(By Bob Blandeburgo) Shares of American Airlines Inc. parent AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) soared as high as 23.7% in early morning trading today (Thursday) after the company announced it raised $2.9 billion in liquidity to hunker down for the typically slow winter travel season and possibly acquire a majority stake in a Japanese airline.

The new liquidity includes $1.3 billion in cash from monetizing most of its unencumbered assets, selling aircraft and frequent-flyer miles to counter the sharp decline in airline travel and prepare for looming pension changes, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"There are signs of improvement in the revenue environment and in consumer sentiment, but the winter season is still potentially a challenging one," Piper Jaffray & Co. Managing Director Douglas Runte told Bloomberg News. "This liquidity raising is an important move."

The funds could potentially pave the way for the purchase of a stake in Japan Airlines Corp. (OTC ADR: JALSY), The Journal said. American, which already has a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines, will likely face a competing bid from the world's biggest carrier, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL). Delta is in talks with Japan Airlines to acquire a majority stake in the struggling carrier, according to Japanese media reports.

Also included in the funding is $1.6 billion from General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) in which GE will provide funding for 84 Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) 737-800s. American will add the jets in a lease-back deal from GE that runs through 2011.