Federal panel signs off on $45 million Aloha Airlines loan HONOLULU (AP) =97 A federal board announced Monday that it signed off on a= =20 $45 million loan for Aloha Airlines that the carrier secured after asking=20 its employees for pay concessions. The Air Transportation Stabilization=20 Board said the loan is backed by a $40.5 million federal guarantee, which=20 the board granted last month. Glenn Zander, Aloha's president and chief=20 executive officer, thanked the airline's employees, shareholders, banks and= =20 aircraft lessors in a statement. "Today marks a new beginning for Aloha,"=20 Zander said. "With the completion of this financing, Aloha will be able to= =20 move forward with its plans for the future, which includes further=20 increases of service to the U.S. mainland and Pacific islands, as well as=20 continuing to serve the people of Hawaii in our traditional interisland= niche." Aloha had asked all of its 3,000 employees to take pay cuts to save $37=20 million during the next three years in an effort to get the federal loan=20 guarantee. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 278 Aloha=20 pilots, was the last of four unions to ratify the pay concessions. The=20 Transport Workers Union, Association of Flight Attendants and International= =20 Association of Machinists each ratified the pay cuts in membership votes=20 earlier this month. Aloha officials say the wage concessions will be=20 effective Jan. 1. The airline received tentative approval for the loan on=20 Nov. 5. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board was established by=20 Congress last year to oversee a $10 billion loan program, part of an=20 airline industry bailout after last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. On=20 Friday, the board conditionally approved a federal loan guarantee of $148.5= =20 million on a $150 million loan package for Evergreen International=20 Airlines, but the board turned down a request by Great Plains Airlines to=20 guarantee $17 million of a $25 million loan package. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: www.tobagoweddings.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************