United Continental expects to make more from passengers as capacity shrinks

Reuters
7:42 a.m. CDT, September 21, 2011

United Continental Holdings Inc., parent of United Airlines, Wednesday said it expects its third-quarter passenger revenue to grow between 9.5 percent and 10.5 percent amid declining domestic capacity.

The world's largest airline, formed last year from a merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines, said in a regulatory filing that its total consolidated capacity will likely fall 0.8 percent for the quarter.

Capacity on domestic routes is likely to be down 1.9 percent, while international capacity is estimated to rise 0.6 percent.

The company expects to end the third quarter with $8.4 billion of unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.