American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. aremoving closer to a merger, and a decision could come early nextmonth, people familiar with the matter said.

Teams from each carrier are discussing how to combinedepartments, including personnel, compensation and severance, saidthe people, who asked not to be identified because details areprivate. AMR's board will meet Jan. 9 to decide whether to goahead, with an announcement possible within days, said the people.The talks may yet be scuttled or delayed, they said.

The push follows AMR's efforts to reorganize in bankruptcybefore a merger and US Airways's quest to lead a takeover thatwould create the world's largest airline. The chief unresolvedissues pending with AMR's unsecured creditors committee, which mustapprove any exit plan, are how to divide the equity in a newcompany and who would run it, three people said.