American Airlines has detailed plans to spin off Eagle, its regional air service, into a separate publicly-traded company, a strategy that is becoming more common as the initial public offering market becomes more difficult. Citigroup and Evercore Partners are the advisers on the deal.

AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, said in a statement yesterday that it has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a tax-free distribution of Eagle shares to its stockholders to divest all of its ownership stake. The statement said Eagle would operate the third-largest regional airline in the US as it provides the vast majority of American's regional flight operations.