FORT WORTH, Texas and
TEMPE, Ariz., Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AMR
Corporation (OTCQB: AAMRQ), the parent company of American
Airlines, Inc., and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) today
announced that the airlines have settled the litigation brought by
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the States of Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Tennessee, the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia challenging the merger of
AMR and US Airways. The companies also announced an agreement with
the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) related to small
community service from Washington Reagan National Airport
(DCA).
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Tom Horton, chairman, president
and CEO of AMR, and incoming chairman of the board of the combined
company, said, "This is an important day for our customers, our
people and our financial stakeholders. This agreement allows us to
take the final steps in creating the new American Airlines. With a
renewed spirit, we are about to create the world's leading airline
that will offer, along with our oneworld®
partners, a comprehensive global network and service by the best
people in the business. There is much more work ahead of us but
we're energized by the challenge and look forward to competing
vigorously in the ever-changing global marketplace."
Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of
US Airways, and incoming CEO of the combined airline, said, "This
is very good news and we are grateful to all who have made it
happen. In particular, we are thankful to our employees, who
throughout this process continued to believe in a better future as
one airline and who voiced their support passionately and
consistently. We also want to thank the elected officials in the
states and communities we serve, the business leaders in our hub
cities, and the thousands of customers who endorsed and supported
this effort. Thank you as well to the U.S. Department of Justice,
the state attorneys general and the U.S. Department of
Transportation. We are pleased to have this lawsuit behind us and
look forward to building the new American Airlines together."
Under the terms of the settlement, the airlines will divest 52
slot pairs at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and 17 slot
pairs at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), as well as certain gates
and related facilities to support service at those airports.[i] The
airlines also will divest two gates and related support facilities
at each of Boston Logan International Airport, Chicago O'Hare
International Airport, Dallas Love
Field, Los Angeles
International Airport, and Miami
International Airport. The divestitures will occur through a DOJ
approved process following the completion of the merger. Despite
the divestitures, the new American is still expected to generate
more than $1 billion in annual net
synergies beginning in 2015, as was estimated when the merger was
announced in February.
After completion of the required divestitures, the combined
company expects to operate 44 fewer daily departures at DCA and 12
fewer daily departures at LGA than the approximately 290 daily DCA
departures and 175 daily LGA departures that American and US
Airways operate today.[ii] The divestitures required by the
settlement are not expected to impact total employment at the new
American.
To ensure much of the service currently operated by the carriers
to small- and medium-sized markets from DCA is maintained, the new
American has agreed with the DOT to use all of its DCA commuter
slot pairs for service to these communities. The new American
intends to announce the service changes that will result from the
divestitures in advance of the sale of the DCA and LGA slots, so
that the airlines acquiring those slots have the opportunity to
maintain service to those impacted communities.
In the settlement agreement with the state Attorneys General,
the new American has agreed to maintain its hubs in Charlotte, New York (Kennedy), Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago (O'Hare), Philadelphia, and Phoenix consistent with historical operations
for a period of three years. In addition, with limited
exceptions, for a period of five years, the new American will
continue to provide daily scheduled service from one or more of its
hubs to each plaintiff state airport that has scheduled daily
service from either American or US Airways. A previous settlement
agreement with the state of Texas
will be amended to make it consistent with today's settlement.
Completion of the merger remains subject to the approval of the
settlements by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and certain other
conditions. The companies now expect to complete the merger in
December 2013.
About American Airlines
American Airlines focuses on
providing an exceptional travel experience across the globe,
serving more than 270 airports in nearly 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 nearly
900 destinations served by more than 10,000 daily flights
to more than 150 countries. 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," "if
current trends continue," "optimistic," "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 challenges and costs
of the proposed transaction, including integrating operations and
our ability to achieve anticipated annual net synergies of more
than $1 billion in 2015; the effects
of divestitures pursuant to the Settlement; the price of, market
for and potential market price volatility of US Airways common
stock, AMR common stock and the 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.
Additional Information and Where To Find It
Investors
and security holders of US Airways are urged to read the relevant
documents filed BY AMR AND US AIRWAYS with the SEC carefully and in
their entirety because they contain important information about the
proposed transaction. Investors and security holders may
obtain free copies of AMR's and US Airways' SEC filings through the
website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies
of the documents filed with the SEC by US Airways can be obtained
free of charge on US Airways' website at www.usairways.com or by
directing a written request to US Airways Group, Inc., 111 West Rio
Salado Parkway, Tempe, Arizona
85281, Attention: Vice President, Legal Affairs. Copies of
the documents filed with the SEC by AMR can be obtained free of
charge on AMR's website at www.aa.com or by directing a written
request to AMR Corporation, P.O. Box 619616, MD 5675, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport,
Texas 75261-9616, Attention:
Investor Relations or by emailing investor.relations@aa.com.
[i] Each slot pair entitles the holder to one departure and
arrival
[ii] The settlement terms between the airlines and the plaintiffs
call for the divestiture of 52 slot pairs at DCA and 17 pairs at
LGA. This will lead to a reduction of 44 round trips
currently flown by the two airlines at DCA. The remaining
eight DCA slot pairs to be divested are currently operated by
JetBlue. At LGA, the new American is required to divest 17
slot pairs, which will lead to a reduction of 12 round trips
currently flown by the two airlines. The remaining five slot
pairs to be divested are currently operated by Southwest
SOURCE American Airlines