Delta Air Unit Revenue Decline Slowed in September

Delta Air Lines Inc. reported a smaller year-to-year decline in unit revenue in September than in previous months, citing moderating near-term yield pressures in its domestic business amid reduced capacity for autumn.

The Atlanta-based company's shares, down 19% this year, rose 2.3% to $40.88 in early trading.

Unit revenue—a measure of how much an airline takes in for each passenger flown a mile—fell 3% during September from a year earlier. Delta also cited continued pressures related to its trans-Atlantic segment and prior-year hedging gains related to the Japanese yen.

Delta had reported a decrease of 9.5% in unit revenue for August and a decline of 7% for July.

Delta said its passenger traffic rose 1.4% during September as capacity increased 1.8%. The percentage of seats filled—or load factor—dropped to 84.6% from 85% .

Separately, Delta said in an investor update that cost controls and productivity efforts helped the carrier maintain its third-quarter outlook despite an August computer outage that forced the airline to cancel more than 2,100 flights over three days.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 04, 2016 10:35 ET (14:35 GMT)

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