UAL Corporation, the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, has posted a second quarter net income of US$274 million for the period ended June 30, up 130 per cent compared to same quarter a year ago, and an operating revenue of $5.2 billion.

UAL's pre-tax income reached $465 million, representing an improvement of $349 million year on year.

Operating cash flow grew by 51 per cent to $1 billion, while free cash flow - defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures - increased 55 per cent to $956 million over the same period.

"Our strong operating cash flow is allowing us to pay down debt and make significant investments in the core business. We generated strong free cash flow in the first half of 2007 and used it to reduce outstanding debt by about $1.5 billion so far this year, putting United in a solid position relative to our peers," said Jake Brace, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

United also generated operating earnings of $537 million, an improvement of 107 per cent year on year, resulting in an operating margin of 10.3 per cent, which is more than twice the margin the company achieved in the second quarter of 2006.

The company said it improved its first quarter results by exceeding cost control targets and achieving core revenue growth in spite of high fuel prices.

"Our second-quarter results demonstrate solid performance momentum across the board," said Glenn Tilton, United's president, chairman and CEO. "By successfully executing against our performance agenda we delivered record revenue performance and continued cost control."