AMR and American Airlines File for Chapter 11

Eine Übernahme durch Delta Air Lines würde allerdings die Wettbewerbshüter auf den Plan rufen. Delta und American gehören zu den Top drei in den USA, nur noch übertroffen von United Continental. Auch US Airways müsste wohl mit einer genaueren Prüfung rechnen. Ein Angebot durch TPG wäre da unverfänglicher. Der Finanzinvestor, der bereits in der Luftfahrt-Branche aktiv war, sei schon auf American Airlines zugegangen, hieß es im "Wall Street Journal".

Eine Übernahme würde die Karten in der Luftfahrt-Branche neu mischen und hätte Auswirkungen bis nach Deutschland. Air Berlin (Air Berlin Aktie)arbeitet mit den Amerikanern zusammen. Passagiere fliegen zu den American-Drehkreuzen wie Miami und New York und dann innerhalb Nordamerikas weiter mit der US-Airline. Zudem hat American Airlines eine Großbestellung für neue Flieger bei Airbus und Boeing (Boeing Aktie) laufen./das/DP/wiz

Quelle: dpa-AFX

Traffic to American’s hubs would grow by funneling in travelers from US Airways, the person said. In turn, a stronger domestic system would feed into American’s routes across the Atlantic and to Latin America, said the person, who declined to give financial details because the numbers are preliminary.

A US Airways spokeswoman, Michelle Mohr, declined to comment, as did Sean Collins, an American spokesman.

TPG Capital and Delta also are evaluating possible bids for American, people familiar with the matter have said. TPG and Delta have said they aren’t commenting about any interest in AMR, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Nov. 29 after posting annual losses starting in 2008.

No Contacts

US Airways hasn’t discussed its interest with AMR’s executives, one person said. Nor has it spoken with TPG about American, the person said.

TPG founder David Bonderman led a group that invested more than $200 million in America West Airlines Inc. as it exited bankruptcy in 1994, taking a 33.5 percent stake and controlling a majority of its board. That carrier later became America West Holdings Corp., a US Airways predecessor.

US Airways rose 1.9 percent to $6.38 at the close in New York. AMR’s 8.625 percent notes due in October 2021 fell 0.25 cent to 106.5 cents on the dollar at 3:26 p.m., according to Trace, the bond-pricing service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

US Airways has been the airline most often cited by analysts as a potential American partner. It has hired Millstein & Co. and Barclays Plc as advisers, according to people familiar with the matter. The airline hasn’t confirmed the arrangement.

Three Survivors

A tie-up with American would shrink the U.S. industry to three major full-service carriers, increasing the survivors’ power to raise fares. It would surpass Delta as the second- biggest U.S. airline and fulfill US Airways Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker’s call for industry consolidation.

The current US Airways was created in 2005 when Parker, then CEO of America West Holdings, orchestrated a merger to bring the old US Airways out of bankruptcy. He failed in three additional merger attempts since 2006, including a hostile bid for Delta when that company was in Chapter 11.

American’s passenger revenue for each seat flown a mile, an industry benchmark, trailed that of US Airways, United Continental and Delta through 2011’s first three quarters, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

American’s hubs include Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York and Chicago, while US Airways has major operations in cities such as Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia; and Phoenix.


www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-23/...n-to-lift-revenue.html