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Spanish airline Spanair said Tuesday that it is talking to some of its partners in the Star Alliance about taking a stake in the loss-making carrier.

Spanair, which is 28%-owned by the regional government of Catalonia, is talking to Colombian airline Avianca, Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) Singapore Airlines (C6L.SG) United Continental Holdings Inc.'s (UAL) Continental Airlines, and Turkish Airlines, said a spokesman for Spanair.

He said that Spanair is looking for a partner to help it to improve its long-haul offering. It wants to expand to Latin America next year, and to Asian destinations such as Shanghai and Delhi, the spokesman said.

The talks come as some European low-cost airlines have been questioning the legality of the aid that Spanair has received from the Catalan government.

Earlier this month, Spanair said that it will receive a EUR20 million capital injection from a company controlled by the Catalan government. That comes on top of a EUR10 million injection by another government-controlled company in October.

The European Low Fares Airline Association said earlier this week that it has asked the European Commission to investigate these subsidies, saying it was "in blatant violation of European competition legislation and state aid rules." Officials from Spanair and the Catalan government had no comment on the accusation.

Spanair was sold to a group of Catalan investors by Scandinavian airline SAS AB (SAS.SK) last year for EUR1. SAS still owns 11.9% of the company, while several Catalan business groups control the rest together with the local government.

Spanair expects to report a loss of EUR10 million in the second half this year, down from EUR60 million in the same period last year. It doesn't expect to make a profit until 2012, the spokesman said.

Spanair, based in Barcelona, flies to 18 destinations in Spain and 59 outside the country.

-By Ana Garcia, EFE Dow Jones, 91 4518271, ana.garcia@dowjones.com