The US government has backed the bid for a merging of United Airlines and Continental Airlines in which the new planes will fly under the United name.

The merger has been agreed to after an anti-competition probe, which ended after the firms agreed that low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines could have some of ther slots at Newark airport.

The deal, which will create the world’s biggest carrier, will give the new company access to to 370 destinations worldwide, flying 144 million passengers a year.

The proposed merger is expected to save more than $1 billion a year if shareholders vote for it next month.