ExpressJet Congratulates Continental and United on Merger Announcement

HOUSTON, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On May 3, Continental Airlines, Inc. and United Air Lines, Inc. announced their respective Board of Directors agreed to merge the two companies, pending required approvals.

ExpressJet's President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Hanley stated, "We are excited to hear of the news of the merger of Continental Airlines and United Airlines.  Although there is no doubt that both Continental and United will undergo changes as the entities are combined, we are confident that our services to each of these partners will remain at industry leading levels.  ExpressJet looks forward to being an integral part of the success of these companies for many years to come."

ExpressJet does not anticipate that the terms of its aircraft leasing arrangements with Continental or its capacity purchase agreements with Continental and United to materially change due to the merger announcement.  ExpressJet's capacity purchase agreement with Continental covers a minimum of 190 aircraft through June 30, 2015, and its agreement with United covers 11 aircraft for a minimum of three years, 11 aircraft for a minimum of two years – both effective December 1, 2009 – as well as 10 additional aircraft from May to December 2010.

ExpressJet currently operates 244 aircraft, including 206 aircraft for Continental as Continental Express and 32 aircraft for United as United Express.  Based on May flight estimates, ExpressJet's market share in the combined entity would represent approximately 30%.

About ExpressJet

ExpressJet Holdings operates several divisions designed to leverage the management experience, efficiencies and economies of scale present in its subsidiaries, including ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. and ExpressJet Services, LLC.  ExpressJet Airlines serves 134 scheduled destinations in North America and the Caribbean with approximately 1,200 departures per day.  Operations include capacity purchase agreements for United and Continental as well as providing clients customized 50-seat charter options; and supplying third-party aviation and ground handling services.  For more information, visit www.expressjet.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements.  Statements including words such as "believes," "intends," "plans," "anticipates, "estimates," "projects," "expects" or similar expressions represent forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's expectations in light of facts known by management on the date of this release.  Specifically, statements regarding ExpressJet's future results of operations, operating costs, business prospects, growth and capital expenditures, including plans with respect to its fleet, are forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements in this release reflect the Company's plans, assumptions and expectations about future events and are subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside ExpressJet's control.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include known and unknown risks.  The five key areas of the known risks that could significantly impact the company's revenues, operating results and capacity include: operations under the Company's capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines, Inc. may no longer be profitable; charter operations and other aviation services may affect ExpressJet's ability to operate profitably; rising costs, a global, economic recession and the highly competitive nature of the airline industry; the profile of the Company's current shareholders; and regulations, including listing regulations for publicly traded companies, and other factors.  For a detailed discussion of these risks and others, please see the Company's 2009 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a materially different extent than described in this release.  ExpressJet undertakes no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE ExpressJet Holdings, Inc.

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