FORT WORTH, Texas and
TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, AMR Corporation (OTCQB: AAMRQ), the
parent company of American Airlines, Inc., and US Airways Group,
Inc. (NYSE: LCC) today announced they have reached an agreement for
the Texas Attorney General to
support the proposed merger of American and US Airways.
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Under the terms of the agreement, the new American Airlines will
maintain scheduled daily service to more than twenty airports in
Texas. In addition, the agreement
provides that Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport be maintained as a large hub airport for the
combined airline and that the new American will maintain its
headquarters in the Dallas/Fort
Worth area.
The State of Texas had
previously joined the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") as
co-plaintiff in its pending suit to block the merger of American
Airlines and US Airways. With today's agreement, the Texas Attorney General has agreed to withdraw
his participation in the DOJ's lawsuit.
"I'm pleased we were able to find common ground and gain the
carefully considered support of the Attorney General in our home
state," said Tom Horton, chairman,
president and CEO of AMR. "This is an important step forward for
American Airlines, for Texas, and
for our customers and people of both American and US Airways.
Texas has long played a lead role
in our company's history, and this agreement is assurance of our
commitment to maintain and enhance the outstanding levels of
service and connectivity that the new American will provide to the
citizens of Texas. This merger
will enhance job security and career opportunities for our combined
Texas based employee base of
nearly 25,000. The combined airline will fly more people and more
goods to more places while providing more competition to benefit
customers in the U.S. and abroad. We thank Attorney General Abbott
for his partnership in finding a solution and also thank the people
of American and US Airways for their continued support of the
merger."
Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of
US Airways, said the following: "We are grateful to have the
support of Attorney General Abbott. In addition, the support for
the merger from the employees of American Airlines and US Airways
has been overwhelming. This combination makes sense for our
customers, employees and the communities we serve. We are dedicated
to completing this merger on behalf of all of them."
Texas airports included in the
agreement include:
- Abilene Regional Airport
- Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
- Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport
- Corpus Christi International
Airport
- Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport
- East Texas Regional Airport
- Easterwood Airport
- El Paso International
Airport
- Houston William P. Hobby Airport
- Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
- Jack Brooks Regional Airport
- Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport
- Laredo International
Airport
- Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport
- McAllen-Miller International Airport
- Midland International Airport
- Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport
- San Angelo Regional Airport
- San Antonio International
Airport
- Tyler Pounds Regional Airport
- Waco Regional Airport
- Wichita Falls Regional Airport
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: the
lawsuit filed by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice and certain states seeking to enjoin the planned merger of
AMR and US Airways on antitrust grounds and the intention of AMR
and US Airways to contest such lawsuit vigorously; the challenges
and costs of the proposed transaction, including integrating
operations and achieving anticipated synergies; the price of,
market for and potential market price volatility of common stock of
the ultimate parent entity following the closing of the proposed
transaction; significant liquidity requirements and substantial
levels of indebtedness of the combined company following the
closing; potential limitations on the use of certain tax attributes
following the closing; failure of the proposed transaction to be
completed; and other economic, business, competitive, and/or
regulatory factors affecting the business of the combined company
after the closing and 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 and the proxy statement/prospectus related
to the proposed transaction. 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