American Airlines' bankruptcy restructuring should make the carrier more profitable and able to purchase more aircraft, the head of Boeing Co's commercial airplane division said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a Credit Suisse aerospace and defense conference in New York, Jim Albaugh said the bankruptcy filing by the AMR Corp unit would give the carrier long-term stability. But in the short term, American may ask to restructure some aircraft leases, he said.

Taking a long-term view, the American bankruptcy is a very positive thing for them and a very positive thing for us, Albaugh said. By going through a restructuring, they're going to come out of it a very competitive airline.

American is the third-largest U.S. airline. The company. which suffers from higher labor costs than its peers, filed for Chapter 11 on Tuesday.

This year the carrier placed a giant split order for 460 single-aisle jets worth up to $40 billion with Boeing and its European rival Airbus EADS .

Bankruptcy could jeopardize parts of the order that are not yet firm. On Tuesday, AMR Chief Executive Officer Tom Horton called the order rock solid.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

American Airlines