Reports have revealed that Delta Air Lines managed to post a loss figure for the first-quarter which was smaller than expected, mainly on the back of falling fuel prices and a small rise in passenger revenue.

Delta, which is the world largest airline, reported a loss of $256 Million, or 31 cents per share, in the most recent quarter, which is smaller than the loss of $794 Million, or 95 cents a share, posted for the same quarter of the past year.

Excluding on-time expenses, the Atlanta-based airline recorded a loss of 23 cents per share.

"We are encouraged by the improvements we continue to see in the revenue environment. We expect the positive revenue trends to continue and to be solidly profitable in the June quarter", said Richard Anderson, Delta's Chief Executive Officer, while announcing the earnings on Tuesday.

A 2% rise to $6.8 Billion was recorded in total operating revenue, with passenger revenue up by 4% to $5.8 Billion. Yield, which is a measure of the average price of tickets, hiked by 5% and traffic increased by 8%.

Capacity was down by 4%, which helped like the carrier's load factor, or the percentage of seats filled by travelers, from 77.1% to 79.5%.