American and T.W.A. will probably go to court together with a plan, but lawyers disagreed on how much control the companies would have over the process. But the judge is unlikely to do so as long as the companies' plan is supported by most of T.W.A.'s creditors. Irving H. Picard, a lawyer who worked on cases related to T.W.A.'s previous two bankruptcies and reorganizations, explained that even if American agreed to acquire T.W.A.'s assets before filing for bankruptcy, the court does not have to allow the transaction to proceed. More than likely, he said, T.W.A.'s assets will be put up for auction to guarantee the highest price is paid to creditors. Another lawyer who has worked on many airline bankruptcies, Craig Ulman, speculated that a purchase agreement will be upheld in court unless a better deal is offered.
Creditors are welcome to try and find a better deal but are told otherwise to sit down and shut up.
American may have a harder time selling the deals to its workers. Its relations with it pilots are notoriously stormy, and it is also in the midst of bitter contract negotiations with its flight attendants. Jim Philpot, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's 11,000 pilots, said that United helped win approval from its pilots for its acquisition of US Airways by awarding them a rich new contract last summer. He said that American generosity when negotiations with the pilots begin in July would go a long way toward easing any merger transitions. Airline mergers have often been extremely disruptive and expensive.