Delta says June traffic falls 1.5 percent

ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday that passenger traffic fell 1.5 percent in June because of a drop in U.S. traffic.

International traffic rose 0.3 percent in June, but domestic traffic fell 2.7 percent.

The figures include regional affiliates, as well as the mainline Delta operation.

Delta said paying passengers flew 18.26 billion miles last month, down from 18.53 billion miles in June 2010.

International passengers flew 3.9 percent more miles over the Pacific, but traffic over the Atlantic fell 1.1 percent and traffic to Latin America dipped 0.7 percent.

The Atlanta-based airline raised passenger-carrying capacity by just 0.2 percent. It added 2.5 percent to international capacity but cut U.S. capacity by 1.5 percent. Airlines usually adjust capacity by adding or cutting flights, but they can also make other changes such as using bigger or smaller planes.

The average Delta flight last month was 86.3 percent full. That was down from 87.7 percent in June 2010.

For the first half of the year, Delta's traffic rose 1.1 percent while capacity grew 3.9 percent. That left planes a bit less full. Average occupancy through June slipped to 80.2 percent from 82.4 percent in the first half of 2010.

Delta shares rose a penny to close at $9.13.