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Delta Air Lines reported that its traffic in Dec 2016 increased 2.6% from Dec 2015 on a capacity increase of 1.5%. The airline said its total system traffic for the month rose 2.6% to 16.80b revenue passenger miles from 16.38b RPMs in the same period last year. Monthly total system capacity was 19.70b available seat miles, up 1.5% from 19.40b ASMs in the prior year period. Consolidated passenger unit revenue (PRASM) for the month of December was flat year over year, driven by strong demand trends and improving close-in domestic yields as Delta's capacity actions and revenue management strategies continue to benefit results. Delta said Wednesday that it now expects unit revenue to decline 2.5-3.0% for the December quarter given the better than expected result for the month of December. <br/>

Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiaries earned a consolidated pre-tax profit of US$113.7m in 2016, which represents a 140% increase on the previous year, according to the company’s initial estimates. The carrier’s core operation is estimated to have contributed $72.7m in pre-tax profit, more than 5 times the profit from 2015. The group recorded $3.45b in consolidated revenue for 2016, up 10% from 2015. VNA contributed $2.7b of the total. The airline increased its passenger total by 18.7%, and its cargo volume was 10% ahead of its plan. The carrier’s profit projection comes in the same week as its Jan 3 listing on the Hanoi Stock Exchange. The company is still 86% owned by the govt, and strategic investor ANA holds a share of almost 9%. Some shares were made available to the public and employees in a previous IPO. <br/>