United poised to exit bankruptcy

CHICAGO, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A U.S. bankruptcy judge was expected to approve a reorganization plan to allow United Airlines to fly out of three years of bankruptcy by Feb. 1.

Judge Eugene Wedoff gave the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline approval to create an incentive plan to reward top executives and managers at a long bankruptcy hearing Wednesday. The compensation plan would set aside 10 million shares of stock in the reorganized carrier for 400 managers, giving the airline's top eight executives some $45 million in equity, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

United Chief Executive Officer Glenn Tilton, who cut $7 billion in annual costs through pay and benefit cuts for employees and other economies, could get $15 million in shares, the report said.

Wedoff was expected to sign off on the airlines' reorganization plan Friday and United could exit bankruptcy 10 days later.

United filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in December 2002 and has been hit by high fuel costs and competition from low-cost carriers.