FAA or United's Station
Control Center has initiated a Ground Delay
Program ("GDP"). For cancellations
requested by United as part of the GDP, and
in accordance with ARTICLE VIII,
United shall pay Contractor only a portion
of the amounts normally due had the
flights not been cancelled.
For flights cancelled under the GDP program, United will pay
Contractor only the *. No payments will be
made with respect to the * that
correspond to * in these categories. The
Ground Delay Program will not affect
payments in the following three categories
unless specifically included above:
*.
8. STATION OPERATIONS CENTER (SOC) - HUB LOCATIONS
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At United's request, Contractor shall provide adequate staffing
in
the United Airlines SOC of each designated
hub city at United's request. If the
number of departures in any single hub
exceeds * per day, Contractor will
provide, at Contractor's expense, a
full-time representative at United's
request. Such staffing will be provided
during all normal hours of operation. If
the number of daily departures does not
exceed * per day, then Contractor will
provide a point of contact and make a
representative available on a limited
basis as requested by United.
F. STATION
SUPPORT SERVICES
United
will provide or cause to be provided, at its expense, to
Contractor
certain support services as set forth on
APPENDIX C, at the United Locations and
Joint Locations set forth in APPENDIX B;
provided that United shall have the
right to add, delete or otherwise modify
the services described on APPENDIX B if
United provides Contractor with * prior
written notice of such modification;
provided, however, United shall use
commercially reasonable efforts to notify
Contractor with * prior written notice.
United agrees to reimburse Contractor
only for * incurred by Contractor as a
result of a United requested location
change within a current station under this
Section. *. At Contractor Locations,
Contractor will provide or cause to be
provided at least those services and
facilities set forth in APPENDIX C. All
such station support services will be
provided as of the Effective Date unless
otherwise stated.
G. TARIFFS
AND SCHEDULE PUBLICATION
1.
GENERAL
United shall have the sole right and power to establish and
modify,
from time to time, the fare/rate classes
and fare/rate levels (including through
fares) and fare/rate descriptions for all
Contractor's United Express Services
in the city pairs operated by Contractor
under this Agreement, in a manner
consistent with pricing (including joint
fares) established by United. United
shall comply with applicable governmental
regulations pertaining to public
disclosure of fares, rates and rules
tariffs and shall pay for any fines or
civil penalties incurred by Contractor as a
result of violations by United
thereof, and for the cost of defense of
such claims of violations including the
cost of defending or negotiating the terms
of a consent order or decree.
2.
PASSENGER FARE TARIFFS
a. All
passenger fare tariffs published for Contractor's
United Express Services shall be included
as part of United's tariffs.
b.
Contractor shall notify the Airline Tariff Publishing
Company or any successor company performing
the same or equivalent services
("ATPCO") that United is authorized to
supply, modify or withdraw such rates
with ATPCO. United may file changes to such
fares from time to time with ATPCO
as UA fares.
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3. AIR
FREIGHT AND MAIL RATES
For all markets operated by Contractor under this Agreement,
United
shall have the sole right and power to
establish and modify from time to time
all air freight and cargo rates and mail
rates covering mail, general commodity,
small package delivery (SPD) and priority
air freight shipments and all other
air transportation services (other than
mail delivery) for Contractor's United
Express Services in these markets. All such
airfreight rates for Contractor's
United Express Services shall be included
as part of United's airfreight and
cargo rates tariffs. Contractor shall
notify ATPCO that United is authorized to
supply, modify or withdraw such rates with
ATPCO.
4.
TIMETABLES
United will reflect Contractor's United Express Services in
computerized reservations systems, United's
internal reservations system and
Contractor's United Express Services flight
connections to United will be listed
as UA connections. United will provide
information such that references in
computerized reservations systems, United's
internal reservations system and
joint city timetables to Contractor's
United Express Services will also contain
notations indicating that such services are
performed by Contractor as an
independent contractor under the
appropriate United Marks. A similar notation
will be made in the OAG or any successor
publication commonly used by the
airline industry for the dissemination of
schedule information. Such notations
shall comply with all applicable
regulations of DOT.
