Delta Air Lines

$8.07

-5.06%

International traffic continues to increase for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which has made a conscious effort to cut domestic capacity while increasing its global footprint.

Monthly numbers for April released by the carrier Monday show that Delta's international traffic increased 16.5 percent compared with the same month last year. Domestic traffic declined by 3.7 percent over the same period.

Delta, which has proposed merging with Northwest Airlines, continued to fly very full airplanes —- its load factor was about 81 percent for the month. A Delta-Northwest merger would further boost Delta's international presence. The new airline, which would be called Delta and would be based in Atlanta, would inherit major airline hubs in Tokyo and Amsterdam.

Overall, Delta's systemwide traffic increased by about 2.5 percent, the nation's third-largest carrier reported.