US Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane gave American Airlines permission to exit bankruptcy Wednesday, a necessary step toward its merger with US Airways. American Airlines said it would close the highly anticipated merger Dec. 9, The Dallas Morning News reported. With the merger, AA's parent company AMR will change its name to American Airlines Group Inc. At that point, each outstanding share of US Airways Group common stock will be swapped for one share of the new company, the newspaper said. The company's common stock will be listed with the symbol AAL on the Nasdaq Global Select Market index, while preferred stock will be listed on the index with the symbol AALCP. All trading of US Airways and AA stock will cease after the close of markets Dec. 6.