The following is a letter sent to employees from US Airways CEO Doug Parker.
Department of Justice Announcement: A Message from CEO Doug Parker
August 13, 2013
Dear US Airways Team Members,
The DOJ has unfortunately just announced that it intends to try and block our proposed merger with American Airlines. We are extremely disappointed in this action and believe the DOJ is wrong in its assessment. We will fight them. We are confident that by combining American and US Airways we are enhancing competition, providing better service to our customers and improving the industry as a whole. We are mounting a vigorous and strong defense in federal court against the DOJ’s case in order to bring our airlines and talented team members together as the new American Airlines.
Other companies have found themselves in similar circumstances and gone on to successfully close their merger. This is still very new information, so we don’t have all the specifics on timing yet, but we will continue to keep you posted through all the usual channels, including Arrivals.
I am certain that our proposed merger is the best path forward for both airlines and all of our stakeholders – including you. In fact, expanding our networks was the motivation for bringing our two great airlines together. As the new American we will be a premier global carrier that is positioned to meet our customers’ needs better than any other airline, while also competing more effectively and profitably in the global marketplace. We are 100 percent committed to completing the merger of our two great airlines as soon as possible so that we can start to deliver the benefits of the new American to our stakeholders.
In light of today’s announcement, the companies no longer expect the merger to close during the third quarter of 2013. However, we are hopeful that the litigation will be successfully concluded and we will close the merger before year end .
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Thank you for continuing to provide our passengers with the outstanding customer service that they expect from us. We will keep you posted on any developments, but in the meantime, it is business as usual.
Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the merger process. I appreciate your patience and dedication as we work to complete this combination.
Sincerely,
Doug