Oilman Might Pilot United
United Airlines' board of directors has called a special meeting for Labor Day amid reports it is poised to select an oil company executive as its chairman and chief executive officer.
Glenn Tilton, the vice chairman of ChevronTexaco Corp. and acting chairman of struggling Dynegy Inc., has emerged as the front-runner to replace interim CEO Jack Creighton, according to several reports. He could be named to the job Monday.
"Tilton became the overwhelming choice in the last several days" because directors felt "he has great leadership skills," the Journal quoted a person close to the situation.
The company and union sources said Sunday no final decision has been made.
UAL spokesman Joe Hopkins called the reports speculation and declined to comment. "We have not made any announcement," he said.
The pilots union, which has a seat on the board of United parent UAL Corp., declined comment on Tilton's chances of being named to the post. But a spokesman said the pilots have a positive view of him although he has no experience in the airline industry.
"Based on the reports we've seen, he's a good man," spokesman Herb Hunter said Sunday. "We need some leadership. Right now we're a ship without a rudder, going through some rough seas."
On Aug. 29, United Airlines said it wanted $9 billion of cost cuts over six years from its labor unions to avoid a bankruptcy filing. The company is struggling with weak travel demand and labor strife that has hurt other airlines, including bankrupt US Airways Group Inc.
Tilton last year was named chairman and chief executive officer of Texaco Inc., the nation's second-largest oil company, shortly before it was formally acquired by Chevron Corp. He was named to the board of embattled Dynegy in January and became interim CEO in May. San Francisco-based ChevronTexaco holds a 26.5 percent stake in Dynegy.
The other finalist for the United job - John Walker, a UAL director and CEO of Weirton Steel Corp. - also has no experience running an airline. But financially ailing United, which is trying to avoid bankruptcy, has had no luck attracting an industry veteran since it began its four-month search.
Creighton has earned the respect of United's unions, but he turned 70 and had said he wanted to return to retirement. A UAL board member, he took the post last October when James Goodwin resigned under pressure.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported on its Web site Saturday that Tilton has won the support of the UAL board but has yet to receive a formal endorsement.
UAL has posted losses of nearly $3 billion in the past 18 months and has threatened to filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this fall if it can't get its costs down dramatically and win a government loan guarantee.