The majority owner of Air Canada has been approached by private equity investors and pension funds to consider a merger with a United States airline, Reuters reported on Friday. Robert Milton, chief executive of ACE Aviation Holdings, the majority owner of Air Canada, said that a weak Air Canada share price has prompted ACE to consider other options for boosting value beyond its preferred plan of winding down the holding company and distributing its remaining 75 percent interest in the airline, the country's biggest."In my view, as I watch the U.S. airlines scurrying around to merge, anybody that actually ties up with Air Canada gets a unique piece of geography relative to the way the U.S. guys would split it up," Milton said in a conference call, according to Reuters.Milton said it was possible that Air Canada could be a part of a wave of consolidation set to hit the airline industry in the upcoming weeks. It has been reported that Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines Corp could announce a merger as early as next week and that United Airlines and Continental Airlines Corp are in the early stages of talks.Canada currently has federal legislation that limits foreign ownership in a Canadian airline to 25 percent. However, it may not be necessary for foreign private equity to get involved, Milton said.