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US Airways will make its case for a takeover of bankrupt Delta Air Lines during a meeting this week with Delta and a key group of creditors, a lawyer for the creditors said on Tuesday.

The meeting could be crucial to US Airways' USD$8.6 billion bid for its larger rival. It will also be the first time US Airways speaks directly to Delta creditors since making its unsolicited cash-and-stock bid on November 15.

US Airways will make a presentation to the bankrupt carrier and its official committee of unsecured creditors about its offer, including how it thinks the combination could work and how it expects to resolve integration issues, Daniel Golden, a lawyer with the firm that represents Delta's creditors' committee, said.

«If they come in totally flat or with something that is not detailed and credible, it could kill the deal immediately,» said Michael Boyd, an airline consultant.

The creditors' committee has not had separate discussions with US Airways so far, but is in «constant discussion» with Delta, Golden said.

«We thought it most appropriate to have this first, to have this all-hands meeting,» he said.

Delta and US Airways declined to give any details about the meeting, including the date or location.

«Delta has said it intends to meet in the near future... to review US Airways' proposal as Delta is obligated to do,» Delta spokesman Michael Freitag said.

US Airways will be looking to find enough support to force Delta to allow it to perform due diligence, a condition of the offer.

US Airways, the No. 7 U.S. carrier, has already won some backing from Delta creditors. Some Delta bond holders formed a group last week to support the bid.

But US Airways also faces obstacles.

Delta, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since September 2005, has said it intends to remain independent and plans to file its reorganization plan next month with the aim of emerging from Chapter 11 in the first half of 2007.

Delta's pilots' union, which is on the creditors' committee, has expressed concerns about the deal.

(Reuters)