--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "2/1 SF Examiner" <batn@...> wrote: Published Wednesday, February 1, 2006, in the San Francisco Examiner Airport hopes United will eventually expand Airline scheduled to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy today By Neil H. Dempsey S.F. AIRPORT -- Airport officials hope the emergence of United Airlines from bankruptcy today means the carrier will expand its routes in coming years, although the airline warned it was largely oil prices and consumer demand that would determine that. Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said San Francisco International Airport doesn't expect any immediate changes when United exits bankruptcy, but in the long term hopes the carrier will expand. United accounts for about 45 percent of SFO's business. "We're hoping they'll grow their schedule," McCarron said. Facing continued losses in a shaky post-Sept. 11 economy, United parent company UAL Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court on Dec. 9, 2002. The airline continued to operate while reorganizing its financial structure over the next 36 months, but reduced its work force by a further 25 percent and slashed $7 billion in annual operating costs, spokesman Jeff Green said. It had already laid off 20 percent of its employees after Sept. 11, 2001. Whereas United previously employed 16,000 people on the Peninsula, local business advocacy group SAMCEDA reports those numbers had dropped to 13,000 by the end of 2004, and Green said the airline has only 9,900 employees in the area now. The SARS outbreak, high fuel prices and other factors prolonged United's bankruptcy proceedings, which were originally expected to conclude after 18 months. While it once operated an average of more than 200 flights a day from SFO, United's lines -- including low-fare Ted, launched during bankruptcy -- now account for 156 flights a day, McCarron said. United said the airline plans to increase its flights by 1 percent this year in anticipation of increases in travel business. The airline's business plan is based on oil being $50 a barrel -- a cost at which the company could turn a profit -- but it could break even at the current price of about $66, Green said. Having just emerged from the "largest" and "most complex" airline bankruptcy in history, United's goal right now is to match demand with supply, he said. The parent company continues to post quarterly and annual losses, but the airline is showing operating profits. SAMCEDA President and CEO Deberah Bringleson said it's too early to tell" but called the carrier's progress a "very positive sign for the Peninsula." --- End forwarded message ---