nwa757

Union officials met with DOJ Antitrust Chief as well, this is huge.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-18/amr-us-airways-unions-meet-u-s-official-on-merger-suit.html

American Airlines (AAMRQ) and US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) union leaders told the U.S. antitrust chief opposing the carriers’ proposed merger that they fear jobs will be lost if he succeeds in blocking the deal.
The union officials met with William Baer, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, at the agency’s Washington offices today for about 45 minutes, said Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants at AMR Corp.’s American.
“We were very interested in telling them about our strong support for the merger,” Glading said in a telephone interview. “We wanted to make sure they clearly understood how important the merger is to our jobs and our careers. We told them we’ve been in limbo too long.”
The session occurred as more than 300 airline employees fanned out across Capitol Hill to build support among members of Congress for the pending merger. Baer and Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Gelfand were “attentive” and interested in hearing the union leaders’ views, Glading said.
Gina Talamona, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said she had no immediate comment on the meeting.
AMR’s shares reversed an earlier decline and rose 1.3 percent to $3.82 in over-the-counter trading, while US Airways slid 0.7 percent to $18.59 at 12:39 p.m. in New York.
AMR’s bankruptcy-restructuring plan is built around the merger with Tempe, Arizona-based US Airways. The combined airline would become the world’s biggest and keep American’s name and headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. The Justice Department sued the airlines last month to block the deal.
The case is U.S. v. US Airways Group Inc., 13-cv-01236, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).