United, US airlines get serious about a merger, source says
United Airlines and US Airways are in talks about combining into what would be the nation’s second-biggest airline, a person with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.
The person, who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said the talks appeared to be getting more serious.
This person said a deal would be modeled on the Delta-Northwest combination, which was a stock swap without a cash component.
Spokesmen for both companies would say only that they don’t comment on rumors.
The CEOs of both carriers have been outspoken in the past about their willingness to be involved in some type of merger. The two companies talked about combining in 2008 but walked away, citing high fuel prices. But they didn’t rule out a future deal.
Integrating their unionized work forces would be one of the most difficult tasks. The person who spoke to AP said the companies had a plan for dealing with that issue.
US Airways, based in Tempe, Ariz., still runs separate pilot and flight attendant groups after it was bought in 2005 by America West.
Based on 2009 traffic data, a combined United-US Airways would be nearly as big as Delta Air Lines Inc., which became the world’s largest airline after buying Northwest.
It is unclear which name would survive, where the combined company would be based, or who would run it.
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