United, the No. 3 U.S. carrier by passenger traffic, said passenger unit revenue fell between 6.5 percent and 6.75 percent in the just-ended quarter, compared with expectations for a decline of as much as 7.5 percent. United attributed the difference to higher-than-expected international airfares on average and to more business travel during the last week of June, around the U.S. Fourth of July holiday.

United Continental shares rose more than 1 percent in after-hours trading.

Passenger unit revenue of the biggest U.S. airlines has declined for more than a year as flights have outpaced demand and as foreign sales translated into fewer dollars, because of the rising strength of the U.S. currency.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)