AMR Corp's American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. had sought trial of a government lawsuit that would block the merger of the two companies as early as November 12. The US Justice Department had pushed for a February date to bring the USD12.1 billion merger to court.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) had sought had sought holding a trial for their $12.1 billion merger as early as Nov. 12, while the Justice Department is pushing for a February date.

In a joint filing yesterday, the two airline companies said that a trial in February would cause major harm to their planned merger and cannot be justified. AMR and US Airways asked US District Judge Collen Kollar-Kotelley for a trial that would resolve the dispute on the time and date for the trial.

The suit filed by antitrust regulators would hinder American Airlines' planned exit from bankruptcy and merged with US Airways. Once the merger pushes through, it would result to creating the world's biggest airline company that could be a serious threat to smaller rival companies.