United Airlines is expected to exit  Chapter 11 this morning, ending one of the longest bankruptcies in United States history. The company has shed billions of dollars in annual costs and the choking control over the company by it’s unions.

Now it’s really time to fly, to move forward,” Glenn Tilton, CEO of United and parent UAL, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Passengers are unlikely to notice an immediate difference, since United never stopped flying even when multibillion-dollar losses forced it to seek protection from its creditors in federal bankruptcy court. But the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline has made one change after another since early in its three-year overhaul.

It now has about 30% fewer employees (58,000), 20% fewer airplanes (460) and 20% lower operating costs (7.5 cents per seat per mile), excluding fuel, than it did when the bankruptcy began on Dec. 9, 2002. Labor costs are down by more than $3 billion annually after two steep pay cuts and the elimination of defined-benefit pensions. Dozens of daily domestic flights have been eliminated. via USATODAY.com