American Airlines has announced a series of moves, including additional cuts to its 2008 flight schedule and a hiring freeze, to help the US carrier endure record fuel costs and waning demand for air travel.

American has also agreed to sell its asset management unit, American Beacon Advisors, to private equity firms Pharos Capital Group and TPG Capital for about $480m.

The manoeuvres came as AMR, American’s parent, reported its second straight quarterly loss.

The fuel run-up and dimming economic outlook has pushed some smaller carriers into bankruptcy and forced even big airlines to weigh strategic changes.

“The first quarter proved yet again that fuel prices remain one of the biggest threats to our industry and our company, and we also can’t ignore the ongoing concerns about the US economy and the potential impact on travel demand,” Gerard Arpey, chief executive, said Wednesday in a statement. “Clearly it has been a challenging start to 2008.”

Mr Arpey was forced to cancel more than 3,000 flights last week to re-inspect American’s fleet of 300 MD-80s after a regulator’s spot audit of aircraft paperwork revealed a second violation on a federal airworthiness directive.

He is also weighing how his company responds to Delta Air Lines’ merger with Northwest Airlines, a deal that threatens to vanquish American as the world’s largest carrier.

American said it would accelerate plans to replace its Boeing MD-80s with more fuel-efficient 737-800 jets. The company now expects to receive 34 737s next year and 36 in 2010.

American’s results swung to a loss of $328m, or $1.32 a share, during the first quarter, from a profit of $81m, or 30 cents, a year earlier. The company paid $2.74 a gallon for fuel during the period, a 48 per cent increase.

Revenue rose 5 per cent to $5.7bn. Weather and maintenance cancellations cost the company as much as $80m in first quarter sales.

American now expects to trim its mainline capacity by 1.4 per cent this year. It also repeated plans to sell its regional carrier, American Eagle.