American Airlines' [NYSE: AMR] plan to cut from 417 to 207 the number of daily flights from its St. Louis hub will boost the opportunity for privately held Trans States Airlines (TSA) to increase its number of flights to fill in the gaps.

Trans States, an AMR code-share partner, reportedly plans to add an initial five Embraer EMB-145 regional jets with an option for at least 10 more in service for American, according to a source inside the company. Trans States plans to start AmericanConnection service to 16 new cities from St. Louis on Nov. 1.

The new destinations include: Atlanta (ATL), Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Colorado Springs Airport (COS), Washington National (DCA), Port Columbus International Airport (CMH), Denver International Airport (DEN), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Washington Dulles (IAD), Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Bradley International Airport (BDL), Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and Richmond International Airport (RIC).

This would boost TSA's regional jet flying as a result of the AMR announcement. But because St. Louis will be a smaller hub for American, TSA likely will reduce the number of turboprop flights it offers from several feed markets. As a result, TSA may be forced lay off some employees, the source said.

AMR's need to reduce its operations comes amid continued losses among airlines. American said it lost $357 million in the second quarter, a sharp improvement on its first- quarter losses of $1.04 billion, and losses of $720 million a year ago. Its shares rose 8 percent to $11.45 following the announcement. The action will reduce AMR's fleet capacity to where it was in mid-2000, and would force AMR to cut roughly 2,000 more jobs in St. Louis.

Other regional airlines besides TSA with code-sharing agreements with AMR include: American Eagle Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines, Corporate Express Airlines, and Executive Airlines.