Thursday, November 28, 2013

Court approves revised AA / US Airways plan

American Airlines 777-323(ER) (41666/1122) N725AN arrives at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) on 11/6/2013.
(Photo by Michael Carter)

American Airlines and US Airways plan to close their merger by 9 December, following approval of their revised plan by a US bankruptcy court on November 27.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American's merger with US Airways should be completed “without delay”, said US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York judge Sean Lane when he approved the carrier's revised reorganisation plan.

The revised plan includes concessions that American and US Airways promised the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in exchange for antitrust approval for the deal. These include divesting 52 slot pairs at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport and 17 pairs at New York LaGuardia.

Lane says that the consumers represented by antitrust attorney Joseph Alioto who sued to block the merger failed to demonstrate how the combination would hurt them, according to reports.

The merger, which was announced this past February, will create the world’s largest airline serving about 480 destinations with roughly 940 mainline aircraft and combined revenues of about $38 billion.

(Edward Russell - Flightglobal News)

No comments: