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United merger in doubt
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March 8, 2001: 7:23 a.m. ET
Report: $4.3B deal with US Airways appears to be in antitrust trouble
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The proposed $4.3 billion merger between UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways is in jeopardy, threatened by signs of antitrust concerns from the Justice Department, according to a published report Thursday.
Department officials are worried about United and American Airlines, the nation's two largest airlines, dominating the heavily traveled East Coast, USA Today reported.
 The newspaper, citing a source familiar with the matter, said investigators are concerned about many aspects of the agreement in which United would sell some US Airways assets to American Airlines as part of the complex merger deal.
American plans to purchase 20 percent of US Airways from United and to jointly own the US Airways Shuttle, which flies two of the nation's busiest routes – New York-Boston and New York-Washington, the paper said.
The government has not yet made a decision on the merger, but the paper said lawyers have been meeting for months with the airlines and the deal's opponents.
United and US Airways have extended an April 2 deadline for the Justice Department to review the merger. The paper said the merger plan will need many changes to win an approval.
UAL (UAL: Research, Estimates) stock rose 11 cents to $39.21 Wednesday. The stock has been trading between $65.12 and $34.06 in the past year. US Airways (U: Research, Estimates) closed Wednesday at $39.51, down $1.98. 
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