British Airways 'exploring' ties with American Airlines, Continental

"British Airways is exploring opportunities for co-operation with American Airlines and Continental Airlines," the UK airline said in a brief statement

BA said further details would be announced "when appropriate" and did not readily provide any further information on the nature of the cooperation.

BA and American Airlines are already partners in the Oneworld global alliance, which brings together 10 of the world's airlines including Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.

The Oneworld alliance competes against Star Alliance, the world's largest, with carriers including United Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, SAS, and Air China.

The airline said last October that it was looking to forge a closer relationship with American Airlines, ahead of the "Open Skies" freed up transatlantic aviation. Efforts by the two airlines were put on hold after being hindered by U.S. and European regulators.

The "Open Skies" deal allows airlines greater freedom to fly between Europe and the United States, replacing restrictive arrangements agreed many years ago. The deal came into effect in March this year.

Meanwhile, Continental ended talks with United Airlines parent UAL Corp. over the weekend about a potential merger. Continental is currently a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta, Korean Air and Air France-KLM.