If one or more classes of creditors do not approve the plan, Delta could still confirm the plan through a so-called cramdown, a maneuver in which it must show the court that the dissenting class will receive more under the plan than it would under a Chapter 7 liquidation.

The company also would have to show that any subordinate class, such as shareholders, would get nothing in the way of recovery under the reorganization plan. Delta already has met that second test because its plan calls for current shares of the company to be wiped out.

If a competing plan were filed, creditors would vote on each individually. There have been bankruptcy cases where two competing reorganization plans were approved by creditors; in such a case, a judge decides which plan is confirmed after holding a hearing to determine which plan is in the "better interest" of the creditors.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday she believes US Airways will move forward and look for other opportunities.

"They seem to be doing very, very well," Napolitano said. "And since I consider them a hometown airline, I think that's a good thing."

US Airways had said it would have kept the Delta name if it bought Delta, but it hadn't said where the merged company would be based.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said Delta's stand-alone plan is in "the best interest of all citizens, not only for Georgia, but for our nation."

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Associated Press Writers Chris Kahn in Phoenix and Doug Gross in Atlanta contributed to this report.