H. SALES
SETTLEMENT
1.
PAYMENTS TO UNITED
Contractor will wire transfer to United an amount equal to
Contractor's Total Net Sales Receipts
collected at all Contractor Locations.
"TOTAL NET SALES RECEIPTS" equals total
gross sales receipts for all passenger
tickets, airway bills, cargo bills, mail
fees, reimbursement for operational
denied boarding and other tickets issued by
Contractor for Contractor's United
Express Services (less refunds thereon paid
out by Contractor), collected by
Contractor during the applicable period.
The frequency of the wire transfer will
be *, for all Total Net Sales Receipts
collected during the preceding *.
Contractor's wire transfer will be made by
11:00 a.m. local time to the
following bank account:
Bank One
1 Bank One Plaza
Chicago, IL 60670
*
Contractor will also require its employees
and agents to forward to United, on a
daily basis, all auditors ticket coupons,
airway bills, cargo bills, lift
documentation, reports, exchange orders and
refund detail issued by Contractor
in connection with Contractor's
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United Express Services during the previous
day in accordance with the sales and
reporting procedures specified by
United.
2. SET OFF AMOUNTS
In addition to the terms of ARTICLE VIII and the other
provisions
hereof, but subject to the terms of ARTICLE
XIII, the payment for transportation
furnished by Contractor may be reduced in
order to set off:
a.
amounts
owed by Contractor to United for:
(i) actual loss
of revenue resulting from a failure on
the part of Contractor to properly effect a
sale pursuant to United's Customer
Service Policies and Procedures applicable
to the sale of tickets; and
(ii) fraudulent,
grossly negligent or erroneous acts of
employees of Contractor which cause United
to suffer a loss;
b. such
other adjustments as may be mutually agreed to by
the parties from time to time; and
c. any
other undisputed amounts owed by Contractor to
United under this Agreement.
United will provide Contractor with supporting documentation
for
such intended adjustments. Contractor shall
have the right to object to any such
adjustment by providing United with written
notice of its objection, together
with supporting documentation, within *
after its receipt of Contractor's
objection. United agrees to negotiate in
good faith with Contractor in order to
resolve all such disputes within * after
its receipt of Contractor's supporting
documentation.
3.
MODIFIED PROCEDURES
United and Contractor by mutual written agreement may establish
alternative or modified passenger sales
procedures in order to accommodate
tickets and exchange orders issued by air
carriers which are not participants in
the Airline Clearing House, Inc.
("ACH").
4.
AUDITS
During the course of this Agreement, United, or an outside 3rd
party
contracted by United, may conduct one (1)
on-site audit of all records
(including, but not limited to, work papers
of accountants) pertaining only to
Contractor's United Express operations.
This will include, but is not limited
to, (i) tickets, air way bills, cargo
bills, exchange orders, refunds and other
records relating to sales and refund
activity pertaining to Contractor's United
Express Services and (ii) all financial
records related only to
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Contractor's United Express Services
pertaining to the actual costs for services
provided by Contractor to United as well as
the calculation of the rates and
margin payable to Contractor related to
Contractor's United Express Services.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time,
United, or an outside 3rd party
contracted by United, may conduct on-site
audits of all records (including, but
not limited to, work papers of accountants)
relating to Pass Through Costs
pertaining to Contractor's United Express
Services.
I.
ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS
1. TRAVEL
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
United will allow Contractor to accept, and Contractor agrees
to
accept, United/United Express Amenities,
Promotional Discount(s) and/or Free
Travel Certificates on Contractor's flight
segments, whether or not in
conjunction with a United flight
segment.
