American Airlines and US Airways requested that the U.S.
Department of Justice's lawsuit to block their merger go to trial on Nov. 12,
months ahead of DOJ's proposal to begin on Feb. 10, 2014, according to court
documents filed Thursday.
"The parties have met and conferred on the date for
commencing trial, but have been unable to resolve their disagreement,"
according to the carriers' filing with the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia. They seek to "avoid further delay in the resolution of this
matter," and noted that the 180-day schedule DOJ requested to prepare for
trial "is far longer than any of its other merger trials in this
century," which from "complaint to trial" have averaged 70 days.
Once commenced, the airlines estimated 10 days in court.
"The government cannot justify its unprecedentedly slow
trial schedule," according to the court filing. The carriers noted that
DOJ "has already had over 16 months to investigate," disclosing that
US Airways "first submitted documents to the DOJ relating to a potential
combination with American in May 2012, more than 9 months before the public
announcement of the merger."
The carriers noted that American Airlines' ongoing stint
under bankruptcy court protection, which would be elongated barring a merger,
adds further urgency to resolving the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the airlines noted the added uncertainty over
DOJ's suit "will inevitably mean the loss of valued employees" and
already is "having considerable negative effect on employee energy and
morale."