PARIS - Japan Airlines will join the oneworld alliance - which includes AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and British Airways PLC - early next year, the group said Sunday.

Japan Airlines had not previously joined a major international carrier alliance, though it has code-sharing agreements allowing it to share flights with rivals.

JAL entered talks with the alliance late last year. On Sunday, American Airlines Chairman Gerard Arpey delivered a formal invitation to JAL CEO designate Haruka Nishimatsu at a meeting of the oneworld governing board in Paris, ahead of a meeting of the International Air Transport Authority.

The move will allow JAL, Japan's biggest carrier, to expand its flight network and make it easier for passengers to connect to flights of other airlines.

JAL's membership will expand the alliance's network by about 10 percent, adding 68 destinations, 56 of them in Japan and five in China, as well as add one territory, Guam, according to oneworld. The group now serves 134 nations and 599 destinations.

Like other airlines, Japan Airlines has been hit by soaring fuel costs and intensifying competition.

Other oneworld members are Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus. Malev and Royal Jordanian are also expected to join.