Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- American Airlines may team with private-equity company TPG Inc. to buy a stake in Japan Airlines Corp. as it battles to safeguard ties with Asia’s biggest carrier by sales.

“We stand ready to invest in JAL,” Thomas Horton, American’s chief financial officer, told reporters in Tokyo today. “It’s all dependent on the nature of a comprehensive recovery plan” for the carrier.

An investment by American may keep JAL and its Asian network in the Oneworld alliance of carriers as Delta Air Lines Inc. tries to lure the Japanese company into SkyTeam. Japan’s Finance Minister also today said that JAL’s management “should take responsibility voluntarily” for the airline seeking its fourth state bailout since 2001.

“It does seem to be becoming a bidding contest,” said Peter Harbison, managing director at the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. “The moving target is -- what are you going to end up buying?”

Qantas Airways Ltd., a Oneworld member, also said today it may advise JAL on setting up a low-cost unit in an effort to keep the airline in the alliance.

Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance, the three main global airline groups, help carriers cut operating costs and allow them to expand sales networks in overseas markets. Tokyo-based JAL gets as much as $500 million a year in additional revenue from its alliance partnerships.

TPG, Continental

TPG, formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, helped return bankrupt Continental Airlines Inc. to profit in the early 1990s. The group has also invested in carriers including Midwest Air Group Inc., America West Holdings Corp., Tiger Airways Pte and Ryanair Holdings Plc. It backed a failed takeover bid for Qantas in 2007.

Jochen Legewie, a spokesman for TPG, declined to comment. TPG and American’s parent, AMR Corp. are both based in Fort Worth, Texas.

TPG has also invested in Japanese companies including toymaker Tomy Co. and lender NIS Group Co., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

JAL gained 4.8 percent to 110 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo.

The carrier has applied for funding from state-affiliated Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan as it restructures its operations. A decision won’t be made until next year.

In the meantime, Development Bank of Japan will make a bridging loan, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara told reporters in Tokyo late yesterday, without giving any figures. The loan, to be paid this month, may total 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion), Nikkei English News reported today, without saying where it got the information.

Management Responsible

“The management is responsible for causing this situation,” Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said today at a press conference in Tokyo. “I’m sure they will take actions following their own good judgments.”

The government may also introduce legislation to ease JAL’s bid to cut pension payments, Maehara said yesterday. The carrier will begin talks with a group of retirees opposed to pensions cuts tomorrow, JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu said today.

“We are willing to accept a cut in the pensions,” Takahiro Fukushima, a representative of retirees opposed to pensions cuts of more than 50 percent, said today in Tokyo. “It all depends on how much.”

First-Half Loss

The airline had an operating loss of more than 90 billion yen in the fiscal first half and suffered drops in traffic and per-passenger sales, Nikkei said today. The carrier wasn’t the source of the report, it said in a Tokyo Stock Exchange statement. The company reports earnings on Nov. 13.

Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said last week that the carrier is working with SkyTeam on recruiting JAL as a member. The U.S. airline has offered to reimburse JAL for sales lost during any move to the group, the Wall Street Journal said, citing an unidentified person familiar with the situation.

British Airways Plc, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA are also members of Oneworld. SkyTeam carriers include Korean Airline Lines Co., Air France KLM and China Southern Airlines Co.

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan’s No. 2 carrier, is in Star Alliance, alongside Deutsche Lufthansa AG, UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Air China Ltd.

For Related News and Information: Link to TPG News: 8818Z US <Equity> CN <GO> JAL Capital Structure: 9205 JT <Equity> CN <GO> Top transportation stories: TOP TRN <GO>

Last Updated: November 11, 2009 04:54 EST