TOKYO - American Airlines, the oneworld alliance and private equity firm TPG on Thursday offered to invest 1.1 billion US dollars in struggling Japan Airlines (JAL).

The three said at a Tokyo press conference that their total financial assistance, including the revenues the investment would generate, would be worth more than 1.8 billion US dollars (S$2.4 billion).

In a statement, they said that "the total incremental financial support from American, oneworld and TPG is in excess of 1.8 billion US dollars and far exceeds any other available proposition."

JAL, Asia's biggest carrier, has been hovering on the brink of bankruptcy in a crisis blamed on its huge pension costs, mismanagement and the wider aviation industry downturn caused by the worldwide economic slump.

American Airlines and its rival Delta Airlines have both sought to buy stakes in JAL, which is seeking to restructure under the supervision of the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan.