United Airlines' Chief Operating Officer almost got away

In a proxy filing after the markets closed Monday, United Airlines’ parent company, UAL Corp., listed the value of the 2006 compensation package of its Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton at $23.8 million.

Peter McDonald, UAL’s chief financial officer, garnered a pay package of $13.2 million.

Neither executive received a bonus, but reading the fine print reveals McDonald’s salary and package was actually higher. Why?

“Mr. McDonald’s base salary was increased in response to a competitive job offer he received from a non-passenger airline,” according to the filing.

UAL signed a new employment agreement with McDonald on Sept. 29, 2006, giving him an annual base salary of $700,000, more than the $501,000 listed for 2006.

To get him to stay, UAL is also giving McDonald a $2.6 million payment that funds a trust, and he in turn, gives up some restricted shares.

There are two major non-passenger airlines in the U.S.: UPS Inc. and FedEx.

By comparison, Scott Davis, the UPS CFO, earned $500,000 in 2006. Alan Graf Jr., the CFO of FedEx Corp., earned a base salary in 2006 of about $778,000.