With less than two weeks to go before trial, the Justice Department has reached a proposed settlement with American Airlines and US Airways, allowing their $11 billion merger to go forward in exchange for major divestitures.
The airlines agreed to give up takeoff and landing slots and gates at seven major airports, including Washington Reagan National, where the combined airlines would have controlled 69 percent of the flights. Those 104 slots would be sold to low-cost carriers approved by the government, such as JetBlue and Southwest.
