TOKYO: Japan Airlines Corp., Asia’s largest carrier by sales, intends to increase cooperation with American Airlines on routes across the Pacific after rebuffing an alliance offer from Delta Air Lines Inc.

JAL and AMR Corp.’s American will apply for antitrust immunity to operate US-Japan flights through a venture as early as this weekend, Daiji Nagai, JAL’s vice president of corporate planning, told reporters today in Tokyo. American’s offer to buy a stake in JAL will be declined, he said.

New JAL Chairman Kazuo Inamori decided to remain in the Oneworld grouping with American because of existing ties and concerns about winning regulatory approval for a tie-up with Delta, according to two people familiar with the situation. American and Delta, the world’s two biggest airlines, competed for access to JAL’s Asian network, undeterred by the Japanese carrier filing for bankruptcy last month.

“It’s the right choice by Japan Air,” said Makoto Murayama, a Nomura Securities Co. analyst, in Tokyo. “The continuation of the partnership with American also means there will still be competition among the three airline alliances at Tokyo’s Narita airport.”

$2 Billion Sales

JAL will likely generate $2 billion in revenue over three years from its membership of Oneworld, AMR reiterated today. That includes $1.5 billion from ongoing ties and an additional $500 million from greater cooperation with American and British Airways Plc, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said last month.

AMR “remains confident” that the US will approve the antitrust immunity application, Chief Executive Officer Gerard Arpey said in a PRNewswire statement today.

Japan and the US reached an initial “open skies” deal last year that would remove government restrictions on flights between the two countries. All Nippon Airways Co., Japan’s No. 2 carrier, has already requested antitrust immunity to extend cooperation with Star Alliance partners United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. on Japan-US flights.

The US and Japan air-travel market is about evenly divided between Delta’s SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star.

Atlanta-based Delta previously said that a tie-up with JAL would give the two carriers 58% of Japan-US services including flights from beach locations such as Hawaii. American has said its share would shrink to 6% without JAL.

American and private-equity firm TPG offered to invest as much as $1.4 billion in JAL. Delta and its partners in SkyTeam prepared a $1 billion package including financing in a bid to lure JAL from Oneworld.

“Delta remains committed to providing a leading option for travel across the Pacific,” the carrier said in a statement.

JAL has started on a 900 billion yen ($10 billion) state- backed turnaround after seeking court protection following three losses in four years. Inamori, Japan’s 28th richest man according to Forbes and the founder of electronics company Kyocera Corp., will oversee a restructuring that will include axing 31 routes and almost a third of JAL’s staff.