UA Express Posts Losses

United Express carriers posted revenues of $715 million, up 5.9 percent during the first quarter, but expenses rose 12.6 percent to $779 million, contributing to the $542 million in first quarter net loss of UAL Corporation. The company’s net loss was $305 million higher than the first quarter of 2007, driven primarily by a $618 million increase in consolidated fuel expense.
United continues to cut back on domestic capacity, expecting regional available seat miles to drop 0.5 percent to a growth of 0.5 percent in the second quarter and as much as 2.5 percent for the full year, less than what has been announced at other major carriers such as Delta. The number of aircraft in the United Express fleet dropped 4.8 percent to 275 as fuel expenses rose 43.3 percent to $278 million and fuel consumption was flat at 92 million gallons. The average jet fuel price per gallon for regional affiliates was 302.2 cents, up 44.4 percent.
Regional available seat miles were down 1.2 percent to 388 billion while revenue passenger miles dropped 5.6 percent to 2.809 billion. PRASM was up 7.2 percent to 18.42 cents along with yield, up 12.3 percent to 15.45 cents. Load factor dropped 3.4 points to 72.4 percent. Passengers enplaned were down 5.6 percent to 2.809 billion. RASM was up 7.2 percent to 18.42 cents while CASM rose 14 percent to 20.07 cents.