Feds say no to United bailout for third and 'final' time
Feds say no to United, again
U.S. panel rejects request for $1.1B in federal loan guarantees; says carrier is out of chances.
June 28, 2004: 9:27 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A panel has rejected a third request for federal loan guarantees from bankrupt United Airlines, saying Monday it will not entertain any more requests for help from the nation's troubled No. 2 airline.
United, a unit of UAL Corp. (UALAQ: Research, Estimates), had cut back its request for a loan guarantee to $1.1 billion, but the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, which earlier this month rejected a request for $1.6 billion in guarantees, said its three members had unanimously decided to reject the request.
"Board concluded that granting the loan guarantee is not a necessary part of maintaining a safe, efficient, and viable commercial aviation system in the United States," said the letter sent to UAL. "Moreover, the Board believes that airline credit markets have been improving since late 2001 and 2002, ... increasing the likelihood of United succeeding without a loan guarantee."
Spokesmen for United, which had argued it needed the loan guarantee to arrange financing it needed to emerge from bankruptcy, were not immediately available for comment.