American plans to add more seating

DALLAS – American Airlines expects to add more seats to some of its planes, which could mean less leg room for passengers.

The airline’s parent company, AMR Corp., disclosed the move in a regulatory filing Wednesday.

American’s vice president of flight service, Lauri Curtis, said that the airline constantly examines its operations, including trying to match the number of seats with travel demand.

Curtis said airline officials expect to add seats on Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets, “but we haven’t yet determined the right number of seats, and as a result, the impact on revenue and cost.”

Southwest Airlines Co. is cutting an inch of leg room as it adds six seats each to some of its Boeing 737s.

American spokeswoman Stacey Frantz said that whatever American decides, it will still sell what it calls Main Cabin Extra seats, which have more leg room and cost more than other seats in economy class.