2. RIGHT
TO ADVERTISE USING MARKS
To the extent Contractor is licensed to use the Marks,
Contractor
may in its capacity as a United Express
Carrier and at its sole expense, with no
reimbursement from United, use the marks to
advertise Contractor's United
Express Services. However, any and all such
advertisements using one or more of
the United Marks will identify United as
the owner of those United Marks
(including in any state company name
registrations required of Contractor), and
to the extent that any Mark is registered,
will so specify. Notwithstanding the
above, no advertisement, solicitation,
document or other material using any
United Mark will be published or otherwise
promulgated without United's prior
inspection and approval. No advertising
that relates in any way to United,
United Express or Contractor's United
Express Services will be placed by
Contractor with an outside advertising
agency unless United has given its prior
consent regarding copy, layout and the
specific media plan. In addition, where
United has agreed to share the costs of any
such advertising, Contractor will
obtain the prior consent of United
regarding the funds to be expended for such
advertising.
3. PRIOR
APPROVAL OF UNITED
Contractor agrees that it will not use (or attempt to register)
any
United trade name or service mark,
including, but not limited to, the names
"UNITED AIR LINES, INC.," "UNITED
AIRLINES," or "UNITED," or United's logo in
any advertising, or other document or
material without first obtaining United's
prior approval of each such use.
J.
AUTOMATION
1. USE AND
PROTECTION
Contractor will use internal United Apollo Services automation.
Contractor agrees to comply with and abide
by all terms and restrictions imposed
by United on the use of Apollo Services and
associated Automation Equipment, as
defined below.
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Contractor agrees that all instructions,
procedures and manuals provided by
United in connection with Contractor's use
of Apollo Services and Automation
Equipment ("AUTOMATION INFORMATION") are
and will remain the property of United.
Contractor acknowledges that Apollo
Services contains software that is
confidential and proprietary information of
United or its affiliates (such as
Galileo International) or any successor
thereto. Contractor further agrees that
it will not (or cause any third party to)
duplicate, copy or otherwise reproduce
any such software or Automation Information
or furnish or disclose any such
software or Automation Information to any
other party or to Contractor's
employees other than such employees who
have a need to know and who are aware of
and understand the confidential and
proprietary nature of the software and
Automation Information.
2.
INSTALLATION AND TRAINING
United shall install or cause to be installed a minimum of one
terminal plus associated equipment for
printing messages, data, air tickets,
boarding passes and baggage tags
("AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT") at Contractor's
airport locations and selected
administrative locations. United will determine,
in the exercise of its sole discretion and
judgment, the necessity and
feasibility of installing and upgrading
Automation Equipment, so long as the
quantity and quality of Automation
Equipment installed at Contractor's airport
locations are sufficient to permit
Contractor to satisfy the standards for
Contractor's United Express Services under
this Agreement. Any and all
modifications, enhancements, improvements
or developments pertaining to the
Automation Equipment, or other new related
technology, may be made available to
Contractor by United, in its sole
discretion, under terms and conditions to be
determined by United on a case-by-case
basis. United will train Contractor's
instructors, as applicable, in the proper
use of Apollo Services and Automation
Equipment as described in the Customer
Service/Reservations Handbook or any
other related United guidelines. Contractor
agrees to establish a training
program with internal instructors. Only
qualified personnel who have
satisfactorily completed a United
prescribed training program will be permitted
to operate any Automation Equipment
(hereinafter "DESIGNATED USERS"). United
may, at its discretion, monitor or test the
proficiency level of Designated
Users. If United determines that their
proficiency levels are insufficient for
the proper use of the Automated Equipment
or Apollo Services, then Contractor
must arrange for its Designated Users to
undertake any further training which
United determines necessary to bring such
Designated Users to the desired
proficiency level.
3.
STANDARDS OF USE
a. To
maintain an effective interconnection between Apollo
Services and the Automation Equipment and
to prevent misuse thereof, Contractor
agrees that Apollo Services and the
Automation Equipment will be used and
operated (a) in strict accordance with
operating instructions provided by United
or its affiliates in the Customer Services
Policies and Procedures, United's
Computer Security Regulations (Series
5-18), and any other related United or
affiliate guidelines, and (b) solely for
the performance of the specific
business functions designated by United.
Any undesignated business use and all
non-business uses are strictly prohibited.
