(Bloomberg) — Every major U.S. airline has now shunned the U.S. government’s $25 billion emergency pandemic loans, avoiding the strings attached to that program in favor of the credit market’s warm embrace.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. announced Monday that it will raise $9 billion from institutional investors through a combination of loans and bonds. Part of that will pay off $520 million the company already borrowed from the federal government program.
The U.S. Treasury Department a year ago offered loans to prop up the industry as Covid-19 froze the business, but with terms viewed as onerous. The companies had to issue warrants to the government, and agree to restrictions on dividends, stock buybacks and executive compensation. Delta Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. both opted out last year.
While United and American Airlines Group Inc. borrowed relatively small…
