NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - United Airlines parent UAL Corp. has once again picked a new CEO from outside the airline industry, tapping oil executive Glenn Tilton to try to keep the world's No. 2 airline out of bankruptcy.

Tilton, 54, vice chairman of ChevronTexaco Corp. and acting chairman of energy marketer Dynegy Inc., was selected by unanimous vote of the board of UAL during a special Labor Day conference call.

Glenn Tilton, UAL Corp.'s new CEO.

Shares of UAL (UAL: Research, Estimates) closed about 2 percent higher Tuesday following the Labor Day announcement.

A statement released by the employee-owned airline quotes Paul Whiteford, the pilots' board representative, as saying, "Everything I've learned in getting to know him is positive: He is a proven, creative leader willing to work with all sides to build a consensus fairly and effectively. We look forward to joining with him and his management team in a productive partnership to find reasonable and responsible solutions."

The company also quoted Stephen Canale, the board representative for the International Association of Machinists, which represents 37,000 mechanics, ramp workers and customer service employees, as saying, "We fully understand the seriousness of the tough challenges facing our company, and are ready to work closely with Glenn toward our common goal of restoring United."

The company stated last Thursday that it needed $2.5 billion in annual cost savings, including $1.5 billion in reduced labor costs, which would equal nearly 25 percent of current labor costs. The company warned last month that unless it achieves the cost savings it is seeking, as well as $1.8 billion in federal loan guarantees, it will be forced to seek bankruptcy court protection when some of its debt comes due in the fourth quarter.

But so far the unions have been reluctant to agree to the cost savings sought by management. The pilots, who had been the one major union to agree to a 10 percent cut, rejected the deeper $1.5 billion savings sought by the company last week. The IAM and the Association of Flight Attendants have so far been unwilling to agree to any wage concessions.

Tilton had been CEO and chairman of Texaco Inc., assuming the position in February 2001, during the period between its agreement to be purchased by Chevron Corp. and the closing of the deal last October. He has served as vice chairman of the combined companies since then.

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Tilton replaces Jack Creighton, who was named to the spot last October after the IAM helped force out James Goodwin as the chairman and CEO of the airline. The original announcement of Creighton's appointment never identified him as an interim executive, but he soon was referred to that way by the company, and his departure and retirement was a foregone conclusion.

In addition to Creighton's retirement, the company announced that airline President Rono Dutta and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Studdert had also resigned to give Tilton the greatest latitude to name his own team.

Like Tilton, Creighton came from outside the airline industry, having served as the president and CEO of forest products maker Weyerhaeuser Co., although he had also been a longtime member of the UAL board.

Before company veteran Goodwin was named CEO in 1999, the company had been led by Gerald Greenwald, a veteran of automaker Chrysler Corp. who joined the company at the time of the employee buyout in 1994.

Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy's president and chief operating officer, said the energy company is unlikely to replace Tilton until the company appoints a new chief executive.