Atlas Air And Crewmembers Released From Negotiations.

Business Editors

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

Today, the National Mediation Board (NMB) released Atlas Air and its crewmembers from mediated negotiations with respect to a first labor agreement covering the company's pilots and flight engineers.

This action by the Board followed the crewmembers' decision to reject the Board's offer of binding arbitration.

Under the Railway Labor Act, if the NMB determines that, in its opinion, no further progress can be made via mediated negotiations, it is required to offer final and binding arbitration as a means of resolving all open issues. If either party declines, a required thirty-day cooling off period then begins. During that time, the parties may continue to meet and negotiate; often the NMB will bring the parties back together for further discussions. At the end of that period, the union can strike.

"The parties have worked very hard over the last two years to reach an agreement that is fair to both the Company and our crewmembers, one that provides the Company with the flexibility it requires to compete in a difficult air cargo economic environment," said William Allen, Atlas Air's Senior Vice President of Human Resources.

"The airline industry is full of examples of companies who agreed to contracts that they simply could not afford, companies whose very survival is now in question," added Richard Shuyler, Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air. "We are not going to make that mistake." The thirty-day period ends at 12:01 AM June 28th.

Atlas Air, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CGO) and is a United States certificated air carrier. Atlas Air offers its customers a complete line of freighter services, specializing in ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) contracts. Atlas Air currently employs 718 active pilots and flight engineers, both domestic and international, who operate the company's fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft.