Union to Review Tentative UAL Deal

The leadership of the union representing United Airlines pilots today will review a tentative agreement with airline parent UAL Corp. on participating in a financial recovery plan, which the airline says is needed to return to financial health.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Pilots own 28% of the company after a 1994 employee stock ownership plan.

The top council of the Air Line Pilots Assn. will meet and vote on the pact, which then must be voted on by all United pilots.

The Chicago-based airline has had seven consecutive quarterly losses that began with flight disruptions linked to labor talks in 2000 and were exacerbated last year by a drop in corporate travel spending and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

United has said it needs to reduce labor costs by several billion dollars in coming years.