The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE DREAMERS - IN SELECT CITIES Set against the turbulent political backdrop of 1968 France when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as three students test each other to see just how far they will go. THE DREAMERS is now playing in select theaters. for more info: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedreamers/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ United Delays Yet Again Timetable on Chapter 11 March 18, 2004 By MICHELINE MAYNARD United Airlines will once again push back its target date for emerging from bankruptcy, as a government board considers asking the company to trim its request for $1.6 billion in federally backed loans, people close to the company said yesterday. The airline, which lost $2.8 billion in 2003 despite a deep round of cost-cutting and labor contract concessions, has yet to clear a series of hurdles, including securing loan guarantees, that are blocking its emergence from bankruptcy protection. That is why United, which has already revised its bankruptcy timetable twice, plans to outline yet another timetable for Judge Eugene C. Wedoff of United States Bankruptcy Court at a hearing in Chicago tomorrow. United, which had most recently estimated that it would emerge from bankruptcy protection by June 30, now does not expect to until later in the summer at the earliest, according to people who have been briefed on its plans. A spokesman for United declined to comment. Not long after filing for bankruptcy protection in December 2002, United, the second-largest airline behind American, said it might emerge as early as December 2003. But it subsequently pushed the date back to this June. United, which has identified savings of $5 billion through next year, including $2.56 billion in annual wage and benefit cuts, has the exclusive right to file a reorganization plan through April 8. After that, United's creditors, its unions or outside investors could have the opportunity to file their own plans for reorganizing the airline. Tomorrow, it is expected to ask Judge Wedoff to retain that right for an additional 30 to 60 days, people told about United's thinking said. But even once a plan is filed, a bankruptcy court generally needs two to four more months to conduct hearings and settle claims. Under even the quickest sequence of events, United, a unit of UAL, would not emerge from bankruptcy until sometime in July, assuming it filed a plan by May 8 and the court required only two months to consider it. If United waited until June 8 to file, then spent four months in hearings, the airline would not emerge until October. In any case, United's overhaul plan hinges on approval from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, which faces no deadline for dealing with the airline's reapplication. The board, which oversees the federal loan program for airlines, rejected United's original application in December 2002 for $1.8 billion in loan guarantees, and the company responded to that decision by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. When it reapplied last December, United scaled back its request to $1.6 billion, saying it planned to raise $400 million in outside financing. United has already found lenders to provide a total of $2 billion in exit financing, the bulk of that contingent on the loan guarantee package. Now, the loan board is considering asking United to seek about $100 million less, or around $1.5 billion, and turn to private lenders for $500 million, people close to the discussions said. The board has not yet made such a request formally, they said. Representatives of J. P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup met yesterday with the board's staff to review the application - the first time United's bankers and the government had met to discuss United's second attempt to get federal loans. Previous meetings had been between United officials and the board's staff. The loan board, which was constituted after the September 2001 attacks to oversee $10 billion in assistance to the airline industry, requires airlines to exhaust every avenue of financing before seeking federal loans. By suggesting that United reduce its request, the board would be signaling that it believed that United had elsewhere to turn, industry experts said. Last Friday, the board agreed to revise the covenants of $900 million in guarantees to another carrier, US Airways. That airline emerged from bankruptcy in 2002 only to be hit by stiffer competition from low-fare competitors than it had expected. The loan board's action spared US Airways from being in default on the covenants of its loans. But the board set stricter requirements for US Airways, including a stipulation that it must be profitable in 2005. The airline has not earned a profit since 1999. Before the loan board can rule in the United case, United must also resolve a dispute with Atlantic Coast Airways, which has a contract to operate as its regional carrier. Atlantic Coast operates from United's hubs in Chicago and Washington, doing business as United Express. Tomorrow, Judge Wedoff is to consider a motion by A.C.A. to require United to give it 90 days' advance notice of its intent to sever the operating agreement. The request, which came to light yesterday, is the second time Atlantic Coast has asked for advance notice. Judge Wedoff rejected a similar move early in United's bankruptcy proceedings. The latest effort comes as A.C.A. is preparing to roll out Independence Air, a low-fare competitor that would operate from Washington Dulles, where United also plans to operate flights for its own low-fare airline, Ted. A.C.A. can introduce Independence Air while still aligned with United, but it cannot expand the airline without getting access to gates and other facilities now used by the United Express flights. United has been lining up other regional carriers to take over A.C.A.'s responsibilities, like Air Wisconsin, Chatauqua Airlines and Republic Airlines. In court documents, A.C.A. contended that United was using bankruptcy protection as a tool to stall the rollout of Independence Air. "What we're asking for is reasonable notice, so that the timing wouldn't be known only by them and not by us," said Rick Delisi, an Atlantic Coast spokesman. Atlantic Coast's move was supported by the Transportation Department, which said the 90-day notice would benefit consumers by letting them know which airline would be handling their flights. But United officials, who opposed Atlantic Coast's previous motion, have filed a motion opposing the new one. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/business/18united.html?ex=1080620235&ei=1&en=3c934d6d5fdb2670 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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