Chairman and CEO Doug Parker speaks to reporters at the National Press Club. He speaks about a possible American Airllines-U.S. Airways merger.
Last week, Mr. Parker spoke to USA Today's editorial board, announcing his support for a merger with American.
In addition, he discussed more generally the state of the commercial airline industry and made the case for the recent round of consolidation in the industry.
American Airlines is currently going through bankruptcy proceedings, and a merger with U.S. Airways would place the combined carrier squarely in competition with United and Delta, the remaining two "legacy carriers." It is unclear whether American is looking to complete a merger before coming out of bankruptcy.
The current round of airline consolidation began in 2008 when Delta and Northwest Airlines merged, creating the world's largest airline. Since that time, United and Continental Airlines have merged, as well as several smaller carriers in the United States, like Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines.