Texas senator tells airlines to leave American alone

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has a message for any company that wants to take over bankrupt American Airlines: Back off.

In a statement released late last week, the Republican from Texas said she was disturbed by "public reports about hostile takeovers involving American Airlines, including another airline that is communicating directly with American's creditors and unions."

That airline, it has been widely reported, is US Airways. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 4 that US Airways has started informal talks with some of American's creditors, telling them that combining the carriers could yield more than $1.5 billion a year in additional revenue and cost savings.

AMR Corp., the Fort Worth-based parent company of American, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. AMR Chief Executive Tom Horton has said he wants American to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings as an independent airline.

Hutchison said she worries that any takeover efforts during bankruptcy proceedings would be disruptive.

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/04/texas-senator-tells-airlines-to-leave-american-alone/673575/1