U.S. Proposes Deal To Allow The American Airlines-US Airways Marriage To Finally Happen

An expensive wedding is by no means an unusual event these days, and when it comes to major airlines trying to get hitched, it’s no different. Just last week the Department of Justice was rumored to have a list of things it wanted the airlines to sell off if they wanted to walk down the aisle and now there’s a reported price for that wedded bliss.

In today’s dowry proposal from the DOJ, American and US Airways would have to fork over 104 takeoff and landing slots at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, where those two airlines control about two-thirds of the total now.

Then there are the 34 slots at La Guardia Airport in New York that need to be sold and a laundry list of assets at five other airports, including O’Hare Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport, reports the New York Times.

 

Selling off slots and gates at various airports for other airlines will increase the competition for the couple-to-be, something the DOJ wants to make sure happens as it should benefit travelers to have more choices at their home airports. That’s its intention, but it remains to be seen if things will play out that way.

For those weary of the “will they or won’t they?” back and forth involved in these nuptials, complete relief isn’t here yet: The judge overseeing American’s bankruptcy still has to give it the okay as well as the Federal District Court in D.C.

But if you’re looking for a save-the-date, the twosome are pretty darn sure they can get this wedding final by mid-December.

U.S. Reaches Preliminary Deal in American-US Airways Merger Lawsuit [New York Times]

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