UAL reports record 2002 losses, tough time ahead.

(From Agence France Presse)

UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, said it made a record loss in 2002, faced more losses ahead and was fighting to cut costs after filing for bankruptcy.

UAL, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy December 9, racked up a loss of 1.5 billion dollars in the last three months of 2002, bringing full-year losses to a record 3.2 billion dollars.

"The biggest single challenge United faced in 2002 was to reduce its costs, the highest in the industry," chairman and chief executive Glenn Tilton said.

"United did everything within its control, slashing costs in every aspect of the business -- without sacrificing reliability and safety -- including reducing capital investments, reducing airline capacity, furloughing employees, obtaining concessions from vendors and more," he said.

"Those initiatives were simply not sufficient to address United's immediate and long-term issues."

United Airlines had a chance to rebuild under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, which enables a company that cannot meet its debts to try to restructure under court supervision, he said.