Exhibit
10.3
Letter 05-01
( Bankruptcy Exit Agreement )
LETTER OF AGREEMENT
by and between
UAL CORP.,
UNITED AIR LINES, INC.
and
THE AIR LINE PILOTS
in the service of
UNITED AIR LINES, INC.
as represented by
THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL
THIS LETTER OF AGREEMENT, dated as of January 1, 2005, is made and
entered into in accordance with the Railway Labor Act by and
between UAL Corp. (hereinafter referred to as "UAL"), UNITED AIR
LINES, INC. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") and the AIR
LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL (hereinafter referred to as
"ALPA" or the "Association").
WHEREAS UAL, the Company and the Association have reached agreement
concerning the revisions to their current collective bargaining
agreement (the "2003 Pilot Agreement" and, as revised by this
Letter of Agreement, the "Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement") necessary
for the Company to emerge from Chapter 11; and
WHEREAS certain of the revisions shall become effective as of
January 1, 2005 (the "Effective Date"), assuming the complete
satisfaction of the conditions described in paragraph 15 below
prior to January 31, 2005 and others shall become effective on the
effective date (the "Exit Date") of a plan of reorganization
proposed by UAL (the "Plan of Reorganization"); and
WHEREAS the Company has represented to the Association that the
Company has concluded that UAL cannot attract the exit financing
necessary to emerge from Chapter 11 absent the termination of all
of the Company's defined benefit plans;
THEREFORE the parties to this Letter of Agreement hereby agree as
follows:
1. Contract Extension . The amendable date of the
Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement shall be December 31, 2009. Section
22.D of the Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement shall read in its entirety
as follows:
This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect through and
including December 31, 2009 and shall renew itself without change
each succeeding January 1 st thereafter, unless written
notice of intended change is served in accordance with Section 6,
Title I, of the Railway Labor Act by either party upon the other at
least thirty (30) but not more than two hundred seventy (270) days
prior to December 31, 2009 or any year thereafter. The parties
shall commence direct negotiations with respect to such notices no
later than thirty (30) days following the delivery of such notice.
In the event a new tentative collective bargaining agreement has
not been concluded by August 1, 2009 (or August 1 st of
any year thereafter if applicable), and the services of the
National Mediation Board (the "Board") have not previously been
invoked, the parties shall, no later than August 1, 2009 (or August
1 st of any year thereafter if applicable), jointly
invoke the services of the Board under Section 5 of the Act.
2. Hourly Pay Rates . The rates for hourly pay (the
"Hourly Rates") under Section 3-B of the 2003 Pilot Agreement shall
be reduced by 11.8% on the Effective Date, and the reduced Hourly
Rates shall thereafter be increased by 1.5% on May 1, 2006, by 1.5%
on May 1, 2007, by 1.5% on May 1, 2008 and by 1.5% on May 1, 2009
(as provided in the 2003 Pilot Agreement). In addition to the
increases contained in the preceding sentence, the Hourly Rates
shall be increased by 1% on January 1, 2008. The Hourly Rates under
Section 3-B of the Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement are set forth in
Exhibit A to this Letter of Agreement.
3. Other Contract Changes . Certain other provisions
of the 2003 Pilot Agreement shall be revised on the Effective Date
as described on Exhibits B-1, B-2 and B-3 to this Letter of
Agreement.
