"The combined airline will have the scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively and profitably in the global marketplace," said US Airways chief executive Doug Parker.
NEW YORK — American Airlines and US Airways announced a long-expected merger Thursday that would create the largest U.S. airline, giving them more weight in an industry that has steadily consolidated in recent years.
The marriage would establish a huge carrier with more than 1,500 aircraft, able to compete head to head with rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
It would also help lift American parent AMR Corp. from bankruptcy reorganization, where it has been since November 2011.
Following American's emergence from bankruptcy and the execution of the deal, US Airways will hold approximately 28% of the company, with American interests holding the rest, and the fleet will fly under the name American Airlines.
In a statement the companies valued the deal at $11 billion in "implied equity value" and predicted it would result in combined synergies of more than $1 billion.
Company officials characterized the deal as a winner for consumers by establishing a third U.S. airline giant to compete with Delta and United. They expect to complete the merger in the third quarter.
But Standard & Poor's raised doubts about how much greater competitiveness the combined company will have, and meanwhile a leading Washington think tank quickly condemned the merger as a bad deal for consumers.
"The combined airline will have the scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively and profitably in the global marketplace," said US Airways chief executive Doug Parker. "Our combined network will provide a significantly more attractive offering to customers."
The combined airline will offer more than 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries, according to the companies.
It would assemble fleet of 1,511 mainline and regional aircraft. Combined revenues of $38.7 billion in 2012 would put them slightly ahead of United and Delta.
Company executives said that "there’ll be some opportunities for rationalization" of management and headquarters staff.
But executives said the biggest savings came from combining routes and organizing planes efficiently so that the largest planes go to the busiest routes.
They also touted the combined company's capacity to win back valuable corporate riders who were lured away by other airlines.
