NEW HAVEN — As Tweed New Haven Regional Airport, its supporters, and opponents of runway extension wait to see whether the state attorney general will appeal a court decision clearing the way for said extension, American Airlines quietly has upgraded its service.

Over the past few months, American Eagle flights from Tweed to both Philadelphia International and Charlotte Douglas International have switched to 76-seat Embraer E175 regional jets, Tweed officials said Thursday.

Among other things, the E175s, which Tweed officials said are well-suited to Tweed’s relatively short, 5,600-foot main runway, bring first-class seats and service back to Tweed for the first time since 1995, Tweed said in a release.

“We’re excited about the prospect of enhanced service out of Tweed,” Tweed Airport Authority Executive Director Matthew Hoey said Thursday.

Hoey said “there is demand for service out of Tweed and it’s growing. American Airlines has recognized that by bringing in some better equipment,” he said.

Over the last two years, Tweed has seen a ridership increase of more than 55 percent, the release said.

At the same time, as Tweed waits to hear what Attorney General William Tong will do and begins the process of a federally-mandated master plan update, “we are continuing to work with our partners, American Airlines, to develop other routes, and continuing to work with other airlines” in hopes of attracting additional service, Hoey said.

Asked about those talks, Hoey said they were “nothing specific — just general discussions.”

But he said it’s no secret that among the service Tweed would like to attact would be flights to Washington, D.C., Chicago and various Florida markets.

To Philadelphia, Tweed currently offers daily departures in the early morning, mid-day, and late afternoon. To Charlotte, there’s one Saturday-only mid-day departure.

One-stop connections from Tweed via Philadelphia and Charlotte are available to more than 135 U.S. cities and more than 55 international destinations, including Europe, South and Central America and the Caribbean, Tweed said in the release.

For additional information on Tweed service, go to www.flytweed.com or https://www.aa.com.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous opinion in early July, ruled that the state statute limiting the length of the runway is preempted by federal law, and therefore invalid.

The ruling, assuming the state does not appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court, clears the way for Tweed to pave portions of its existing, unpaved runway safety areas to increase the effective length of the runway for takeoff.

It also will make Tweed a more attractive airport to attract additional air service, Tweed supporters have said.

Two of the most powerful members of state Senate, President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven — who lives a few blocks from Tweed — and Minority Leader Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, who is an owner of the Silver Sands Beach & Tennis Club off the south end of the runway in East Haven, sent a letter to Tong July 16, urging him to appeal.