Delta, AA’s Bidding War for JAL Continues

American and fellow Oneworld alliance members have upped the ante in their effort to keep Japan Airlines in Oneworld. American detailed a $1.1 billion investment package with equity partner TPG. Delta and the SkyTeam alliance also have put together a $1 billion-plus offer to lure JAL away from Oneworld.

Tom Horton, American’s chief financial officer, said JAL would also gain another $700 million in new revenue over the coming 10 years if it remained with Oneworld and the two airlines managed to secure a joint venture with antitrust immunity (after the United States and Japan agree to an open-skies treaty).

“Regulators in the U.S. are likely to give an American-JAL partnership speedy ATI approval, as it would foster balanced competition among airline alliances across the Pacific, maintaining the share of Japan-USA passenger traffic among the three global alliances at around one-third each,” Oneworld said.

Delta countered by saying a JAL-Delta combination under SkyTeam would be just as likely to get antitrust immunity.