US airline profits soar as fuel costs ease


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DALLAS (AP) — Profits are soaring at the biggest U.S. airlines, and much of the credit goes to the falling cost of fuel.

Saving a nickel or a dime per gallon might not seem like much, but for airlines that burn hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel every month, it adds up quickly. Fuel is an airline's biggest expense.

Airlines are also benefiting from continued strong travel demand that allows them to push fares higher. Executives report strong bookings for holiday travel and say they see no signs that Ebola is scaring away travelers.

The world's biggest airline operator, American Airlines Group, is reporting an all-time best $942 million profit in the June-through-September quarter. That's an 87 percent increase over the amount that American and US Airways earned separately last year before their December merger.

United Continental Holdings posted net income of $924 million, up from $379 million a year earlier.

Southwest Airlines' profit rose 27 percent to $329 million.

All three companies beat Wall Street expectations for earnings.

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