4. Defined Benefit Pension Plan .
a. In the event the Company seeks judicial
approval to terminate the United Airlines Pilot DefinedBenefit
Pension Plan (the "A Plan") under 29 U.S.C §1341(c) following
April 11, 2005, then, on and after May 11,
2005, (i) the Association shall waive any claim it may have that
the termination of the A Plan would violate the
terms and conditions of the existing collective bargaining
agreement between the Company and the Association,
and (ii) the Association shall not otherwise oppose the Company's
efforts to terminate the A Plan under 29 U.S.C
§1341(c); provided, however, that nothing in this Letter of
Agreement shall be construed, deemed or
characterized by UAL or the Company as any agreement of any form by
the Association that the A Plan should
be terminated;
b. The Company: (i) shall not terminate or agree
to terminate the A Plan effective at any time prior to the
earlier of (A) ten (10 ) days before the Exit Date and (B) the last
date that any of the Company's other defined
benefit pension plans are terminated (the "Pension Termination
Date") and (ii) shall oppose any effort by any other
person or entity to terminate the A Plan effective at any time
prior to the Pension Termination Date;
c. The A Plan shall remain in full force and
effect unless (i) the bankruptcy court issues an order
declaring
that the Company has met the requirements for plan termination
under 29 U.S.C. §1341(c)(2)(B)(ii), and (ii) any
of the following has occurred: (A) no timely notice of appeal of
the order has been filed, (B) the order has been
affirmed following the exhaustion of all appeals, or (C) the Exit
Date has occurred and the Plan of Reorganization
has become effective without provision for the continuation of any
such appeals; and
d. Notwithstanding any termination of A Plan
retirement benefits, any and all of the Company's
indemnification obligations under or applicable to the A Plan shall
remain in full force and effect without regard to
Section 22 of the Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement.
5. Pension Contributions . In the event that the A
Plan is terminated pursuant to 29 U.S.C §1341 or §1342
following judicial approval of such termination:
a. The Company shall make an additional monthly
contribution (the "C Plan Contribution") to the United
Airlines Pilot Directed Account Plan (the "PDAP") of six percent
(6%) of pilot compensation (as measured under
the PDAP) beginning with the earlier of (i) June 1, 2005 or (ii)
the first day of the calendar month following the
Exit Date (with a pro rated C Plan Contribution for the period
between the Exit Date and the first of the month
following the Exit Date); provided, however, that in the event the
Exit Date follows June 1, 2005, C Plan
Contributions will accrue from June 1, 2005 through the Exit Date
and be contributed in a single lump sum
payment to the PDAP on the Exit Date;
b. Prior to the Exit Date, the Company and the
Association shall adopt a mutually-acceptable qualified or
non-qualified plan arrangement to accept contributions that cannot
be allocated to pilot defined contribution
accounts under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code;
c. At any time prior to January 1, 2007, the
Association may elect, on an irrevocable basis, to amend the
Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement, effective January 1, 2008, (i) to
increase the C Plan Contribution from six percent
(6%) to seven percent (7%) of pilot compensation (as measured under
the PDAP) and (ii) to reduce the Hourly
Pay Rates under Section 3-B of the Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement by
one percent (1%);
d. The C Plan Contribution shall be in addition
to the nine percent (9%) of pilot compensation contributed
to the PDAP under the 2003 Pilot Agreement; and
e. Following the Exit Date, the Company shall not
establish or re-establish any single-employer defined
benefit plan for any UAL or Company employee group unless the pilot
group is provided the option of electing to
receive a comparable defined benefit plan in lieu of the C Plan
Contribution.
6. Profit Sharing . The Revised 2003 Pilot Agreement
shall provide for the pilot group to participate in the revised
profit sharing program described in Exhibit C to this Letter of
Agreement.
7. Convertible Notes . In the event that the A Plan is
terminated pursuant to 29 U.S.C §1341 or §1342 following
judicial approval of such termination, the Revised 2003 Pilot
Agreement and the Plan of Reorganization shall provide for the
issuance of $550 million of UAL convertible notes, as described in
Exhibit D to this Letter of Agreement, to a trust or other entity
designated by the Association. The terms of the UAL convertible
notes described in Exhibit D shall be subject to
mutually-acceptable modifications to optimize implementation for
all parties from an accounting, securities law and tax law
perspective.
8. Distribution Agreement . The Plan of Reorganization
shall provide the pilot group with a distribution of UAL equity
securities as provided in the amended distribution agreement
described in Exhibit E to this Letter of Agreement.
