United Airlines, the world's second biggest carrier, is in financial crisis and appears headed for a bankruptcy filing after a plea for government support was rejected.

We asked if you were an employee of United Airlines concerned about your job or the company's future. Perhaps you had a family member working there or a view on the management's strategy. The following are some of your comments.

As a long-time employee of UAL, it makes me very angry that the Bush administration has recently approved $10 billion in loan guarantees to Israel, and United Airlines, a US company, gets denied the $1.8 billion loan guarantee it urgently needs.

I believe the decision by the ATSB was more of a political decision rather than a financial one. The ATSB was originally set up after 9/11 to help the airlines who were financially affected by the resultant damage done to the industry after 9/11. I feel the U.S. policy in the Mid-East is one of the reasons for 9/11, especially regarding the U.S. support of Israel and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
Sally Joyce, UAL Flight Attendant, USA

I have multiple relatives that work for United. For the past decade or more the airline has been mis-managed. The business plan is/was poor and everytime the economy hickups and business travellers stop flying, United takes huge losses. Recent events have destroyed my family members' savings. Regarding the mechanics' decision earlier not to take concessions, it sabotaged the loan process so basically, many of the mechanics have just voted for a 100% concession. Not smart.
Ryan, USA

I am the spouse of a UAL employee and not a specialist of bankruptcy strategies, but it seems to me however that, UAL management has had more than 1 year to come up with a proper business plan that would be suitable to the Federal loan guarantee board. Now, 4 days before a major debt repayment deadline, we hear that this plan is basically " flawed and unsuitable" and has been rejected. Obviously, there is no more time to come up with a " better, acceptable" plan.

This does not ring right and sounds like those who put this plan together, deliberately made it unacceptable so that a bankruptcy filing was inevitable. After years of damaging the company's finances, UAL management is unable to pay for and obtain proper business management counsel to put together and submit an acceptable plan? Nonsense! There is more to this than we are allowed to know.
Cmdr. C., USA

I worked for United until last year. The problems started way before Sept 11 when the pilots went on strike for an almost 30% increase. The UA pilots union insisted on having 3 crew in the cockpit on trans-atlantic flights when most airlines have 2. The first class cabin was usually full of UA staff swigging champagne at the company's expense. What a way to run a business.
Anon, UK

I am a retired UAL pilot. I hope we have the guts to forge ahead without the loan and without declaring bankruptcy. Let's do whatever is necessary to cut costs and get this airline going again. Ray Lahr
Ray Lahr, USA

Being an ex-Swissair employee myself which faced an identical situation in October 2001 when the company went bankrupt, I feel very sorry for those employees who devoted their lives to UA and helped to build the company and now are on the brink of losing their jobs. Another endorsement to the statistics of a tragic era faced by commercial aviation in the world.
Andre Rodrigues, Brazil

United has only itself to blame for its current predicament; I have experienced lousy customer service, mainly from ground staff. The loss of United will not be mourned by me.
Steve B, UK

I am very upset about the US government's decision. They should try to avoid unemployment at any cost
Regina Rosengarten, Brazil

I travel internationally quite a bit for business. Some months ago my company switched prefered carriers to United. Since then I have been regularly accosted by rude ground staff, unprepared flight crews, and overbooked flights. The aircraft have been dirty and on one trans Pacific flight they forgot to deliver the meals. I for one would not miss the un"Friendly skys of United."
Duane Fowler, USA

I used to work with United and I can safely say that it is the employees who own the company who deserve to lose out - they refused to be paid market wages in order to save the company years ago and now are reaping their rewards - the pilots in particular are at fault in this. Their intransigence and arrogance as a profession will cost other airlines dear as well!
Bob Findlay, Ireland

My son is a 747 pilot at United. One wonders how the U.S. can give Israel over US$5 BILLION every year with no debt repayment required, yet consign United to the bankruptcy bin and the ensuing US citizens hurt.
Wayne Dooley, New Zealand

I would suggest the mechanics and IAM union are more at fault than the pilots and other labour groups, all of whom have agreed to substantial reductions in terms and conditions in order to save their airline. I hope the IAM follow suit.
Giles Wastell, UK

I have family and friends working with airlines in both US and UK - none with United. These guys have systematically brought on the downfall of their own company through unrealistic pay structures and working practices; compare rates of pay for pilots with Soutwest (who make a profit) and United. United received a major handout after 9/11 but they were losing money before then. Now they want more of the taxpayers money. Everyone else has to live in a market economy and it's time they woke up and got real.
John, US/UK

Pan Am went out of business and so will UAL. There are too many airlines and not enough passengers. UAL pilots and others have essentially bankrupted the airline. That coupled with staff who have yet to learn the meaning of customer service spells the end. With American Airlines based in Texas, I am sure Bush will be in no hurry to bailout UA.
Chris Burnet, UK

My son is an aircraft maintenance supervisor - with 16 yrs experience. Mechanics were on the short end - of getting their promised pay raises. Now, after waiting, they are being robbed of their 401 (in UAL STOCK) and future raises and their future. Can those working for UAL - JOIN TOGETHER TO WORK 30 DAYS W/O PAY. Will this help the company? Please respond - a shareholder and concerned parent.
AUDREY J. KARIKA, USA

I work closely with all major carriers in my job. United is, and has been since the late 1980's, the most non-customer oriented and difficult carrier to work with. Period. While I give high marks to the expertise and experience of their union workers, these folks are going to go the way of Eastern. Shutting down the airline for the sake of "protecting industry wages" at other carriers is barely worthy of a comment. Their bloated executive ranks and their "holier than thou" mentality must change if everyone in the organization is to work together for success. I am an Eastern victim and some 11 years later, many of us have never recovered financially.
Matt York, USA

I find it interesting that several respondents praise the unions, and, just as the unions themselves have, blame bad management for United's predicament. Funny how the pilots and machinists can so casually overlook their own complicity now that the company's going down the tubes when it was the union board members that forced out John Edwardson years ago and installed instead the disastrous Jim Goodwin as CEO. It was the greed and power play of the Pilots and mechanic's that destroyed United.
Jim Gallanis, USA

I have no sympathies for these airlines who jointly contributed to the demise of PanAm, the pioneer of aviation. Neither the US government nor the public supported them. WHY NOW
Venu Velloth, India

United Airlines is an excellent airline. But there can be no justification for governments subsidising failing companies - as the French governement has just done with France Telecom. Subsidies are a tax on the poor: in this case on all those people in the US who don't fly. Market forces ultimately produce the best deal for everyone.
Henry Dodds, UK

Both of my parents have worked for United for over 20 years. I think there is a huge misconception out there about the way United is run and who is at fault. First of all, you cannot generalize about the actions of one set of employees (money-grubbing pilots, for example). There are several groups within the company who have not received even a standard of living wage increase in many, many years (customer service agents, for example). Second, while employees technically "own" the airline, they do not have any real decision-making power in the boardroom, outside of a few isolated unions.

It is not simply "the employees' fault." There are plenty of ground-level employees who are hardworking individuals that are currently suffering - and could lose much, much more - for the sins of their peers and really, really poor upper-level management. And that is a very unfortunate, very overlooked thing in all of this. In light of that especially, I find the well-publicized smirking glee of United's competitors to be deeply disturbing.
Matt K, USA