Full Airplanes Help Boost US Airways First Quarter Results

Full planes were good to US Airways. The nation's fifth-largest airline posted a bigger adjusted first-quarter profit as it carried more passengers, and collected more from them.

US Airways Group Inc. earned $44 million, or 26 cents per share. Its adjusted profit was 31 cents per share, topping the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 3.5 percent to $3.38 billion.

The airline earned 28 cents per share in the year-ago quarter, but that was inflated by a swap with Delta for landing rights in Washington.

Occupancy rose 2.4 percentage points to 81.7 percent.

US Airways plans to merge with American Airlines. The combined airline would be the biggest in the world. US Airways says it still expects the deal to close by the end of September.

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