NEW YORK (AFP) — American Airlines, posting a big loss with bleaker prospects immediately ahead, announced Wednesday it will squeeze passengers in tighter to make more money.

Several years ago, American heavily advertised its decision to provide more room to economy passengers by removing seats from the MD80 and Boeing 737, 767 and 777 fleets.

Now, some of those seats would be replaced.

"When we launched 'More Room Throughout Coach,' healthy yields and robust business travel were the norm, and both conditions were essential to the success of More Room," AMR chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said.

"However, times have changed, and we must acknowledge that in today's low-fare environment, having fewer seats on our aircraft has put us at a real revenue disadvantage compared to other airlines," he said in a statement.

More backpeddling here