Turmoil at United increases liquidation fears Fears are growing that bankrupt United Airlines could be forced into=20 liquidation, though the company's executives continue to downplay that=20 risk, according to the Financial Times. But CEO Glenn Tilton said that any= =20 conflict in Iraq would be bad news for the world's No. 2 airline, adding=20 that United would respond by cutting more than 10% of its capacity and=20 seeking aid from the government. That comes as tensions are mounting=20 between the airline's management and employees. A bankruptcy judge allowed= =20 United to go ahead Friday with a multimillion-dollar pay package for=20 Tilton, despite acknowledging that the timing may send a questionable=20 message to employees, reports The Associated Press. Even worse, mutiny=20 could be brewing at United. The carrier's labor leaders have reportedly met= =20 with two investment firms =97 including one headed by the company's former= =20 CEO =97 to discuss alternatives to the current management's=20 bankruptcy-reorganization plans. That could be the opening gambit in a=20 power struggle over UAL's direction, says a USA TODAY report. Among the=20 union's top grievances is Tilton's plan for a low-fare subsidiary, which=20 would pay its employees much less than counterparts at United's mainline=20 operations. Codenamed Starfish, Tilton believes the move is imperative for= =20 United's survival in the face of discount competition from carriers like=20 Southwest and JetBlue, according to the Chicago Tribune. *************************************************** 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: http://www.dbombo.net/muddyangels/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************