Reuters Singapore Air CEO says United seeking cooperation Friday October 25, 2:32 pm ET By Julie MacIntosh (Adds comment from Lufthansa spokeswoman, Air Canada CEO) NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - United Airlines, which is teetering near the edge of bankruptcy, has approached its air alliance partners, including Singapore Airlines Ltd. (SES:SIAL.SI - News), about strengthening ties between the carriers, Singapore Airlines' chief executive said on Friday. "United Airlines has been talking to us as well as to other Star Alliance partners about increased cooperation," Dr. Cheong Choon Kong, Singapore Airlines' chief executive, said in a telephone interview with reporters on Friday. "We haven't gone into specifics and, even if we had, I don't think it would be very good manners of me to speak out of turn," Cheong said. United, the main operating unit of UAL Corp. (NYSE:UAL - News), has worked feverishly in recent months to avert bankruptcy by cutting billions of dollars in expenses through new contracts with its labor groups and lenders. United, the second-largest U.S. airline, filed an updated application for $1.8 billion in federal backing for loans from the private sector Wednesday. The airline has still not agreed with its individual labor unions on how much each will give up, although it has set a lowered target of $5.8 billion over 5-1/2 years. Talks between United and its Star Alliance partners, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Frankfurt:LHAG.F - News), All Nippon Airways (Tokyo:9202.T - News) and Air Canada (Toronto:AC.TO - News), could include discussions over one or more of those carriers taking an equity stake in United to help prevent a bankruptcy, industry sources say. A United spokeswoman would not comment on whether the airline has talked with its partners about any stake in the company. "As always, we continue to keep all of our Star Alliance partners abreast of our financial situation," she said. ALLIES IN TALKS A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said the airline was adhering to a strategy within the Star Alliance that cautions against the carriers holding each other's equity. "The strategy of the alliance is that the airlines don't take stakes in each other -- that's why it has been so successful," she said. Air Canada President and Chief Executive Robert Milton told analysts in a conference call on Friday that he had talked about the issue with Glenn Tilton, United's chief executive. "We had a good chat and, you know, we're going to look to be supportive to the extent that we can. They are a great partner and provide us tremendous benefit, as we do them," Milton said. Singapore Airlines has not taken a serious look at buying equity in airlines within the struggling U.S. commercial airline sector, Cheong said, although he did not comment on United in particular. "Our focus is still near home," he said. "And don't forget that in the U.S. you still have your limitations on foreign ownership." U.S. regulations limit the voting stake any foreign entity can hold in a U.S. airline to 25 percent, although foreign companies have owned larger percentages of shares in U.S. air carriers and sacrificed the extra voting rights. Some airline industry executives have urged legislators to ease the restriction, but Congress has shown little interest in rolling back the rules. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Frankfurt and Robert Melnbardis in Montreal) _________________________________________________________________ Broadband? Dial-up? Get reliable MSN Internet Access. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/default.asp