Delta Air Lines March traffic rises |
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Wed, 04 Apr 2007 21:52
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ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. on Wednesday said March traffic rose 3.5 percent as strong gains in international travel offset a decline in domestic traffic.The airline, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since 2005, posted 10.42 billion revenue passenger miles in March, versus 10.07 billion in March of 2006. A revenue passenger mile is equal to one paying passenger flown one mile.Domestic traffic dipped 3.2 percent, while passenger traffic on international flights jumped 23.1 percent.Capacity edged up 0.4 percent to 12.55 billion available seat miles from 12.51 billion in the year-ago period. Delta cut capacity on domestic flights in favor of an 18.7 percent increase in international capacity.A number of carriers have expanded international operations to take advantage of higher margins compared with domestic flights. Delta, in particular, has revamped its operating strategy to focus on its international business.Load factor, an industry measure of occupancy, rose 2.5 points to 83 percent last month, on increases both internationally and in the U.S.Year to date, traffic has risen 3.1 percent to 27.21 billion revenue passenger miles. Capacity has grown 2 percent to 35.28 billion available seat miles, and occupancy has increased to 77.1 percent from 76.2 percent.Over-the-counter shares of Delta rose 7 cents to finish at 42 cents.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Delta Air Lines February traffic rises 