Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Michael Linenberg – Banc of America.
Michael Linenberg – Banc of America
Two questions here. The $150.0 million that was the loss from the freighter operation last year, in the synergies for this year, the $500.0 million, or maybe it’s the synergies for 2010 since its year end 2009, does that include the benefits from shutting down the freighter operation or is that in addition to it?
Edward H. Bastian
In the $2.0 billion total synergy bucket we do have benefits from shutting the freighters down. I’m not sure the number is $150.0 million, that’s a little high. We do have some benefits in the current year as well, but the large synergy benefits will kick in next year.
Michael Linenberg – Banc of America
And just the freighter operation, if you can just remind me, the freighter operation today, it’s using combination—the frequencies that they use in and out of Japan and I think in some of the other markets where there are restrictions in place, those can be used by your passenger airplanes, right?
Edward H. Bastian
That’s right.
Michael Linenberg – Banc of America
And my second question just has to do with RASM. Ed, as you indicated for the March quarter, I believe, you were originally forecasting 10% and RASM came in down 12% and it had to do with the lack of close-in bookings really materializing later in the quarter. I know you indicated when we look in the June quarter that at this point you are anticipating, both domestic and international, you indicated that you thought that you would see a better performance in close-in bookings.
What’s behind that view? Is that more of a hunch or are you actually starting to see maybe things firm up to give you some confidence to make that statement.
Edward H. Bastian
The close-in booking came in, in March it was the yield on the close-in bookings that didn’t strengthen as we thought they might. The guidance we are projecting for May and June really is very comparable to the performance we saw in March and we’re seeing in April. So I’m not certain that we’re saying it’s going to improve as we look forward.
Operator
Your next question comes from Gary Chase – Barclays Capital.
Gary Chase – Barclays Capital
Just a quick clean-up question on that freighter issue. The $150.0 million was a loss generated. Can you just give a sense of what the revenue base from the dedicated as opposed to belly cargo business was?
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