Prohibited uses include,
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but are not limited to, personal messages,
servicing subscribers, travel
agencies, or any other third party,
training any other party or any other use
designated as prohibited in the Apollo
Services Manual. Contractor will maintain
a list of all employees and agents who have
access to Apollo Services and their
assigned file numbers and passwords. United
may at any time deny access to
Apollo Services to any employee of
Contractor if such employee is found by
United to have abused Apollo Services or
the Automation Equipment. Contractor
will take all precautions necessary to
prevent unauthorized operation or use of
Apollo Services and the Automation
Equipment.
b.
Contractor will not alter or change the Apollo Services
display as provided by United or its
affiliate without the written consent of
United. Contractor may not provide Apollo
Services or its database to any other
person or entity without the written
consent of United.
c. Except
as expressly permitted in this Agreement or other
written agreement with United, Contractor
will not cause any Apollo Services
(including, but not limited to, its
software, data bases, intellectual property,
and customer information) to be used (as a
basis for any software development or
otherwise), commercially exploited, copied,
redistributed, retransmitted,
published, sold, rented, leased, marketed,
sublicensed, pledged, assigned,
disposed of, encumbered, transferred, or
otherwise altered, modified or
enhanced, without the express written
permission of United.
d.
Contractor will not engage in any speculative booking or
reservation of space for any airline,
hotel, rental car company, or any other
vendor's service or product available
through Apollo Services.
4.
MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND MODIFICATION
a. United
will provide or cause to be provided to
Contractor repair and maintenance services
required for the Automation Equipment
at United's expense. To maintain an
effective interconnection between the
Automation Equipment and Apollo Services
and to preserve the functional
integrity of the Automation Equipment,
neither Contractor nor any third party,
other than a third party designated by
United, will perform or attempt to
perform maintenance, repair work,
alterations or modifications, of any nature
whatsoever, to the Automation Equipment.
Contractor will provide free positive
space travel on Contractor's flights for
United's Computer Terminal Technicians
or replacements when such travel is for the
purpose of repairing Apollo Services
or any Automation Equipment.
b.
Contractor will reimburse United for the costs of any
such repairs or maintenance attributable to
Contractor's willful misconduct,
gross negligence, or persistent, negligent
acts or omissions.
c. United
or its designee will have the right to enter upon
any Contractor location during Contractor's
business hours for the purpose of
monitoring Contractor's operation of the
Automation Equipment and Apollo
Services, inspecting the Automation
Equipment, performing such repairs or
maintenance as may be necessary or removing
the
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Automation Equipment; provided, however,
that United will not during the course
of such monitoring, inspection, repair, or
removal unreasonably interfere with
Contractor's business.
5.
DOWNTIME
United will notify Contractor of any scheduled or pre-announced
downtimes of Apollo Services.
6. NO WARRANTY; RELEASE
a. UNITED
MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING,
WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE
AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT OR APOLLO SERVICES.
b.
CONTRACTOR HEREBY WAIVES AND RELEASES UNITED AND ITS
AFFILIATES, AND THEIR SUCCESSORS FROM ANY
AND ALL OTHER OBLIGATIONS AND
LIABILITIES AND ALL RIGHTS, CLAIMS AND
REMEDIES OF CONTRACTOR AGAINST UNITED OR
ITS AFFILIATES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING
BY LAW OR OTHERWISE, DUE TO ANY
DEFECTS, ERRORS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, ANY ERRORS IN RESERVATIONS
AVAILABILITY RECORDS), MALFUNCTIONS OR
INTERRUPTIONS OF SERVICE TO APOLLO
SERVICES OR THE AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT,
INCLUDING ANY LIABILITY, OBLIGATION,
RIGHT, CLAIM OR REMEDY IN TORT, AND
INCLUDING ANY LIABILITY, OBLIGATION, RIGHT,
CLAIM OR REMEDY FOR LOSS OF REVENUE OR
PROFIT OR ANY OTHER DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES.
7.
OWNERSHIP AND LIENS
It is understood and agreed that: (i) all Automation Equipment
will
remain the sole property of United; (ii)
Contractor will not remove any
identifying marks from any Automation
Equipment; (iii) Contractor will not
subject the Automation Equipment to any
lien or encumbrance; and (iv) Contractor
will return the Automation Equipment to
United immediately upon the termination
of this Agreement.
