Fort Worth, Texas -- U.S. carrier American Airlines said it would cut 200 pilot positions from its roster of 8,500 pilots by first offering job buyouts to senior captains.

The airline extended a similar deal to its flight attendants on July 2, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The cuts are part of an effort to reduce passenger capacity by 8 percent as a reaction to soaring jet fuel costs.

"Eligible senior captains would have the opportunity to separate with additional money, union pilots could move upwards to higher-paying positions, and some, or even all, of the bottom 200 pilots may not need to be furloughed," the airline said in a statement.

Gregg Overman, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American's pilot staff, said the cuts were "a regrettable business decision."

"The airline is short-staffed and additional furloughs will make that worse," Overman told the newspaper.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.