United, American say unit revenue better than expected

American Airlines and United Continental indicated upbeat performance in September, when carriers expected higher Labor Day demand than last year. Earlier Tuesday morning, Southwest Airlines reported a 7.9% increase in September traffic. American said it expects unit revenue in Q3 to fall a less-than-expected 2% to 3% year-over-year, compared with its prior guidance of a 3% to 5% drop. United now anticipates Q3 unit revenue to decline 5.5% to 6% compared with the year-ago period. It previously expected unit revenue to fall 5.5% to 7.5%. The result was near the top end of the initial guidance range “largely due to better than expected September close-in bookings driven by the timing of certain holidays.” United said its passenger traffic improved 3.9% in September versus the year-ago period while American reported a 1.7% decline. Airlines for America, the leading industry trade group, previously said the major U.S. airlines anticipated demand to climb 4% over the seven-day Labor Day period compared with 2015. <br/>