U.S. bankruptcy judge Sean Lane approved American Airlines’ and US Airways’ antitrust settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, clearing the legal path for the two airlines to complete their merger.
Lane also rejected a request for a temporary restraining order from San Francisco attorney Joseph Alioto. Alioto, who represents about 40 plaintiffs in a civil antitrust suit trying to stop the merger, had asked the court for the temporary restraining order while his case went to trial. He had argued the merger was anti-competitive and would concentrate 80 percent of the air travel market amongst three airlines.
With the two legal rulings, American’s parent company, AMR Corp., can now exit bankruptcy protection to merge with US Airways. The deal is expected to close in mid-December.
The merger will create the largest airline in the world with over 6,500 daily flights and more than 100,000 employees. The new company, American Airlines Group, will be headquartered in Fort Worth and will trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol AAL.