UAL Corporation, which owns United Airlines, has reported that net income increased by 81 per cent to US$295 million in the third quarter ending September 30.

The company attributed the improvement to strong revenue growth in United Airline's passenger business, especially in the internal US market.



"We delivered excellent results this quarter driven by fundamental improvements across our core business," said Glenn Tilton, chairman, president and CEO.



UAL said in a statement that its pre-tax income, excluding special items, amounted to $498 million, an increase of 127 per cent over the same period last year.



UAL's operating profit for the third quarter, excluding special items, grew 93 per cent over the corresponding period the previous year to $589 million, resulting in an operating margin of 10.7 per cent.



UAL's total revenue, excluding special items, increased by 5.9 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same period last. It said this was driven by a 7.6 per cent increase in passenger revenue, which excluding special items amounted to US$5,044 million, and an 8.2 per cent increase in cargo revenue. Third quarter cargo revenue amounted to $198 million.



The company reported that third quarter revenue from United Airline's mainline passenger unit rose by 10.6 per cent year on year. It attributed the increase to "capacity discipline and aggressive revenue management." Excluding special items the company registered a 9.7 per cent increase for the business unit.



UAL's operating expenses grew by 0.6 per cent versus the prior year due to a "continuing focus" on cost control.



UAL generated an operating cash flow of $342 million, a 161 per cent improvement over the same quarter in 2006. It ended the quarter with a total cash and short-term investments balance of $5 billion, including a restricted cash balance of $788 million. It also reduced total debt by $210 million versus the second quarter of 2007, the company added.