AIRLINES

Improved Earnings Expected: Analysts predict that major U.S. carriers will report better financial results for the first quarter, spurred by milder winter weather, cost controls, stable fuel prices and a sharp moderation in fare discounting on the East Coast. However, some major airlines will report losses, they said. More air travelers helped push domestic revenue slightly higher in what is traditionally the industry’s weakest quarter, according to David A. Swierenga, chief economist for the Air Transport Assn. Traffic was up 8.2% in January and 6.3% in February and is expected to have risen about 3% in March, he said. But yields--the average revenue a carrier receives for flying each passenger one mile--continued to fall in the first quarter.