Bankruptcy Judge Gives Final Approval To American/US Air Merger
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A U.S Bankruptcy Judge has given the final approval to a merger between U.S. Airways Group and AMR, the parent company of American Airlines.
The judgment came just a few weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice and multiple state attorneys general announced the settlement of a lawsuit seeking to stop the merger between U.S. Air and American Airlines.
One of American's hubs is at Miami International Airport.
The merger will further narrow the choices U.S. fliers can utilize and could eventually result in prices continuing to rise in the airline industry as competition is squeezed out.
The deal pulls AMR Corporation out of bankruptcy protection and by December 9th, the reorganization plan between the two companies is expected to be completed. Once the deal is completed, the new company will be called American Airlines Group Inc.
American Airlines chairman and CEO Tom Horton will be the incoming chairman of the board of the new airline and U.S. Airways chief executive officer Doug Parker will take over as the CEO of the combined airline.
American guaranteed it would keep its hubs in Charlotte, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Phoenix for three years.
