10.01.13 – (LAA) – Press Release – AA Flight Attendants Applaud Texas State Attorney General’s Announcement

Media Contacts: Leslie Mayo 
[email protected]
858.859.2732

Anthony DeMaio
[email protected]
508.400.2778

Ft. Worth, TX (October 1, 2013) – In a press conference this afternoon, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that he would withdraw his support of the antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Texas is one of seven states and the District of Columbia that joined the US Department of Justice in its eleventh-hour lawsuit against the merger, filed in August. The trial is set to begin on November 25.

“I applaud General Abbott for deciding to do what’s right for his constituents,” said Association of Professional Flight Attendants president Laura Glading. “We have over 3,500 flight attendants living in Texas and I’d venture to say the AG’s office heard from every one of them over the past two months. I’m proud of our efforts. Now on to the other six [states].”

Working in concert with other labor organizations at both carriers, APFA has mounted an aggressive campaign to convince the attorneys general supporting the lawsuit to reverse course. With Greg Abbott backing off, the focus will now be on Pam Bondi (FL), Robert Cooper (TN), Ken Cuccinelli (VA), Tom Horne (AZ), Kathleen Kane (PA), Irvin Nathan (DC), and Bill Schuette (MI).

“The tide is turning,” Glading said. “Flight attendants and our colleagues are getting the facts out there and we’re changing minds. The merger is good for consumers, it’s good for the companies, and it’s good for competition.”