Delta, United join US carriers in receiving Treasury loans

Five more US air carriers including Delta and United will take out loans under the CARES Act stimulus package, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday. The decision means most major US air carriers have agreed to accept financing from the $2.2t measure passed in late March to blunt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. "We welcome the news that Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have now also signed letters of intent," Mnuchin said. While carriers were initially hesitant to take the money for fear of draconian conditions, Treasury announced last week that American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Sky West Airlines and Spirit Airlines agreed to the government's terms. Treasury did not specify the amount each airline was receiving, saying only that it required borrowers to provide warrants, which are financial instruments that can be converted into shares, or other forms of debt or equity. Borrowers must also comply with conditions like maintaining employment and not paying employees above set levels, along with temporarily suspending the payment of dividends and share buybacks.<br/>