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United bankruptcy filing delayed
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- A source close to United Airlines has told CNN the airline will file for bankruptcy protection early Monday. The move comes after United board members met over the weekend and consulted with union leaders and others with a stake in the company. The airline, the second-largest in the United States, is losing about $8 million a day. Last Wednesday, UAL's application for $1.8 billion in government loan guarantees was rejected by the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, all but assuring the bankruptcy filing. Kevin P. Mitchell, chairman of the Radnor, Pennsylvania-based Business Travel Coalition, said the bankruptcy judge should appoint a consumer advocate to represent United customers while the company reorganizes. "There is little doubt that United will continue to operate a safe airline with a good schedule in the near term," Mitchell said. "However, unless United steps up to the extraordinary challenges unique to bankruptcy in commercial aviation and unless the judge balances stakeholder interests with an eye toward the long-term, there may not be a United in the future and industry competition levels will have been struck a serious blow." Earlier, sources had said the bankruptcy petition would be filed Sunday evening. No explanation was given for why the expected filing has been delayed. Financial markets already have dealt serious blows to the company in the past week. The New York Stock Exchange halted trading in UAL Corp., the airline's parent company, for part of Thursday's trading session. Also, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded UAL's debt Thursday to its lowest possible level, a "D" rating. About 55 percent of the company's stock is owned by United's 83,000 employees, who also face job cuts when bankruptcy is filed. Sources say the filing will come after attorneys complete paperwork to put financing in place to keep the carrier operating while it reorganizes. American Airlines is the nation's largest airline.
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