United stock falls below a dollar CHICAGO (AP) =97 United Airlines' stock sank below a dollar a share Friday= as=20 investors anticipated a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the nation's No. 2= =20 airline. Shares in parent UAL Corp. fell 16 cents to 84 cents a share in=20 morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange =97 the second day of a=20 selloff following the rejection of its request for a $1.8 billion loan=20 guarantee. Sources familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity,=20 said United was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday. The=20 carrier was completing the terms of a $1.5 billion debtor-in-possession=20 loan, the sources said. The loan would enable the airline to keep flying in= =20 bankruptcy. United spokesman Rich Nelson confirmed Friday that the UAL=20 board plans to meet on Saturday, but he otherwise declined comment on the=20 airline's financial status or plans. Chief executive Glenn Tilton has said= =20 the airline would continue to fly whatever choice was made. United makes=20 about 1,700 flights per day and has about 83,000 employees worldwide.=20 United's customers are uneasy, but many passengers seem willing to stick=20 with the carrier. Karen Hagler, who was flying from Denver to San Francisco, said she hoped=20 United could stay afloat. "I think we need the airlines we have. We need=20 competition," she said. Tony Singfield, traveling from Denver to Montana,=20 said he flies United frequently but was worried about the attitude its=20 employees would have in the face of possible layoffs. "I've always had good= =20 service with United and I know that service will continue to be good, but=20 the concern is just the attitude of the employees and how will they respond= =20 to the situation," he said. United, the world's largest airline until=20 American overtook it last year, traces its problems to a drop in passengers= =20 because of the weak economy and the September 2001 terrorist attacks, an=20 increase in competition from smaller discount airlines and failed business= =20 strategies. Many employees blame management. "There is no business plan,"=20 said Mike Ommundson, a mechanic at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.= =20 "They brought in people with no airline experience" to manage the company,= =20 he said. "You have no respect for them." Other workers echoed his complaint, blaming executives for bringing in=20 mid-level managers from retailers. Like many other workers at United,=20 Ommundson accepted wage cuts and work rule changes for six years in=20 exchange for stock that would almost certainly be rendered worthless by a=20 bankruptcy. The company is now 55% owned by its employees. As recently as=20 October 1997, UAL stock traded at $100 a share. Other United workers said=20 they worry about the possibility of layoffs and benefit cuts as well. "We=20 have to have a decent life and take care of our families," said Daniel=20 Kaulback, a baggage handler at O'Hare. Germany's Lufthansa, which along=20 with United belongs to the 14-member Star Alliance of airlines, said=20 Thursday it was in talks about offering assistance to its embattled=20 partner. Lufthansa would want to secure any possible investment with assets= =20 such as planes or real estate, said Thomas Jachnow, spokesman for Europe's= =20 No. 2 airline. After the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board=20 rejected the loan guarantee Wednesday, United's mechanics canceled a vote=20 Thursday on $700 million in wage-and-benefits cuts that the airline said=20 were needed to avert bankruptcy. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Island Events) http://www.islandevents.com (Island Events) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************