Confirmed: Texas Pulling Out of Lawsuit Against American Airlines-US Airways Merger
Terry Maxon has confirmation Texas is pulling out of the American Airlines-US Airways lawsuit.
Terry usually has his finger on the pulse of all things American Airlines, so it doesn’t surprise me he has this prior to the presser coming up in about 40 minutes. What does this mean for the merger?
Well, it’s a positive, though not a huge one. There are still a half dozen states party to the lawsuit along with DOJ. The move is likely more about optics at this point than any substantive progress, since there hasn’t really even been a peep of real negotiations with DOJ.
Texas is American’s home state, so their presence in the lawsuit is troublesome from an appearance standpoint. When the state you’re headquartered in (and plan to continue having a huge presence in) is against your business strategy, that cant be a good thing. But, a state like Arizona dropping it’s objection would be much more meaningful. That’s US Airways’ home state, which will surely lose jobs to Texas and other parts of the American operation.
Baby steps towards a merger, for sure. But, this battle isn’t likely to be won in the press, no matter how badly Doug Parker tries to make it so. Take this news with a grain of salt. And get some more popcorn. I think we still have a ways to go before the end of the movie.
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