CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines saw growth in traffic and a key measure of passenger revenue stall last month.
United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's biggest airline, reported late Thursday that traffic rose 0.4 percent in May — about half the growth it saw the month before. Domestic traffic fell 1.1 percent while traffic rose 1.7 percent overseas. That growth was driven by flights to the Pacific and Latin America.
The airline's capacity, or number of available seats, was virtually flat from a year earlier. That came as a reduction in U.S. flying was countered by a similar uptick internationally.
Flights were slightly fuller, with the overall occupancy rate inching up 0.5 percent.
The company estimates that the money it makes to fly a paying passenger a single was flat to up 1 percent in May compared with May 2011. United, which has seen slower passenger revenue growth than other airlines because of changes in the way it forecasts demand, reported a 4.5 percent increase in that metric the month before.
Delta Air Lines Inc., United's closest competitor, said Monday that per-seat passenger revenue grew 6 percent in May.
