American Airlines, the second-largest US carrier, is considering investing in Japan Airlines jointly with leading US investment fund TPG, it was learned Wednesday.

According to a report by Bloomberg, American Airlines and TPG plan to invest more than US$300 million (27 billion yen) in the financially ailing JAL. By making a cash infusion into JAL, American Airlines apparently aims to gain the edge over Delta Air Lines in the competition to cement business links with JAL.

It is possible that TPG will help work out a corporate revival plan for JAL if the airline and the government accept that, sources close to American Airlines told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

JAL has announced that it filed for assistance from the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan and has been studying how to rehabilitate its businesses.

If the envisaged joint investment from American Airlines and TPG is realized, the plan likely will include support measures such as expanding code-sharing arrangements with American Airlines.

Delta 'to bear transfer costs'

Meanwhile, Delta, the largest US airline, has told JAL it is willing to bear the costs required to transfer from Oneworld, the global airline alliance to which it currently belongs, to SkyTeam, Delta's alliance, if JAL forms a business partnership with it, it has been learned.

Delta has offered to bear up to US$20 million (1.8 billion yen) of the costs of assisting the transfer, according to sources close to the matter.

American Airlines is a member of Oneworld and is seeking a closer partnership with JAL.

If JAL transfers to SkyTeam after forming a business partnership with Delta, JAL would face a large bill for changing airport terminals, renewing computer systems and other expenses.

Delta operates the largest number of routes between Japan and the United States, a great advantage for JAL in forming a business partnership as it would be able to reduce the number of its own flights between the two countries by code-sharing with Delta.

As the costs required for transferring from one global airline alliance to another have been an obstacle in JAL's partnership negotiations with Delta, the US carrier apparently aims to use its offer of assistance to gain the upper hand over American Airlines in the competition for an alliance with JAL.