United sales hurt by Paris attacks, weaker oil industry demand

United said on Monday that its passenger unit revenue may have fallen more than expected in the just ended Q4, after the November attacks in Paris shook traveller demand and sharply lower oil prices hurt sales to the Houston hub carrier's energy clients. Passenger unit revenue, which compares ticket sales to flight capacity, fell between 5.75 and 6.25% in Q4 from a year ago, United Continental Holdings Inc said in a regulatory filing. That compares to an earlier forecast for a drop between 4 and 6% for the October-December quarter. The forecast may suggest continued turbulence for US airlines, which suffered from steep unit revenue declines in 2015. An industry-wide fare hike last week by US$6 round-trip may nonetheless boost revenue in the current quarter. For months, a strong dollar has hurt foreigners' demand for US travel and lowered the value of foreign sales in dollar terms. A decline in fuel prices has also allowed large US carriers to chop fares in line with budget airlines, such as Spirit Airlines, that have lower operating costs, ramping up domestic competition. United has taken a bigger sales hit than peers from last quarter's nearly 20% decline in US crude prices.<br/>