"UAL's Tilton says bankruptcy 'not foregone conclusion' now, time will tell"

Wednesday, October 2, 2002

UAL's Tilton says bankruptcy 'not foregone conclusion' now, time will
tell


WASHINGTON (AFX) - Bankruptcy for United Airlines is not a foregone
conclusion and only time will tell, said Glenn Tilton, chairman and
chief executive of UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines. 

"It's not a foregone conclusion, but we'll really only know over time,"
Tilton told AFX News on Capitol Hill as he worked the halls of Congress
to get support for additional assistance to the airline industry. 

Asked to reaffirm his earning guidance, he said his firm's business
outlook is similar to that of Delta Air Lines Inc, which cut its
earnings forecast in July. 

"My view is frankly Delta has already come out and given an indication
of where the industry is and I think Delta is probably right," he said,
"I think our experience is very similar to Delta's." 

Last week, Delta warned that the continued weak environment will hamper
any near-term recovery in its sales, while it expects to post a
third-quarter loss before items of 350 mln usd. 

He said he sees no upside for Q3 earnings. 

"I certainly don't see any upside," he said, adding "I can simply tell
you that it is a more difficult environment than any of us expected." 

Analysts, on average, currently expect UAL to post a third-quarter loss
of 7.12 usd a share, narrowing from a year-ago loss of 10.05 usd a
share, as sales fall to 3.970 bln usd from 4.107 bln, according to
estimates tracker First Call/Thomson Financial.


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