Today 7:58 PM ET (Dow Jones)
By Brent Kendall A federal judge Friday approved the Justice Department's settlement allowing the merger of AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington signed off on the settlement after deciding that it was in the public interest.
"The United States has provided a reasonable basis for concluding that the settlement will mitigate the anticompetitive effects of combining two of the remaining legacy airlines" the judge said in a 26-page opinion.
AMR, the parent of American Airlines, and US Airways completed their merger in December and have been selling space at certain congested airports, as required by the agreement with the government.
The settlement's approval was widely expected, as federal judges seldom raise substantial objections to Justice Department antitrust agreements with merging companies. The long odds, however, didn't stop several parties, ranging from consumer groups to Delta Air Lines Inc., from filing criticisms with Judge Kollar-Kotelly.
Consumer advocates had argued the settlement didn't go far enough to address alleged harms from the merger. A group of lawmakers had voiced concern it would hurt competition for air service in smaller communities. Delta, among other things, criticized the Justice Department for directing that US Airways and AMR sell assets to low-cost carriers instead of large legacy carriers such as Delta.
The department defended the deal in court as a major victory for consumers, saying millions of passengers would see benefits because the settlement allowed low-cost carriers to obtain assets at key airports.
"We're pleased that the court agreed that the department's remedy will enhance system-wide competition in the airline industry," said the department's antitrust chief, Bill Baer.
The settlement ended a lawsuit the Justice Department filed in August.
"Together, American Airlines and US Airways have created a strong global competitor that provides better access to more destinations than we could ever provide independently," the newly combined American Airlines Group Inc. said in a statement.
--Susan Carey contributed to this article.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2014 19:58 ET (23:58 GMT)
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