United Airlines posts $889 million Q3 loss
...And pretty soon you really ARE talking about real money. What I want to know is how it is even possible to lose almost $300 million dollars A MONTH??
United, the dominant carrier in Northern California, has now clocked nine consecutive losing quarters and lost nearly $4 billion since the start of 2001....
The flow of red ink from United ended a dreadful week in which seven of the eight major U.S. carriers collectively lost more than $2 billion during the summer high-travel season, when airlines ordinarily fatten their profits. Hammered by the recession and post-Sept. 11 fallout, U.S. carriers lost a record $7.1 billion last year.
The horrendous business climate has sent commercial aviation into a historic tailspin. US Airways filed for Chapter 11 court bankruptcy protection in August, and United has said it, too, is considering Chapter 11. However, on Friday, the United statement said "the company's first priority continues to be accomplishing an out-of-court restructuring that puts the company on a firm financial footing."
I suppose that before too much longer we'll all driving anyway, if the FAA gets it's way.