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Airlines post huge losses

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

United Airlines' parent company reported a $308 million fourth-quarter loss today, capping a calamitous year in which it lost $2.1 billion -- a record for any airline.

Staggered by the recession and the aftershocks of the Sept. 11 attacks, UAL Corp. said it burned through about $10 million a day in the fourth quarter.

But the latest loss was not quite as steep as analysts expected, which the carrier attributed to both cost-cutting and a pickup in air travel. United now plans to add 127 daily flights by April, increasing its schedule about 7 percent.

Separately, Delta Air Lines posted a fourth-quarter loss from operations of $486 million, excluding one-time gains and charges. A year earlier it had a profit of $79 million.

Delta should make a slow climb back to profitability this year after posting the massive loss, top executives said.

Ridership and revenue are rebounding from the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, though the recovery is slower on the East Coast, where Delta does much of its flying, Chief Executive Leo Mullin said Thursday.

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