ATLANTA, GA – Aviation Information Resources, Inc. (AIR, Inc.), the largest and most reliable source for
airline pilot information, released the airline pilot hiring numbers for 2007 this month in its 2008 Airline Pilot
Hiring Forecast, attached.

“Airline pilot hiring is near an all-time high,” said Kit Darby, President of AIR, Inc. “The last time we saw
numbers like this was in 2000 when 19,027 new pilot jobs were created that year. The increase in pilot hiring is
due primarily to the following demands on the airlines –peak age 60 retirements were reached in 2007, increased
flying schedules, international expansion, the demand for corporate, Fractional, and VLJ pilots and the demand
for US pilot overseas.” Many airlines are scrambling to add pilots, many smaller airlines are lowering their
minimum fight hour requirements, considering pilots with as little as 250 hours total time and 25 hour of multiengine
experience, while others are offering signing bonuses as large as $5,000 and employee referral bonuses
as high as $1,000.

The National airline sector was untouchable and for the tenth year straight led in pilot hiring, adding 6,831 jobs,
doubling their numbers from 2006 (3,233), followed by the Majors with 2,900 and the Non-Jet Operators with
1,184. As we watched the hiring numbers increase for 2007, we also watched the furlough numbers decrease by
more than half, from 6,608 in January to 3,094 in December.

The attached forecast reflects the history of U.S. pilot hiring from 1999 through 2008E, organized by different
career categories: major, national, jet regional, non-jet regional, fractional, upstart, and training. According to its
forecast, AIR, Inc. estimates up to 10,650 new airline pilot positions for 2008.

The straight math trend for the last 3 years predicts 14,279 new pilot positions for 2008, which could go higher
depending on the domestic and international economies, and three other main forces - pilot retirement, airline
growth and foreign demand for U.S. pilots.

Pilot retirement at the majors will decrease over the next five years as existing pilots start working until age 65
rather than age 60, reducing total retirements over the next five years by about 5,000 to 10,000 or about 1,000 to
2,000 pilots per year. Major passenger and freight airlines currently have over 4,263 jets, and their orders total
553 with options for an additional 1,656. Roughly 40% percent of these new aircraft will replace existing jets;
the rest are for growth and will require additional pilots. Fleet plans are in a state of flux as passenger airlines
try to align themselves with current market conditions. Significant increases in aircraft utilization could create
a demand for additional pilots or recalls without new aircraft deliveries.