(RTTNews) -  AMR Corp.'s (AMR: News ) American Airlines on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to retain Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd., or JAL, as a valued partner and equal member within the oneworld group. At a function in Mexico, American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey, who is also chairman of the oneworld Board of Governors, said, "JAL is a highly valued member of oneworld. The alliance and its other member airlines have deep and long-standing partnerships with JAL that produce hundreds of millions of dollars of value for JAL, and we are committed to maintaining and strengthening that partnership."

Several reports have appeared in the past two months speculating a possible tie-up between the struggling Japanese carrier and Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL: News ). Delta is part of an alliance called SkyTeam.

Noting that carriers operating in the Asia Pacific region have been particularly hit by the global recession, Arpey said today, ''As its country's and the region's biggest airline, Japan Airlines has been right in the eye of the storm... We are convinced that we can deliver the most meaningful alliance value to JAL -- by a wide margin -- and without any of the regulatory risk a change in alliance strategy would mean for them, not to mention the financial costs JAL would incur if it changed alliances at such a critical phase in its restructuring,"
AMR closed Monday's regular trade at $5.78, up $0.13 or 2.30%, on 15.70 million shares.

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by RTT Staff Writer

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