
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 27, 1990                   TAG: 9004270229
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

AIRLINE PROFITS DIP; USAIR TAKES LOSS

High fuel prices and sluggish traffic continued to take a toll on airline earnings in the first quarter of 1990, with USAir Group Inc. and UAL Corp. reporting losses and Delta Air Lines reporting a 63 percent drop in profits.

USAir lost $38 million ($1.05 per share), compared with profits of $15.5 million (35 cents a share) in the same period last year. The Arlington, Va.-based carrier blamed fuel prices and a strong first quarter last year when the airline benefited from the strike at Eastern Airlines.

USAir Chairman Edwin I. Colodny said traffic levels were up 8.5 percent in the first quarter, slightly ahead of the carrier's projections, but fare discounting and redemption of frequent-flier awards depressed yields per passenger mile by 5.5 percent. Revenue for the quarter was $1.54 billion, up from $1.48 billion.

UAL, parent of United Airlines, said it lost $36.4 million in the quarter ended March 31, compared with earnings of $65.4 million last year.

Delta Air Lines reported net income of $31.3 million for the quarter, down 63 percent from $85 million a year earlier.

Adding to the weakness was an accident of timing: The Easter holiday, which usually generates strong traffic in the first quarter, falls in the second quarter this year.

by CNB