Air Berlin load factor posts rare gain in July

FRANKFURT Aug 6 (Reuters) - Air Berlin (AB1.DE) said its load factor, a measure of capacity utilisation, widened for the first time this year as the company reduced capacity faster than demand for air travel declined.

The German carrier -- the country's second-biggest after Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) -- said on Thursday its load factor widened by 0.1 percentage point to 83.4 percent in July, which was the first increase since December.

Its passengers numbers fell 3.3 percent to 2.81 million, while the company had reduced the number of seats on offer by 3.4 percent.

Fare yields rose 5.9 percent from a year earlier, meaning the company improved its profitability per seat sold. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan, Editing by Michael Shields)