ECONOMICS REPORT - United Airlines Will Have to Seek New Fin

ECONOMICS REPORT - United Airlines Will Have to Seek New Financing Without U.S. Loan Guarantees
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, July 09, 2004

This is Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Bankruptcy² is a process that, in some cases, can save a business. Companies that cannot pay their debts may go to bankruptcy court and seek protection from their creditors³.

In December of two-thousand-two, United Airlines declared bankruptcy. Since then, the carrier has continued to fly. And it has reorganized. The aim is to come out of bankruptcy and be able to meet financial responsibilities. United is the second-largest airline company in the world.

But last week the government rejected a request for help. The parent company of United had asked the government to guarantee more than a thousand million dollars in loans. That meant the government would share responsibility if United could not repay the loans.

A special committee decided⁴ against the aid. The Air Transportation Stabilization⁵ Board has three members. They represent the central bank, the Treasury⁶ and the Transportation Department. Congress formed this board after the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two-thousand-one. Air travel decreased after the attacks with hijacked⁷ planes.

Congress approved loan guarantees of up to ten-thousand-million dollars to help the transportation industry recover. But the board has used only about fifteen percent of that. And the time limit to request aid has passed.In all, United made three requests for loan guarantees. The first was for one-point-eight thousand million dollars in June of two-thousand-two. The board denied the request in December of that year. It rejected the business plan that United had proposed. But it gave United a second chance.

Then, in June, the board rejected a smaller request. It said credit markets have improved and guarantees were no longer necessary. Air travel has increased worldwide over the past year.Then, at the end of June, the board rejected a third and final request from United.

United says it has cut about thirty-seven percent of its jobs. It says it has cut costs by nearly five-thousand-million dollars. The airline is expected to ask for more pay cuts from its employees. And it is expected to seek at least two-thousand-million dollars in new financing without government guarantees.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。