The Wall Street Journal reports that US Airways and American Airlines have entered into talks with the Department of Justice about their proposed merger, which was one participant described as “the end game” to the newspaper. Provably the big issue is how many slots the combined carriers will have to divest themselves of at Reagan National Airport.

The two carriers also have offered to divest themselves of a slot at London Heathrow Airport to win approval of the merger from European regulators.

Here’s a link to the story but a WSJ subscription is required.