Delta passenger revenue jumped in January

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Delta Air Lines Inc. began reporting a key monthly revenue figure for the first time Monday, and it showed a 14.5 percent jump from a year earlier.

Delta attributed the increase in passenger revenue for each seat flown one mile to its cuts in flying and "revenue momentum." Airlines have been raising fares as they made seats scarcer.

This is the first time that Delta has reported monthly passenger revenue. Competitors United Continental Holdings Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. also report the figure.

Delta cut its January flying capacity — the number of available seats in the air — by 4.3 percent, including a 5.7 percent drop in international flying. It reduced domestic flying by 3.4 percent.

Traffic fell, too. The number of passengers times miles flown dropped 1.5 percent for the month. Domestic traffic fell 0.3 percent, while international dropped 3.2 percent.

Atlanta-based Delta is the second-largest U.S. airline company, behind United Continental. Its western-most U.S. hub is at Salt Lake City International Airport.