US airlines report mixed fortunes

US airlines have reported mixed fortunes between July and September
as they battle to cope with the sluggish economy at home and abroad.
Delta - the world's biggest airline operator - reported a quarterly
loss bigger than a year ago and said it would cut capacity by 3 % next
year. US Airways also lost money, but less than expected, and saw
signs of a "soft but improving economic environment". Meanwhile
low-cost airline JetBlue bucked the trend and made a profit. It cited
lower fuel costs and cheaper fares luring passengers as reasons for
its $15 m (£9.1 m) profit in the period. Oil worries Delta - which
became the world's biggest carrier when it bought Northwest Airlines
in October 2008 - lost $161 m in the third quarter, compared with
$50 m a year earlier, despite sales rising by 32 % to $7.6 bn. US
Airways lost $80 m, compared with the $866 m it haemorrhaged between
July and September in 2008. Earlier in the week, American Airline's
parent company AMR reported heavy losses for the period - losing
$359 m including one-off costs, against a profit of $31 m a year
earlier. However, Continental and the parent company of AirTran
Airways both reported modest profits - citing sharply-lower fuel
bills. Gains in the oil price - currently at about $82 a barrel -
have prompted worries about the prospect of higher jet fuel costs in
the current quarter. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines are also
among those to have reported losses in recent days - saying they
could not charge so much for fares and that they were operating fewer
flights.