UPDATE: Southwest Air's August Traffic Rises; Delta's Falls

   (Updates to add Delta's figures.) 
   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) said its passenger traffic rose slightly in August as its plane flew with more passengers, while the low-cost carrier followed the industry trend to cut capacity.

Meanwhile, traffic at Delta Air Lines Inc.'s (DAL) Delta and Northwest operations fell 2.2%, down 1.3% domestically and 3.5% abroad. Overall, the world's largest carrier's load factor increased to 86.6% from 85.7%.

Thursday, AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s (UAUA) United Airlines both reported lower passenger traffic in August, although low-cost carriers like Southwest have said their business is improving.

Its traffic was up was up 1% and load factor, or the number of filled seats per plane, jumped to 80.2% from 74.6% as capacity fell 6.1%.

Passenger revenue per available seat mile, a key airline performance metric, was estimated to have dropped in the 5% to 6% range amid falling fares industrywide.

On Monday, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), the first major international carrier to report results, estimated August traffic slid 3.9% on a 6% reduction in seat capacity, compared with last year.

Southwest shares were up 1.3% to $8.52 in recent trading while Delta gained 2.5% to $7.34.

-By Joan E. Solsman and John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; [e-mail]