FORT WORTH, Texas and
TEMPE, Ariz., Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AMR
Corporation (OTCQB: AAMRQ), the parent company of American
Airlines, Inc., and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) today
announced that they filed a motion to set a trial date and a
supporting brief in the United States District Court for the
District Of Columbia in connection
with the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ")
regarding the merger of the two airlines. In the motion, American
Airlines and US Airways have requested a Nov. 12, 2013 trial date.
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"We strongly believe in the significant benefits the merger of
American Airlines and US Airways will deliver to consumers,
communities and employees," said Tom
Horton, AMR's Chairman, President and CEO, and incoming
Chairman of the Board of the new American Airlines. "The people of
American Airlines have worked extremely hard over the past two
years to lead our company through a remarkable and successful
restructuring and turnaround. After all of their contributions, we
are ready to move forward with this merger. We look forward to
beginning this trial in November so we can complete our journey
toward building the new American and deliver on the promise of this
merger."
In their filing, the Companies explain that their proposed trial
date is very reasonable by recent historical standards. The DOJ
request for 180 days, especially with one of the parties in
bankruptcy, however, would be unprecedented and unreasonable in the
circumstances. Based on the DOJ merger cases litigated to a
decision since 2001, the average time from the DOJ's complaint to
trial is 70 days.
"We are eager to show that the DOJ's action would deny millions
of customers access to a more competitive airline that will offer
customers what they want, delivering significant benefits to
consumers, communities and employees," said Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO, US Airways,
incoming CEO of the combined company. "The new American Airlines is
predicated on growth. This merger is the foundation of American's
plan to exit bankruptcy and is the cornerstone of American's and US
Airways' plan to form a more competitive and cost-effective airline
to take on the country's largest air carriers – Delta, United
Airlines, and Southwest – and a number of fast-growing low-cost
carriers, including Virgin America, JetBlue, Spirit, and Allegiant.
We are committed to resolving this litigation and, if necessary,
will pursue all legal options in order to achieve this merger."
About American Airlines
American Airlines focuses on providing an exceptional travel
experience across the globe, serving more than 260 airports in more
than 50 countries and territories. American's fleet of nearly 900
aircraft fly more than 3,500 daily flights worldwide from hubs in
Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami and New
York. American flies to nearly 100 international locations
including important markets such as London, Madrid, Sao
Paulo and Tokyo. With more
than 500 new planes scheduled to join the fleet, including
continued deliveries of the Boeing 737 family of aircraft and new
additions such as the Boeing 777-300ER and the Airbus A320 family
of aircraft, American is building toward the youngest and most
modern fleet among major U.S. carriers. American's website,
AA.com®, provides customers with easy access to check
and book fares, and personalized news, information and travel
offers. American's AAdvantage® program, voted Airline
Program of the Year at the 2013 Freddie Awards, lets members redeem
miles for flights to almost 950 destinations worldwide, as well as
flight upgrades, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel stays and
other retail products. The airline also offers nearly 40 Admirals
Club® locations worldwide providing comfort,
convenience, and an environment with a full range of services
making it easy for customers to stay productive without
interruption. American is a founding member of the
oneworld® alliance, which brings together some of
the best and biggest airlines in the world, including global brands
like British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia Airlines, Japan
Airlines, LAN and Qantas. Together, its members serve more than 840
destinations served by some 9,000 daily flights to nearly 160
countries and territories. Connect with American on Twitter
@AmericanAir or Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines. American Airlines,
Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR
Corporation. AMR Corporation common stock trades under the symbol
"AAMRQ" on the OTCQB marketplace, operated by OTC Markets
Group.
About US Airways
US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways
Express, operates more than 3,100 flights per day and serves 198
communities in the U.S., Canada,
Mexico, Europe, the Middle
East, the Caribbean,
Central and South America. The
airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide,
operates the world's largest fleet of Airbus aircraft and is a
member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers
more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,329 airports in 194 countries.
Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves
approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in
Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Aviation Week and Overhaul
& Maintenance magazine presented US Airways with the 2012
Aviation Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the Year Award
for demonstrating outstanding achievement and innovation in the
area of technical operations. Military Times Edge magazine named US
Airways as a Best for Vets employer for the past three years. US
Airways was, for the third year in a row, the only airline included
as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the U.S. by LATINA
Style magazine's 50 Report. The airline also earned a 100 percent
rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality index for
six consecutive years. The Corporate Equality index is a leading
indicator of companies' attitudes and policies toward lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender employees and customers. For more company
information visit usairways.com, follow on Twitter @USAirways or at
Facebook.com/USAirways.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This document includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
"may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe,"
"estimate," "plan," "project," "could," "should," "would,"
"continue," "seek," "target," "guidance," "outlook," "forecast" and
other similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on
AMR's and US Airways' current objectives, beliefs and expectations,
and they are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results and financial position and timing of
certain events to differ materially from the information in the
forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others,
could cause actual results and financial position and timing of
certain events to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements: failure of a proposed transaction to be
implemented; the challenges and costs of closing, integrating,
restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; the ability to
retain key employees; and other economic, business, competitive,
and/or regulatory factors affecting the businesses of US Airways
and AMR generally, including those set forth in the filings of US
Airways and AMR with the SEC, especially in the "Risk Factors" and
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" sections of their respective annual reports
on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, their current
reports on Form 8-K and other SEC filings, including the
registration statement, proxy statement and prospectus. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof or as
of the dates indicated in the statements. Neither AMR nor US
Airways assumes any obligation to publicly update or supplement any
forward-looking statement to reflect actual results, changes in
assumptions or changes in other factors affecting these
forward-looking statements except as required by law.
SOURCE American Airlines