Delta Air Lines April traffic fell 0.7 percent
Delta Air Lines says key revenue measure fell 2 percent in April as traffic declined
ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. said a key measure of revenue fell 2 percent in April because of soft demand for domestic flights and devaluation of the Japanese yen.
The decline was in line with Delta's outlook when it reported first quarter results last week.
The airline still expects the same measure — per-seat passenger revenue — to rise in May and June compared to the same months last year.
Delta is the world's second-biggest airline. It has a hub in Tokyo and sells many of its tickets in yen, so the recent decline in that currency hurt revenue from those tickets.
Delta traffic fell 0.7 percent in April, including a 1.3 percent drop in domestic traffic and a decline of 3.2 percent for traffic across the Atlantic.
Overall flying capacity rose 0.5 percent, driven by 1.8 percent more domestic flying.
Because it added seats even as traffic declined, its planes weren't as full. Occupancy fell 1 percentage point to 81.8 percent. The biggest drop was on domestic flights, where occupancy fell 2.6 percentage points to 82.8 percent.
For the first four months of the year, Delta traffic has fallen 0.7 percent, with capacity down 1.8 percent. Occupancy is up 0.9 percentage points to 81.4 percent.
Delta shares rose 30 cents to $17.14 in morning trading.
