It would appear that Japan Airlines is poised to strike a tie up with Delta Air Lines within a few days. This would save the company from bankruptcy and change the shape of global airline alliances. According to reports emerging in the Japanese media, Japan Airlines has already made the decision to strike a partnership with Delta Air Lines. This comes despite a competing offer from its Oneworld alliance partner American Airlines.

This speculation was further fueled over the weekend by an interview with Haruka Nishimastsu, who is Japan Airlines’ chief executive. He said that Delta had more Asian focused partners in its alliance and that Asia represented some of Japan Airlines’ best prospects for growth.

The airline is now expected to make a decision by January 16^th, as it grapples desperately to fight off bankruptcy. The company has already had losses of Y63 billion in the last financial year. It owes its biggest creditors more than Y500 billion.

Delta is set to offer $1.02 billion for Japan Airlines, which is Asia’s largest airline. The move would be a big deal and would hugely strengthen the Skyteam alliance. American Airlines had raised $1.1 billion in funding through TPG, the private equity firm. A spokesperson for the airline said it was still talking to Japan Airlines and that it had heard nothing that would suggest that Japan Airlines has already made its decision.

British Airways has also put pressure on Japan Airlines to stay with Oneworld, and its finance director flew to Tokyo at the end of last year to lend the airline’s support to the American Airlines deal. Only time will tell which alliance Japan Airlines is going to side with.