It now seems that American Airlines has planned to step up their bidding war by offering Japan Airlines $1.1 billion to stay with Oneworld. Right now, although the two sides deny it, there is a bidding war going on between American Airlines’ Oneworld alliance and Delta Air Lines’ Skyteam alliance to get Japan Airlines to join. Although Japan Airlines is already part of Oneworld, American Airlines would like to keep it that way, while Delta is hoping that the airline will jump ship.

Right now much of the $1.1 billion that American Airlines is offering is being injected by TPG, a private equity group. For Delta and the SkyTeam alliance, they are offering Japan Airlines $500 million in new equity and another $500 million in asset backed financing and compensation.

Both groups are very keen to the idea of keeping or getting Japan Airlines to join them. The goal for both groups is to get a stronger foothold in the Far East with a new open skies deal between the United States and Japan. This is a deal that is expected to be signed next year.

The Japan transport minister, Seiji, has hinted that Japan Airlines could be allowed to file for bankruptcy if the ETIC’s restructuring efforts do not work out for the company. He said that he never said that they would not allow the company to file for bankruptcy, but they did say that they would not allow the airline to just disappear. However, both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines would love to take the matter into their own hands and keep offering Japan Airlines more money.