Japan Airlines Corp., which recently filed for bankruptcy protection, said Feb. 9 that it has decided to stay with the oneworld airline grouping led by American Airlines Inc., ending its alliance talks with Delta Air Lines Inc.

The Japanese carrier apparently decided to strengthen its existing ties with American, the second-largest U.S. airline, to avoid the costs and risks that would be entailed in defecting to the rival SkyTeam alliance, led by Delta, the world's largest airline, as JAL undergoes a three-year restructuring process funded by public funds.

To expand the JAL-American partnership, the two carriers are expected to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for antitrust immunity under an "open skies" agreement recently concluded by the Japanese and U.S. governments, sources familiar with the matter said.

The agreement allows Japanese and U.S. airlines to go beyond conventional code-sharing operations, and jointly coordinate pricing and flight routes between the two countries.

Speculation had been rife that JAL would switch to the alliance led by Delta to boost its medium- to long-term competitive edge through access to a greater number of Japan-U.S. routes.