K. OTHER
SUPPLIES
1.
Contractor will pay United, for United's * for all forms,
documents, papers and supplies which are
required in the normal course of
Contractor's United Express Services under
this Agreement and which are
furnished by United or its designated
vendors including;
a. Baggage
tags and ticket wallets at Joint Locations and
United Locations, and
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b.
Passenger ticket stock, city timetables, United airway
bills, United cargo bills and other
shipping documentation at Contractor
Locations, United Locations and Joint
Locations.
2.
Contractor will provide and only use United's flight
interruption manifests, unless directed to
do otherwise, for the rerouting of
passengers resulting from denied boarding
or the delay or cancellation of
Contractor's United Express flights.
3. United
shall issue an invoice to Contractor for all supplies
purchased from United, however such
expenses shall be paid through the ACH and
the invoice to Contractor will be net of
cash received by United via ACH.
L.
CONTRACTOR ASSISTANCE
Contractor
will furnish United with all information in Contractor's
possession or that can be reasonably
produced by Contractor that United may
require to carry out the services and
functions contemplated by this ARTICLE
III.
IV. AIR SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED
BY CONTRACTOR
A.
SCHEDULES
AND CHARTERS TO BE OPERATED BY CONTRACTOR
1. UNITED
EXPRESS SCHEDULE
a.
Commencing on the Effective Date of this Agreement,
Contractor will provide Contractor's United
Express Services in the markets
determined by United. At least * prior to
the start of operations, United will
provide an initial list of city pairs and
flight schedules. Contractor and
United will determine a mutually viable
ramp-up plan for implementation of
service. United acknowledges that other
contractual restrictions limit
Contractor's ability to provide United
Express service in Phoenix, Arizona.
b.
Subsequently, United will provide at least * notice of
any planned schedule changes. United may
under extraordinary circumstances
provide less than * notice on city pairs to
be served, which Contractor shall
use reasonable efforts to accommodate.
c. United
agrees that all flight schedules for Contractor's
United Express Services will provide
sufficient aircraft routings to ensure
Contractor's ability to rotate aircraft in
and out of its current or future
maintenance bases for required line
maintenance at no additional cost to United.
United acknowledges Contractor may require
additional maintenance facilities to
accommodate its maintenance requirements.
These facilities, if constructed, will
result in no additional expense to
United.
2. CODE
SHARE LIMITATION
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As of the date of this Agreement, but subject to Contractor's
existing contractual code-share agreements,
Contractor represents that it does
not plan, nor will it, operate pursuant to
a marketing or code share
relationship in a hub operation with any
party other than United at the
following airports: * for the term any
binding Agreement. Contractor may,
however, fly to aforementioned airports
under codeshare or marketing
relationships from another carrier's hub
(other than from aforementioned
airports) as a `spoke service'. In the
event that Contractor acquires another
entity during the course of this agreement
with marketing or codeshare
operations at any of the aforementioned
airports, United agrees to allow
Contractor to continue operations at such
airports at levels of operations
consistent with the acquirees right of
operation at the time of acquisition. In
addition, Mesa will use commercially
reasonable efforts to amend its existing
contractual commitments to provide for the
above Codeshare Limitations.
3. UNITED
SCHEDULE CONSENT REQUIRED
United hereby gives its consent for Contractor to operate its
scheduled air service as a United Express
carrier only between the cities
mutually agreed upon by Contractor and
United. Such city pairs may be changed or
withdrawn by United from time to time
subject to (i) a minimum of * prior
written notice to Contractor, and (ii)
compliance with any regulatory
requirements with respect to service to
affected airports. Contractor will
ensure that any of its requests for changes
in the use by Contractor of the "UA"
or "UA*" code on future routes or in the
flight frequencies or city pairs, or
any of them, as operated or served by
Contractor (whether necessitated by
altered connections, operating experience
or other reason) must be submitted to
United at least * prior to the effective
date of such change. All such changes
must be approved in advance by United. The
requests for such changes, and the
approvals thereof, must be made in writing,
by mail, facsimile, telegram,
telecopy or other electronic message
transmittal. If upon review of Contractor's
request, the parties mutually agree to make
a Contractor requested change, and
the automation equipment needed to
implement the change is available, then such
change will be made as soon as reasonably
practicable within the aforementioned
* period. Within the operating capability
of the aircraft used by Contractor, as
described in ARTICLE IV.B, and subject to
the provisions with respect to changes
in city pairs as provided above, Contractor
will comply with all requests by
United to increase, decrease or in any
other way adjust or terminate the flight
frequencies or city pairs, or both, as
operated and served by Contractor
pursuant to this Agreement.
