JAL to stay with American, end Delta talks: source

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Airlines Corp <9205.T> has decided to maintain its partnership with American Airlines in the Oneworld alliance and end talks with Delta Air Lines , a source with knowledge of the matter said.

JAL's new management team, led by chief executive officer Kazuo Inamori, has decided that switching alliances would involve too much risk and could hinder the carrier's three-year restructuring plan, the source said.

Delta, which leads the Skyteam alliance team, and American have been courting JAL for months with offers of financial aid and close cooperation on international routes, looking to gain access to its vast network in Asia and benefit from the expansion at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

JAL, which filed for bankruptcy last month, will make an official announcement of its plans to stay with American on Tuesday, said the source who declined to be named as the information is not public yet.

A JAL spokesman said nothing has been decided on the matter.

JAL had been leaning toward joining hands with Delta before filing for bankruptcy on January 19 and bringing in new management under the auspices of a state-backed fund, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp of Japan (ETIC).

But with the ETIC's exit from the investment planned in three years, JAL has decided that the risks involved in moving to Delta and the Skyteam, including a change in computer systems, would be too great, the source said.

The possibility that JAL and Delta would not be able to receive regulatory approval for anti-trust immunity also played into the decision, said the source.

JAL and American plan to apply for anti-trust immunity soon, the source said.

Anti-trust immunity allows airlines to work closely on pricing, flight scheduling and in other areas to boost revenue and lower costs. This is now a possible under the "open skies" treaty recently agreed to by the United States and Japan.

(Additional reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)