9. Additional Non-Labor Savings . Prior to the Exit
Date, the Association and the Company shall develop, and the
Company shall begin pursuit of, a mutually-acceptable business
improvement program reasonably projected to produce at least $150
million of annual savings in non-labor costs in addition to the
savings contained in the Gershwin 5F business plan dated as of
November 4, 2004 (the "Business Plan").
10. Administrative Claim . The Association shall
accrue and be entitled to a stipulated, approved and allowed claim
of administration under 11 U.S.C §503(b) in the amount of the
actual cash savings provided to the Company under this Letter of
Agreement from the Effective Date through the earlier of (i) the
termination of this Letter of Agreement under paragraph 16 below or
(ii) the Exit Date (the "Administrative Claim"). The Administrative
Claim shall be extinguished upon the Exit Date unless the
Association has terminated the Letter of Agreement under paragraph
16 below.
11. Indemnity . UAL and the Company shall provide
indemnification on the Effective Date as described in Exhibit F to
this Letter of Agreement.
12. Plan Release and Exculpation . The Plan of
Reorganization shall include a plan exculpation and release
provision (which provision shall be at least as comprehensive as
the plan exculpation and release provision under the Plan of
Reorganization for the debtor or any other person) for the Air Line
Pilots Association, International, the United Master Executive
Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, and each
of their current or former (a) members, (b) officers, (c) committee
members, (d) employees, (e) advisors, (f) attorneys, (g)
accountants, (h) investment bankers, (i) consultants, (j) agents
and (k) other representatives with respect to any liability such
person or entity may have in connection with or related to the UAL
bankruptcy cases, the formulation, preparation, negotiation,
dissemination, implementation, administration, confirmation or
consummation of any of the Plan of Reorganization, the disclosure
statement concerning the Plan of Reorganization, the 2003 Pilot
Agreement, this Letter of Agreement, the Revised 2003 Pilot
Agreement or any contract, employee benefit plan, instrument,
release or other agreement or document created, modified, amended
or entered into in connection with either the Plan of
Reorganization or any agreement between the Company, UAL and the
Association, or any other act taken or omitted to be taken in
connection with the United bankruptcy.
13. Assumption of the Pilot Agreement . The Revised
2003 Pilot Agreement (other than with respect to the A Plan if the
A Plan is terminated) shall be assumed under 11 U.S.C. §365
under the Plan of Reorganization.
14. Bankruptcy Actions . The Company and the
Association shall take the following actions to seek the approval
of this Letter of Agreement by the bankruptcy court in In Re UAL
Corporation et al., Case No. 02-B-48191 (Bankr. N.D. Ill.) (the
"Bankruptcy Cases"):
a. the Company shall file a motion for approval
of the Letter of Agreement under 11 U.S.C. §363, in form
and substance reasonably acceptable to the Association, by no later
than January 21, 2005;
b. the Company shall provide, to the extent
reasonably practicable, the Association's counsel with copies
of, and a reasonable opportunity to comment on, all motions,
applications, proposed orders, pleadings and
supporting papers prepared by the Company for filing with the
bankruptcy court relating to court approval of this
Letter of Agreement; and
c. both the Company and the Association shall
support and seek the approval of this Letter of Agreement
in the Bankruptcy Cases without condition, qualification or
exception; shall use their best efforts to obtain the
support of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and other
parties and stakeholders for the Letter of
Agreement; and shall take every reasonable action necessary to
obtain judicial approval of this Letter of
Agreement in the Bankruptcy Cases without condition, qualification
or exception, including the filing of motions,
objections and appeals.
15. Conditions to Effectiveness . This Letter of
Agreement shall become effective as of January 1, 2005, subject to
the occurrence of all of the following prior to January 31, 2005:
(a) acceptance by the United Master Executive Council of the
Association, (b) United pilot membership ratification under the
Association's Constitution and By-Laws, (c) if required, approval
by the Company's Board of Directors, (d) execution by the President
of the Association, and (e) withdrawal of the Company's motion to
reject the 2003 Pilot Agreement under 11 U.S.C. §1113.
