US Airways (NYSE:LCC) today struck deals with three American Airlines labor unions that are expected to aid efforts to potentially merge the two airline carriers. American Airlines parent company, AMR Corp. (PINK:AAMRQ), filed for bankruptcy last November.
The unions, which represent 55,000 American Airlines employees, were angered by the threat of job and labor cost cuts while the company is under bankruptcy protection, reports The Associated Press.
Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, told the AP that the merger could save about 6,200 jobs at American.
However, the merger between the two major airlines is not a done deal. Parker said his company still needs support of AMR’s creditors, management and board of directors.
“But this is obviously an important first step along that path, and we are hopeful we can all work together to make this happen,” Parker said in a note to US Airways employees.
The CEO also said he would keep both airlines’ current hubs and planes and that the merged company could better compete against major U.S. airline carriers United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) .
LCC shares were down more than 2% late Friday, and AAMRQ shares had fallen more than 5%.
No comments:
Post a Comment