US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said on Wednesday that he is pleased with AMR executives' recent decision to weigh a standalone restructuring of the airline against such other options as a merger with a rival during bankruptcy, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. However, Parker, who has spent months courting AMR but largely has been rebuffed by AMR's management, warned against delay. "US Airways is here now, and we're ready to do this now. There's no guarantee that'll be the case forever," Parker said. Last week, AMR said that it would work with its unsecured creditors to discuss possible mergers as an alternative to its preferred strategy of emerging from its chapter 11 bankruptcy as a restructured, but independent, company. It sought chapter 11 protection last November and is working to secure new union agreements in a bid to reduce its annual labor costs by $1.25 billion.
In related news, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. won more time to develop its plan to restructure and exit bankruptcy as it works to consider possible mergers, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. American's request for an extension of a deadline for filing the plan was approved by Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane at a court hearing yesterday. The ruling extends American's exclusive right to file a proposal to Dec. 28 and blocks competing plans. Read more.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-07-19/amr-wins-extension-of-so…