16. Termination Rights . This Letter of Agreement may
be terminated by the Association, by written notice from the
Association to the Company (the "Termination Notice"), given before
or after the Effective Date but no later than the Exit Date, but in
no event later than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of any
of the following events:
a. failure of the court to issue final judicial
approval of this Letter of Agreement, without condition,
qualification or exception, by January 31, 2005;
b. a court of competent jurisdiction enters a
final, non-appealable judicial order that the Company is not
entitled to the termination of the A Plan under 29 U.S.C
§1341(c);
c. failure of the Company to implement, through
binding agreement or final judicial order effective no later
than June 1, 2005, revisions to (i) the labor contracts of the
Company's other unionized employees and (ii) the
wages, benefits and working conditions of the Company's salaried
and management employees so that the
aggregate revisions in (i) and (ii) are reasonably projected to
produce at least $1.0 billion in average annual cas
savings in labor and pension costs for the Company from January 1,
2005 through and including January 1, 2010,
unless such action is cured to the reasonable satisfaction of the
Association within twenty (20) days of the
Termination Notice;
d. the filing by UAL or United of, support by UAL
or United for, or judicial confirmation or approval of
(as the case may be), a plan of reorganization or a proposed
disclosure statement which (i) contains any material
term that is materially inconsistent with the Revised 2003 Pilot
Agreement or this Letter of Agreement or (ii)
proposes or confirms a capital structure or ownership structure
that is not reasonably acceptable to the
Association unless, in either case (i) or (ii), such action is
cured to the reasonable satisfaction of the Association
within twenty (20) days of the Termination Notice; or
e. any other material breach of the Company's or
UAL's obligations under this Letter of Agreement unless
such breach is cured to the reasonable satisfaction of the
Association within twenty (20) days of the Termination
Notice.
In the event of such termination, (A) the Administrative Claim
shall be paid on the Exit Date, (B) this Letter of Agreement shall
otherwise become null and void in its entirety, and (C) the parties
shall thereafter be governed by the 2003 Pilot Agreement (including
the A Plan) and without regard to this Letter of Agreement.
17. Fees and Expenses . The Company shall reimburse
the Association for fees and expenses incurred in connection with
this Letter of Agreement as described on Exhibit G to this Letter
of Agreement.
18. Agreement . This Letter of Agreement is a final,
binding and conclusive commitment and agreement between UAL, the
Company and the Association. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary in this Letter of Agreement, judicial approval of this
Letter of Agreement shall constitute approval and allowance of the
Administrative Claim and shall otherwise have the same meaning and
effect as the judicial approval of the 2003 Pilot Agreement in the
Bankruptcy Cases signed on April 30, 2003.
19. Amendments; Waiver . This Letter of Agreement may
be amended, modified, superseded or canceled and any of its
provisions may be waived only by a written instrument executed by
all parties or, in the case of a waiver, by the party waiving
compliance. Except as otherwise expressly provided in paragraph 16
above with respect to the delivery of a notice of termination, the
failure of any party at any time to require performance of any
provision of this Letter of Agreement shall not affect the right of
that party at a later time to enforce the same or a different
provision. No waiver by any party of a right under this Letter of
Agreement shall be deemed or construed as a further or continuing
waiver of any such right with respect to the same or a different
provision of this Letter of Agreement.
20. Notices . Any notice or other communication given
under to the terms of this Letter of Agreement must be in writing
and shall be deemed to have been duly given on the day it is
delivered by hand, on the day it is sent by facsimile with
confirmation of receipt by the transmitting machine, on the
business day after it is sent by a national overnight mail service
(delivery charge prepaid), or on the third business day after it is
mailed first class, postage prepaid, in any case to the following
addresses:
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If to the Company:
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United Airlines, Inc.
1200 East Algonquin Road
Elk Grove Township, Illinois 60007
Attention: Paul Lovejoy
Facsimile: 847-700-4099
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with copies to:
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Kirkland & Ellis
200 East Randolph Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60601
At
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