UAL held a 100 percent controlling interest in United Airlines, Inc., one of the world's largest air carriers, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance.

[3] UAL Corp. passed to its successor its major operations at Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington-Dulles.

UAL's United Airlines, Inc. held several key air rights, including one of the two American carriers authorized to serve Asia from Tokyo-Narita.

[4] UAL, Inc., was incorporated December 30, 1968 as a Delaware corporation as part of a reorganization of United Airlines, its largest subsidiary, having a storied history.

Wall Street analysts believed that Allegis' subsidiaries were worth more individually than valued by the parent company's stock price.

Reacting to this opinion just weeks after the company changed its name, a group led by United Airlines employees moved to acquire ownership.

In April 2000, the ESOP investment period ended for most US employees, prompting United's unions to fight for higher wages.

Labor issues, air traffic congestion and poor weather forced widespread flight cancellations during the summer of 2000, harming the airline's reputation.

Tilton sought wage cuts from employees and applied for a U.S. government loan guarantee to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

UAL quickly received debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to allow it to continue "business as usual" while it reorganized its debt, capital and cost structures.