US Airways schedules merger vote in July

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- US Airways Group Inc. has scheduled a shareholder vote on its proposed merger with American Airlines for next month in New York.

The meeting is planned for July 12 at the office of law firm Latham & Watkins LLP.

The date of the Tempe-based company's meeting was disclosed Monday in a regulatory filing by American Airlines parent AMR Corp.

The boards of the two companies voted in February to merge in a deal that would create the world's largest airline, which will keep the American name and be based in American's hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. The deal is being reviewed by antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice, and the companies expect to complete the transaction in September.

Separately a bankruptcy judge in New York is scheduled to consider Tuesday whether to approve the process by which American Airlines' creditors would begin voting on AMR's Chapter 11 restructuring plan, including the merger.

The judge also is expected to rule on a Justice Department objection to a proposed $20 million cash-and-stock severance payment to AMR CEO Tom Horton. In March the judge said that he couldn't approve it because of a bankruptcy law that limits payouts to insiders, but he left open the possibility that the court or the post-merger company could approve the payment later.

If AMR creditors and US Airways shareholders approve the merger, the new company will be called American Airlines Group Inc. and led by US Airways CEO Doug Parker.