American, US Air seek November 12 trial date for merger lawsuit

American Airlines and US Airways are seeking a 10-day trial that would begin November 12 in US federal court to fight the challenge by the US Justice Department to their proposed merger, which would form the world’s biggest carrier.

In a court filing on Thursday, the carriers said the proposed date would give the Justice Department 90 days of trial preparation. By contrast, the 180 days requested by the government would be “far longer than any of its other merger trials in the century,” the filing added.

The bankruptcy status of American, which has been operating under Chapter 11 protection since late 2011, adds to the airlines’ urgency to have the lawsuit heard, the airlines stated in their filing. The merger would be the mechanism by which American parent AMR Corp exits bankruptcy.

The Justice Department sued last week to block the merger, saying it would reduce competition and lead to higher airfares.

US Airways and American have vowed a vigorous defence of the merger, which would cap recent industry consolidation that has help put US airlines on a more solid financial footing.

The carriers included information in their filing showing that other US government merger challenges took 17 days to 106 days from filing of a complaint to the start of trial.

For example, 55 days elapsed between the filing and first day of trial of an antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission against Whole Foods Market in 2007, according to a table in the carriers’ filing. Whole Foods later settled the lawsuit.