4.
CHARTER
Contractor shall be prohibited from providing charter flights in
any
aircraft used in Contractor's United
Express Services, without the prior written
consent of United, which consent shall not
be unreasonably withheld. Contractor
shall be permitted to retain all revenues
from such approved charters. However,
Contractor agrees to pay United a fee of $*
per block hour for use of any
chartered RJ-50 aircraft, $* per block hour
for use of any chartered RJ-70
aircraft, and $* per block hour for use of
any chartered TurboProp aircraft
covered under this Agreement (both United
liveried and
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spare aircraft). However, in the event that
the charter is for a legally
registered, 501-(C)(3) (not for profit)
charity, Contractor agrees to provide in
writing to United the name of the charity
and United agrees to waive the entire
per block hour fee for up * annual round
trips, in the aggregate of charities.
In the case of each such charter,
Contractor hereby agrees that it will not (and
it will not permit others to) operate,
promote or otherwise market the charter
under the United Express name, the UA or
UA* designator code or any other United
Marks or identification (excepting only the
unavoidable use of United Express
liveried aircraft and permanent airport
signage). Contractor shall provide
written notice to United of any charter
flight using aircraft used in
Contractor's United Express Services prior
to the later of (i) the * prior to
the date of such charter flight or (ii) *
business days after Contractor's
receipt of the request for such charter
flight. Contractor agrees not to provide
any charter flight using aircraft used in
Contractor's United Express Services
if United provides written notice to
Contractor stating that United elects to
require that Contractor not provide such
charter flight, so long as Contractor
receives United's notice prior to the *
business day after United's receipt of
Contractor's notice.
5. CHANGES
INPUT TO RESERVATIONS SYSTEMS
Changes to Contractor's schedules as set forth in this ARTICLE
IV
and which otherwise are in accordance with
the terms and conditions of this
Agreement will be submitted by Contractor
for input into United's internal
reservations system and computerized
reservations systems. At no time may
Contractor make any changes to flights
operated by United or any other carrier.
6.
OPERATING COMMITMENT
Contractor agrees to operate Contractor's United Express Services
in
order to provide air transportation
services scheduled pursuant to this ARTICLE
IV. (as modified from time to time)
throughout the term of this Agreement.
B.
AIRCRAFT TO BE USED
1.
AIRCRAFT TYPES.
Unless otherwise agreed by United, Contractor will provide
Contractor's United Express Services with
the type and amount of aircraft set
forth in APPENDIX A and under the terms and
conditions of ARTICLE II.B.2. The
aircraft will be scheduled, taking into
account heavy scheduled maintenance
requirements and the spare ratio indicated
in ARTICLE IV.B.2 below unless
otherwise outlined in APPENDIX A.
1. In
accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, Contractor is authorized to fly
the following aircraft under
Contractor's United Express Services:
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a. *
BOMBARDIER DASH-8-200 aircraft, which Contractor
shall cause to be delivered in a consistent
with APPENDIX A and under
the terms and conditions of ARTICLE
II.B.2;
b. INITIAL
* CRJ-700 aircraft, which Contractor shall
cause to be delivered in a timeline
consistent with APPENDIX A and under the
terms and conditions of ARTICLE II.B.2;
c. *
CRJ-200 aircraft, which Contractor shall cause
to be delivered in a timeline consistent
with APPENDIX A and under the terms and
conditions of ARTICLE II.B.2;
d. *
REPLACEMENT CRJ-70S aircraft, which Contractor
shall cause to be delivered in a timeline
consistent with APPENDIX A and under
the terms and conditions of ARTICLE
II.B.2;
e. Options
on another * RJ-50s and/or RJ-70s to be
delivered pursuant to a mix and delivery
schedule to be agreed upon by
Contractor and United.
