United Airlines' parent company, UAL Corp., said Thursday that despite posting an operating profit for July it registered a net loss of $274 million after restructuring leases on some of its aircraft.
The monthly update came with United still scrambling to line up financing to exit bankruptcy after nearly three years in Chapter 11.
The nation's second-biggest carrier after AMR Corp.'s American Airlines said its July deficit included $350 million of reorganization expenses _ mostly from renegotiating the plane leases.
The company said its monthly operating profit more than doubled to $113 million from $51 million a year earlier, despite fuel costs that increased by $127 million. Passenger revenue per available seat mile gained 9 percent.
United noted that passenger unit revenue rose 9 percent over July 2004, exceeding the industry average, and reiterated its intention to leave bankruptcy soon despite still-rising fuel costs.
"The recent agreement with the holders of public aircraft debt clears one of the last major hurdles to exiting bankruptcy," Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace said in a statement. "Clearly, United is well on the way to completing the Chapter 11 reorganization process and emerging as a strong competitor."
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