United Continental's Traffic Increases, But Less Than Capacity

United Continental Holdings Inc. reported on Monday January load factor declined to 80.7% from 80.9% a year ago, as traffic failed to keep pace with capacity growth. Total traffic rose 1.1% from last year to 15.4 billion revenue passenger miles, as a 4.6% increase in international traffic offset a 2.8% decline in domestic traffic. Capacity increased 1.4% to 19.08 billion available seat miles, with international rising 4.2% while domestic declined 2%. The stock, which was unchanged in after-hours trade, has run up 19% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.8%.