ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2001 Former Continental CEO Greg Brenneman spoke about the proposed merger of Aloha and Hawaiian airlines at a press conference in Hawaii last year.

Brenneman rumored
front-runner for UAL post

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Greg Brenneman, the former Continental Airlines chief executive who tried unsuccessfully to put together a merger of Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, is in the news again.

This time, it is speculation that he might be named chief executive officer of UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines.

Brenneman's office at TurnWorks Inc. in Houston, Texas, said he is traveling and unavailable for comment. Steve DeSutter, senior vice president of TurnWorks, said he has been in touch with Brenneman on the matter and "there's no comment here at all from Greg or TurnWorks on that."

DeSutter said there are surely many candidates for the top operating job at United.

A Reuters news service quoted a "UAL bondholder who asked not to be identified" as saying that Brenneman is "at the top of my list."

Financial news wires carried stories about yesterday's announcement by Jack Creighton, the current UAL chief executive, that he will step down after an executive search firm finds a replacement.

At first, Reuters was the only news service to mention Brenneman as the likely choice. By late yesterday, Dow Jones Newswires was saying Brenneman is one of the names "most often mentioned."

There has been speculation in recent weeks that he could take another top airline position since he became available after the Hawaiian-Aloha merger collapsed.

Creighton, a member of the UAL board of directors, stepped into the CEO position in October in what was announced as an interim job while a successor was found to recently departed CEO Jim Goodwin. Goodwin left under pressure from United Airline's unions, whose members own 55 percent of the company.

Joe Hopkins, a UAL spokesman, said Creighton, 69, chose to step down because he feels he has achieved what he set out to achieve in stabilizing United and improving relationships with the unions. Hopkins said Creighton will remain until a replacement is appointed.

Brenneman is best known for turning around financially troubled Continental without massive layoffs or service cuts.