NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — US Airways Group Inc. chief executive Doug Parker met with Delta Air Lines Inc. executives and members of Delta’s creditors committee to pitch his plan to acquire the bankrupt carrier.Parker briefed the committee on his $8.43 billion proposal, US Airways said in a statement yesterday. Delta said it is fulfilling its obligation to listen to the unsolicited bid even as it works to exit Chapter 11 next year as an independent airline.

The two airlines are each courting the nine-member creditor committee because it represents groups owed money by Delta and negotiates terms of any plan to exit bankruptcy. The meeting was held in New York.

“The issue from the creditors’ perspective is who has the credible plan,” said Robert Mann, head of R.W. Mann & Co., a Port Washington, New York-based consultant for airlines and labor groups.

Parker said in his carrier’s statement that he reviewed his offer at today’s meeting and “had a chance to engage in discussions on the many facets of this proposal.”

US Airways’ plan, he said, exceeds what the creditors would receive from Delta, the third-largest US airline.

Delta, in its statement, said it “met to listen to US Airways’ presentation” and didn’t elaborate on what comments, if any, its executives made.

“We will, as we have stated, continue to progress toward filing our stand-alone plan by the end of the year,” Delta said.

US Airways, the seventh-largest US airline, went public on November 15 with its hostile offer of $4 billion in cash and 78.5 million US Airways shares in hopes of winning creditor support after Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein initially rejected the bid.

US Airways and Delta are both important carriers for Bermuda, and US Airways has increased its passenger load during the summer season in recent years.

It is not known how a merger would affect capacity to Bermuda, although Parker has stated that there would be cost savings by reducing flights on routes that both airlines serve.

Delta creditors would get a 45 percent stake in the merged company, which would surpass AMR Corp.’s American Airlines as the world’s biggest carrier.

US Airways’ plan for yesterday’s meeting was to “walk them through our transaction, answer their questions and explain to them why we think our assumptions are the right ones to look at the value of our proposal”, Kelly Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Tempe, Arizona-based airline, said before the session.

Delta has said remaining independent will produce more value for creditors.

Grinstein is working to lower costs by $1.9 billion a year and boost annual revenue by $1.1 billion. The Atlanta-based carrier filed for bankruptcy in September, 2005.

Until February 15, Delta has the exclusive right to file its plan to exit bankruptcy protection. Delta has said it expects to file such a plan by the end of December.

Daniel Golden, an attorney with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld who represents the creditors committee, said in an interview earlier this week the purpose of the meeting was to let US Airways present its case.

Yesterday’s joint session may be followed by a variety of other meetings, although none were yet scheduled, Golden said in the interview.

US Airways already has met with the US Justice Department to discuss possible antitrust concerns. The combined airline would be the world’s biggest based on based on miles flown by paying passengers.

US Airways shares were unchanged at $56.76 at 4.22 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Shares of Delta rose six cents to $1.33 in over-the-counter trading.

Delta’s 7.9 percent notes maturing in 2009 were unchanged at 60 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond price reporting system of the NASD. The yield was 28 percent.