In its December 31, 1997 balance sheet, UAL (which owns United Airlines) reported www.ual.com

the following amounts (in millions), respectively:

1997 1996 Current assets $2,948 $2,682 Aircraft fuel, spare parts and supplies 355 369 Current liabilities 5,248 5,003 Advance ticket sales 1,267 1,189 Required: Using ratio analysis, explain whether or not United Airlines’ liquidity position improved from December 31, 1996 to December 31, 1997. Explain which single measure of the company’s liquidity you would prefer to use. TYK-1