GroundSupportWorldWide.com |

MINNEAPOLIS --

United Airlines said business travel is improving, echoing comments from rivals Delta and American, and its fourth-quarter loss was much smaller than a year ago.

UAL Corp., which runs the nation's third-largest airline, lost $240 million during the fourth quarter. That's much smaller than the $1.32 billion loss during the same period last year. Not counting fuel hedges and special items, it lost $1.05 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected it to lose $1.47 per share.

"With business and premium traffic strengthening and the benefit of an improved cost structure, we are well on the road to closing the profitability gap," Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells said in a prepared statement.

An improvement in business travel is one of the key things analysts have been watching for as a sign that United's prospects are getting brighter. The layout of its routes means that United suffered more than other airlines when business travel dropped - and it should stand to gain as business travel returns.

Revenue fell 7.8 percent to $4.19 billion.

"On an operating basis, we were break-even, which is a significant accomplishment in what is seasonally one of our weakest quarters," Mikells said.

United said fuel hedges will cap 70 percent of its fuel at the equivalent of $75 per barrel of oil. For the full year, 40 percent of its fuel is capped at $77 per barrel.

United said it will make about $60 million in aircraft deposits during the first quarter for the big jet order it announced late last year.