The parent of United Airlines says it earned $273 million in the second quarter, its best result in almost three years.

UAL Corp.'s quarterly revenue rose 28.4 percent to $5.16 billion.

Several things improved for the nation's third-biggest airline. Passenger revenue rose more than 28 percent compared to the same period last year. Cargo revenue increased 57 percent.

The company finished the quarter with $5.17 billion in cash.

Not counting special charges, UAL said it would have earned $430 million, or $1.95 per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of $1.74 per share on revenue of $5.11 billion.