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American Airlines' chief executive says he has asked Chinese government officials to allow more routes between that nation and the United States.

China is the key to American's plans to increase service to Asia, and the airline is focusing first on adding flights between Chicago and Shanghai, a key business center, Gerard Arpey said

Wednesday. "I've spent a lot of time in Asia this year," he said. "The GDP numbers in that region of the world are quite extraordinary and traffic is really rebounding very aggressively."

American's service to Asia has been "behind the curve," he added.

American, the largest U.S. carrier, flies directly to Tokyo and serves other cities, including Beijing and Hong Kong, with flights on other carriers under code-sharing agreements.

Under current rules, Northwest and United are the only U.S. passenger carriers serving China.
Arpey said the U.S. and Chinese governments appear willing to let two more U.S. carriers fly directly to China, and Fort Worth-based American wants to be one of those.

The company asked its pilots in January for permission to approve more flights to Asia, and the union has signaled willingness to change work rules to allow the long flights - some more than 16 hours.

Arpey, who is CEO and chairman of both American and its parent, AMR Corp., said the airline is making progress in a turnaround from near-bankruptcy last year. The airline's biggest success has been at cutting costs, he said.

AMR shares rose 4 cents, to $11.90, in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.