UPDATE 1-United pilots seek delay in immunity for alliance

*United pilots ask for immunity delay for Continental

*Pilots concerned about potential job losses (Adds United comment)

ATLANTA May 19 (Reuters) - Pilots at United Airlines on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to delay the granting of antitrust immunity that would allow Continental Airlines Inc CAL.N and their carrier to cooperate in marketing routes and pricing, saying it could result in the loss of U.S. jobs.

Continental won the government's nod last month for its plans to join the Star Alliance, which includes UAL Corp's UAUA.O United and Germany's Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE).

Antitrust immunity allows alliance members to operate as one flight on certain routes. Carriers are able to share pricing and scheduling information, ticketing and facilities.

United pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association union said in a statement that the immunity not only could lead to the outsourcing of tens of thousands of U.S. jobs, but could also take experienced pilots off international routes.

United pilots are asking Congress and the Obama Administration to delay the granting of antitrust immunity set for May 31 to allow labor to offer input on possible effects.

"With its tentative approval of antitrust immunity for the Star Alliance, the Department of Transportation has opened the door for more job losses and pay cuts for American workers," Capt. Steve Wallach, chairman of the United pilots union's executive committee, said in a statement.

United spokeswoman Jean Medina said the carrier was puzzled as to why the pilots did not make their objection known sooner.

"As the DOT recognized more than 20 years ago, alliances have created some 15,000 U.S. airline jobs and enable service to communities that otherwise would not be served," Medina said.

She added that United wants its pilots to "fly for an airline that can compete on a level playing field with the world's largest two carriers that already enjoy antitrust immunity today," referring to Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), which are part of the SkyTeam alliance. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs and Karey Wutowski; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz, Gary Hill)