2.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
a. The
aircraft and any replacement aircraft utilized by
Contractor pursuant to this ARTICLE IV.B
will bear those United Marks which are
expressly designated by United, whether
included on APPENDIX A or otherwise
established by United. United acknowledges
for operational reasons Contractor
may operate one Contractor TurboProp white
tail aircraft under this Agreement.
Any white tail aircraft covered in this
Agreement shall be used solely for
United Express service unless another
aircraft of equal or greater capability
and capacity is substituted for the white
tail. If the substitution is expected
to exceed * days, Contractor shall provide
written notice thereof to United.
Technical specifications covering aircraft
colors, schemes, United Marks and
other elements of exterior and interior
aircraft decor will be provided to
Contractor by United. Except as provided
herein, Contractor will have all
aircraft used to provide Contractor's
United Express Services painted and
decorated with the exterior and interior
color decors and patterns specified by
United at Contractor's sole expense. In
accordance with the technical
specifications referenced in this ARTICLE
IV.B.1, Contractor will be responsible
for maintaining all of its aircraft.
b. In
addition to the use of the United Marks on its
aircraft, Contractor will use and display a
suitable sign or insignia on the
exterior of its aircraft that identifies
Contractor as the operator of the
services being provided pursuant to this
Agreement. The use and display of such
sign or insignia will be subject to the
prior written approval of United as to
its nature, size and location on
Contractor's aircraft.
3.
AIRCRAFT
COMMUNICATIONS ADDRESSING AND REPORTING SYSTEM -ACARS.
i.
TURBOPROPS: Contractor is required to use an ACARS system on
all United Express regional jet flights for
the purpose of providing timely and
accurate Flight
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Information (FLIFO). All aircraft delivered
on or after * must be delivered with
ACARS already installed. *.
ii. REGIONAL
JETS: Contractor is required to use an ACARS system
on all United Express regional jet flights
for the purpose of providing timely
and accurate Flight Information (FLIFO).
*.
For each month and each aircraft that
Contractor fails to install ACARs in
accordance to the timeline described in
this ARTICLE IV.B.3, Contractor shall
pay to United a sum of $* per aircraft per
month. Such payment shall be made as
an offset to the monthly reconciliation
process.
4. SPARE
AIRCRAFT.
TURBOPROPS: Pursuant to this Agreement, a spare or substitute
turboprop aircraft shall be allocated from
the aircraft fleet referenced in
Article IV.B.1 such that the ratio of
"aircraft in schedule" divided by
"aircraft in fleet" shall not exceed *,
unless otherwise indicated in Appendix
A. This is equivalent to a * spare for
every * turboprop aircraft. Such spare
aircraft can be used as a last resort to
accommodate passengers and may not be
branded in the interior or exterior with
the United Express decor or patterns at
the discretion of Contractor.
REGIONAL JETS: Pursuant to this Agreement, a spare regional jet
aircraft shall be allocated from the
aircraft fleet referenced in Article IV.B.1
such that the ratio of "aircraft in
schedule" divided by "aircraft in fleet"
shall not exceed * for all jets (RJ50s and
RJ70s combined). This is equivalent
to * spare for every * regional jet
aircraft (RJ50s and RJ70s combined). For the
purpose of determining when the operational
spare shall enter into service,
Contractor shall have at least * of the *
aircraft required for each spare in
service, unless otherwise determined by
United. In other words, the first and
second spare can not enter service before
the * or * aircraft, respectively. All
Regional Jets, including spares, must be
branded in the interior and exterior
with United Marks and decor.
