The deal between American Airlines and US Airways would be the latest in a line of airline mergers that concluded, or shortly followed, a chapter 11 restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Chapter 11 often paves the way for such deals by giving airlines the legal tools and bargaining power they need to become leaner and more competitive, and thus more appealing as a prospective merger partner. US Airways itself is the product of a bankruptcy merger with American West Airlines nearly a decade ago, and AMR acquired Trans World Airlines from its 2001 bankruptcy case. Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines, which filed for chapter 11 protection on the same day in September 2005 and exited in 2007, announced their merger the following year. And about four years passed between United Airlines' exit from bankruptcy before it launched its merger with Continental, becoming United Continental Holdings Inc. Read more (Subscription required): http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB100014241278873241623045783039539…
In related news, U.S. Senators said yesterday that they will hold a hearing on the antitrust implications of a planned merger between US Airways Group and AMR Corp, the parent of American Airlines. The $11 billion all-stock deal, announced on Thursday, would create the world's largest air carrier. No date has been set for a hearing so far. Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/14/americanairlines-merger-senat…