AMR seeks to keep control over bankruptcy through March 11

American Airlines' bankrupt parent has asked a judge to extend by six weeks, through March 11, the period in which it has the exclusive right to propose a plan to exit bankruptcy.

The request, made jointly with its creditors' committee, was filed on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The current exclusive window is set to end on January 28.

AMR Corp filed for bankruptcy a year ago in hopes of reducing its labor costs and returning to profitability.

Its smaller competitor, US Airways Group , is making a push to acquire it out of bankruptcy. AMR said earlier this year it would prefer to exit as a standalone company, but is discussing merger options, including with US Airways.

Friday's filing is a sign that discussions with creditors on how to bring AMR out of bankruptcy are progressing cooperatively, if a bit slower than initially expected.

"American and the believe that the proposed extensions will facilitate the expedition of the chapter 11 cases and benefit all parties in interest," the filing said. '>

The exclusivity period bars creditors and other parties from proposing their own plans for how AMR should exit bankruptcy.

That effectively blocks US Airways from making a hostile bid, as any merger plan unveiled during exclusivity would have to be proposed by AMR itself.

A hearing on the extension request is set for December 19.

The case is In re AMR Corp et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463.

(Reporting By Nick Brown; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)