MAINTENANCE SPARES: From time to time, Contractor may require
an
additional aircraft removed from schedule
for heavy maintenance. Contractor
agrees to use commercially reasonable heavy
maintenance schedules and agrees to
advise United at least * prior to heavy
maintenance commencing for each
aircraft.
5.
SUBSTITUTE AIRCRAFT: In addition to the aircraft authorized by
Article IV.B.1 above, if requested by
United, Contractor will use reasonable
efforts to arrange for and make available
for its use such substitute aircraft
as are required to effectively maintain
Contractor's United Express Services. If
Contractor is unable to operate any flights
in its schedule for Contractor's
United Express Services with aircraft
bearing United Marks, Contractor will
notify United of such event and the
circumstances of Contractor's inability to
so operate and Contractor will be permitted
to operate an aircraft
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bearing different elements of aircraft
decor than those specified above. If such
operations extend beyond a continuous *
period, Contractor must seek and obtain
United's approval for such aircraft
substitutions; provided that if Contractor
purchases or leases a used aircraft that
does not contain appropriate United
Marks, Contractor will notify United and
Contractor may, with the approval of
United, operate such aircraft, so long as
such aircraft does not display the
brand name or trademark of any other air
carrier (other than Contractor).
6. MARK CHANGE:
United may from time to time change the Marks to be used for
United
Express Carriers. At any time during the
term of this Agreement, and in the sole
discretion of United, Contractor may be
required to use such new or different
Marks, external or internal color decors
and patterns on its aircraft and
uniform design as United may determine and
to discontinue use of old marks,
external and internal color decors and
patterns, and uniform designs. Upon
written notice from United, which will
include the specifications for any such
changes in Marks or exterior or interior
aircraft decor and patterns or uniform
designs, Contractor will effect such
changes in accordance with the schedule
mutually agreed to by the parties. United
will pay all costs incurred in
complying with the requirements established
in this paragraph.
C.
INVENTORY
United
will have the sole right to use, set and control availability,
levels and use of all seat inventory for
the aircraft used by Contractor in
Contractor's United Express Services.
United will take all revenue and inventory
risk and will maintain inventory and
pricing responsibility. Contractor is
prohibited from providing positive space
leisure travel, or any other confirmed
leisure travel that requires removal of a
seat from inventory, to any person
other than the positions outlined in
APPENDIX J, on Contractor's United Express
flights without the prior written consent
of United. All positive space and
leisure travel must be ticketed on United
approved ticket stock with
Contractor's full IATA serial and ticketing
numbers. Positive space travel is
permitted for Contractor's and United's
employees for actual business purposes,
including deadheading flight crews, and for
Contractor's employees and Eligibles
in emergency situations only. Contractor
may not issue positive space business
travel to anyone other than Contractor's
own employees. If in any way whatsoever
Contractor issues tickets in violation of
this provision in any form, within *
years of each such violation, Contractor
may be billed via the ACH, and
Contractor will pay United, the full
unrestricted fare for the class of service
provided on such route for any such
inappropriate ticketing.
D. FLIGHT
CREWS TO BE USED
1. FLIGHT
CREW
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All of Contractor's United Express Services will be operated
with
crews consisting of a captain or pilot, and
a first officer or co-pilot. All
such crew members will at all times meet
all currently applicable governmental
requirements, as such requirements may be
amended from time to time during the
life of this Agreement, and will be fully
licensed and qualified for the
services to be performed hereunder. In
addition, each of Contractor's captains
will hold a current Airline Transport Pilot
Certificate and all Flight Crews to
be used in United Express service must be
qualified to fly between all city
pairs on the Effective Date of this
Agreement. Crewmembers will also meet all
requirements imposed by the insurance
policies that are to be maintained
pursuant to ARTICLE XII.
2. FLIGHT
ATTENDANTS.
Contractor's flight attendants will at all times possess all
necessary training and meet all currently
applicable governmental requirements,
as such requirements may be amended from
time to time during the life of this
Agreement.
E.
INFLIGHT SALES
Contractor may, at United's
request, be required to sell beer, liquor and
other goods on flights included in
Contractor's United Express Service. Any
additional goods or services Contractor
would