=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2003/01= /29/BU60586.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 29, 2003 (SF Chronicle) United Airlines might add low-cost carrier/Managers begin briefing creditor= s on plan to restructure George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Management at United Airlines has begun a series of briefings on its restructuring plan that is believed to include a new unit with a low-cost carrier not unlike Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, two industry success stories. The briefing was given to United creditors Monday. The company's board of directors will hear it Thursday, and financial advisers to United's unions will be briefed Friday, said Joe Hopkins, a spokesman for the Elk Grove Township, Ill., carrier. Hopkins would not disclose details. He said United wants to discuss its ideas for a low-cost unit with employee groups "before they become more public. " United, the world's second-largest airline, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 9. It has lost $4 billion since mid-2000. United formerly operated Shuttle by United on the West Coast. It competed with Southwest, in particular, on flights between the Bay Area and Los Angeles and San Diego. However, Shuttle by United was often unable to operate on time, so it became a public relations problem for the company. The shuttle operation was scuttled in late 2001. In a taped message to employees Tuesday, Glenn Tilton, the chief executi= ve officer of UAL Corp., used the words "performance" and "credibility" to describe goals for all 80,000 employees so that the company can emerge from bankruptcy protection with a promising future. Also Tuesday, United's Web page had an announcement of a new nonstop route, between its Denver hub and Charlotte, N.C., beginning April 6. This addition could appear contrary to a restructuring that is more focused on reductions, but Hopkins noted that United is still looking for business opportunities and found one in that route. US Airways, a United partner, uses Charlotte as a hub, so United can ser= ve US Airways' customers as well as its own out of Denver with the new route, he said. E-mail George Raine at graine@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 SF Chronicle