AC

As American Airlines seeks to slash jobs and pensions to help steer its way through bankruptcy reorganization, rival carriers are eyeing it, looking at whether they should buy the struggling airline. US Airways, spurned in its quest for a major partner at least three times in the last dozen years, has said it's interested in exploring its options with American, which became the last of the nation's major carriers to file for bankruptcy protection when it did so in November. Delta Air Lines, already the world's second-biggest carrier, has retained Blackstone Group, an investment and advisory firm, to watch American as it reorganizes under bankruptcy court protection. But any proposal to buy American, invest in it or scoop up its assets is probably months away, industry and bankruptcy experts say, as American is given time to hammer out its own restructuring plan. A marriage of the U.S.' third-largest carrier with another airline could have a series of hurdles to overcome, from...