American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) parent, the American Airlines Group, says it expects to secure a consolidated Air Operator Certificate covering both American Airlines and US Airways (Phoenix Sky Harbor) early next month.

“Since the merger closed, we’ve been working steadily towards a Single Operating Certificate, or SOC," an internal staff memo seen by the Dallas Morning News said. "On April 8 we expect to receive our SOC from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)."

The AAG went on to add that while the SOC is a significant milestone in that the FAA recognizes American and US Airways as a single entity, the complete integration of the carriers' operations will still require additional work.

"While some of our operating policies and procedures will remain separate at SOC, the majority of our flight, maintenance and dispatch procedures will be identical for all flights that we operate.”

The American Airlines Group (AAG) was born in late 2013 after AMR's American Airlines exited bankruptcy and merged with US Airways Group.

Having already completed the integration of their respective cargo operations the carriers will proceed with the integration of US Airways' Dividend Miles scheme into American Airlines' AAdvantage loyalty programme set to begin on Saturday, March 28.

Other steps that are expected to be completed this year include the transition to a single reservations system during the fourth quarter, as well as the establishment of a new integrated operations centre in Fort Worth, Texas.

Once the merger is complete, the American Airlines Group will form the world's largest airline operating more than 6'700 daily flights to 336 locations in 56 countries worldwide, with about USD40billion in operating revenue.