AMR's American seeks bankruptcy financing -sources = = = = Monday March 10, 2:10 PM EST = CHICAGO, March 10 (Reuters) - AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines has qui= etly begun talks on Wall Street seeking up to $2 billion in bankruptcy fi= nancing should a Chapter 11 filing become necessary, a source familiar wi= th the matter said on Monday. "They're starting out with a very high, unreasonable request to raise $2 = billion," said the source, who declined to be identified. The Fort Worth,= Texas-based carrier is the world's largest airline, followed by UAL Corp= =2E's (UAL) United Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in December. A spokesman for American declined to comment on the talks, which are taki= ng place with a number of financial institutions. The airline is actively= pursuing cost-cutting agreements with its labor unions as a way to avoid= a bankruptcy filing. = Several sources said the talks are in the preliminary stages and would in= volve the usual range of lenders to large bankruptcy cases, including Cit= igroup (C), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM), CIT Group (CIT) and perhaps Boeing C= o. (BA) Citibank offers a credit card linked to American's frequent flyer= program. AMR posted a record $3.2 billion net loss in 2002 and has outlined a goal= to cut $4 billion in annual costs to stay afloat. It has hired bankruptc= y lawyers and a financial advisory firm, sources have told Reuters. = =A92003 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS