CHICAGO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - UAL Corp.'s (UAL) United Airlines, expected to report a huge fourth-quarter loss this week, said it is shifting responsibilities among some of its senior executives as the No. 2 U.S. carrier tries to return to financial stability. The airline named a new chairman and chief executive, Jack Creighton, in October. President Rono Dutta will have responsibility for sales and revenue generation, the airline said. He will also lead a new Strategic Initiatives Group to make sure United's revenue and cost structure ensures long-term profit growth. Chief Operating Officer Andy Studdert will be in charge of all of United's operations, both air and ground. Chris Bowers, senior vice president-North America, becomes senior vice president-marketing, replacing Larry De Shon who will shift to senior vice president-onboard service. Bill Hobgood, senior vice president-people, will step down from that role but continue to serve as a senior labor adviser to Creighton. He will be succeeded by Sara Fields, currently senior vice president-onboard service. "The new organizational structure will harness our leadership talents and expertise to maximum benefit to the company," Creighton said in a statement. Several airline experts said the management changes at United did not appear to be major but rather just a reshuffling of some reporting lines to Studdert. One analyst said he was "hard pressed" to see anything else of note in the statement from the airline. Shares of UAL were down 42 cents, or 2.8 percent, at $14.73 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.