This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Political pressure mounts for UAL bail-out November 28, 2002 By Vanessa Valkin in New York and Caroline Daniel in Washington Political debate over United Airlines is heating up, with House speaker Dennis Hastert and Illinois senator Dick Durbin urging the Air Transportation Stabilization Board to approve a $1.8bn loan guarantee and stave off bankruptcy for the airline. Mr Hastert has been making the case to keep UAL flying by appealing to George W. Bush, US president; Paul O'Neill, the Treasury Secretary; and Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve. The three members of the ATSB, set up by Mr Bush last year to compensate airlines for losses incurred after September 11, are drawn from the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the transportation department. UAL has said it is likely to seek bankruptcy protection if it cannot pay, or extend payment on, a $375m debt obligation due on December 2, or if it does not soon receive the loan guarantee. Underlining bipartisan support for UAL, Mr Hastert also met Rod Blagojevich, the newly elected governor of Illinois, on Tuesday night. "With a common voice, our delegation is working to let the ATSB know just how critical United is to the state of Illinois and the nation," they said in a statement. UAL has identified $14bn in cost cuts and revenue improvements to support its recovery plan. It said labour concessions would amount to $5.2bn instead of the $5.8bn announced in October, following a more aggressive plan to shrink its capacity. Some UAL competitors, such as Northwest, have also been lobbying in Washington, arguing that a bail-out would be unfair. US Airways, which has received conditional approval from the ATSB for a $900m federal loan guarantee, had no comment. A code share agreement it has with UAL brings it an estimated $200m in annual revenues. Separately, Jürgen Weber, chief executive of Lufthansa, the German flag carrier, is to step down earlier than expected, in June next year rather than at the end of 2003, writes Kevin Done. The move is likely to be agreed at a meeting of the airline's supervisory board next week. Mr Weber will be replaced by Wolfgang Mayrhuber, head of the aviation group's passenger airline operations, who was appointed deputy chief executive in March. http://www.nytimes.com/financialtimes/business/FT1037872374042.html?ex=1039498605&ei=1&en=2815ad46de9eb2f0 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company