Clock ticking at United and no deal with unions = = = = Wednesday October 9, 4:02 PM EDT = (Updates stock hits new low, adds union coalition comment) By Kathy Fieweger CHICAGO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - It's autumn, the time when United Airlines sai= d it might file for bankruptcy, but despite a labor offer of $1 billion a= year in cost cuts, management and unions still have not struck a deal th= at will keep the giant airline out of court. The clock is ticking toward a Nov. 17 debt payment United must make, and = much work must be done between now and then to keep the carrier out of co= urts, said people familiar with the situation. A bigger payment is due in= December. After dropping 90 percent this year, UAL shares hit their lowest level in= decades in late Wednesday trading, falling to $1.86. The previous low of= $1.90 came in August, when the airline warned of a potential bankruptcy = filing. = Last week, the airline said it would suspend payments on some debt/equity= hybrid securities. United has cash, $2.7 billion as of June, but much of= that is already committed. The airline lost an aviation history record $2.1 billion in 2001, and ano= ther $850 million in the first half of 2002. The third-quarter loss, also= expected to be large, will be announced next week. After a brief recovery in the industry in April, the revenue picture for = U.S. airlines worsened in late summer and early autumn, and cash burn rat= es at some airlines are once again a problem, executives have said. Highe= r jet fuel prices, fear of war in Iraq, cheap fares and a continued depre= ssion in travel demand add to the difficulties. THE "TO-DO" LIST Generally, rank-and-file workers get 30 days to approve contract changes = hammered out by negotiating committees. At some unions, that time period = may be accelerated. United, a unit of Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based UAL Corp. (UAL), must= also resubmit information to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board = on its application for federal guarantees on $1.8 billion of a $2.0 billi= on loan. The board must then approve the request, an event which in itself is far = from certain. The controversial agency has denied many applications, part= icularly from smaller airlines, and approved others only after tough cond= itions. In United's case, as was true with US Airways Group (UAWGQ) data and conc= essions are requested through 2008, sources said. Under particular discus= sion now is the picture for 2003 and 2004. United spokesman Joe Hopkins on Wednesday declined to comment on the prog= ress with a five-union coalition or when any announcement might be made. SECTOR UNDER FIRE The airline sector was hard-hit again on Wednesday, after a Wall Street a= nalyst downgraded the entire group and cut his rating on the No. 1 U.S. c= arrier, American Airlines parent AMR Corp (AMR). AMR shares sank to yet a= nother new low of $3.46 after losing 75 percent of their value in the thi= rd quarter. United initially asked the government for loan guarantees in late June, b= ut said the cost cuts outlined were not enough to satisfy the agency, cre= ated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks sent the industry into an unpreced= ented downturn. United then went back to labor unions in August and said it wanted $1.5 b= illion a year in cost costs for six years. Unions balked, formed their ow= n coalition and after several weeks, put a new offer of $1.0 billion for = five years on the table. So far, United has not commented on the proposal officially, but sources = said about a week ago the airline had gone back to the coalition with a r= equest for "something in between" the $1.0 billion and $1.5 billion. COALITION FRAGILE Publicly, the unions will only say they are talking to each other and the= company. Behind the scenes, people with long involvement in the airline = are trying to hold together a fragile coalition between the five unions a= s it works to put together a package the government will like. A sticking point -- perhaps the most critical issue now -- is how much ea= ch union will give up. No one wants to be seen as sacrificing too much co= mpared with another group. In addition, a long history of labor strife and fiercely independent unio= ns make it a tough task. Late Wednesday, a spokesman for the union coalition said: "We view this a= s a collaborative oeffort that continues and that there is broad consensu= s on the overall framework." The International Association of Machinists, representing the largest per= centage of the roughly 84,000 workers at United, may be considering offer= ing its own proposal to management, sources said. A union spokesman decli= ned to comment other than to say there was nothing new to report. The Air Line Pilots Association was the only one of the major labor group= s to offer United any concrete figures back in June, when its agreed to 1= 0-percent wage cuts in return for stock options and raises down the line.= = =A92002 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS