Delta sees double-digit unit revenue improvement

NEW YORK (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. says its unit revenue will improve by double digits throughout the summer compared with a year earlier, although the rest of the year might fall short of that.

That's because the economy was starting to improve in the fall of 2009, making the comparisons less dramatic, President Ed Bastian said Tuesday at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Transportation Conference.

The world's largest airline sees "considerable strength internationally" in the second-quarter, especially in Asia.

Delta expects passenger revenue per available seat mile to rise about 20 percent in June compared with a year earlier. Passenger revenue per available seat mile is an important industry metric that measures how much money the airline makes per mile for every paying passenger.