Airline Will Continue Operating Sold Planes

It's a case of, "what works for a flight school Cessna also works for a Boeing jetliner." UAL, parent company of United Airlines, announced this week a sale and leaseback transaction that added approximately $150 million of cash to the company's unrestricted liquidity.

The company sold 15 Boeing 757 aircraft to East Shore Aircraft, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wayzata Opportunities Fund II, LP, for approximately $150 million. United Airlines will lease these aircraft back from East Shore Aircraft, LLC, and will continue to operate and maintain the aircraft.

"We are pleased to have successfully closed another financing transaction despite the tight credit markets. In this challenging economic environment, we are taking the right steps, with this financing and the significant cash United has raised in prior quarters this year, to ensure we have appropriate liquidity," said Kathryn Mikells, United's CFO.

"At the same time, we are encouraged by the significant drop in fuel prices -- our largest cost -- which will better position United as we work to return to profitability next year."

With the completion of this transaction, United has raised more than $250 million of the $300 million of additional liquidity the company has said it expects to raise in the fourth quarter of 2008, on top of nearly $1.4 billion the company raised in the third quarter of this year.

FMI: www.united.com