New US Airways record in filled seats

For the second month in a row, US Airways Group Inc. reported flying its aircraft with record percentages of seats filled with paying passengers.

The Tempe, Ariz., airline, which operates a hub at Philadelphia International Airport, said today that its overall load factor was 86.3 percent in July, compared with 84.1 percent in July 2006.

That topped the airline's previous record of 85.3 percent, set in June. US Airways reported a total of 6 billion revenue passenger miles, up 1.8 percent compared with July 2006, despite a nearly 1 percent drop, to 6.9 billion, in available seat miles.

The airline's shares were up 93 cents, or 3 percent, to $31.63 in noon-hour trading on the New York Stock Exchange.