UPDATE 1-Aer Lingus says cuts helping, more to come

* Q3 revenue down 9.7 pct, load factor rises by 1.3 points

* Streamlining had positive impact on yields, load factors

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DUBLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Irish airline Aer Lingus (AERL.I) said cutting capacity from weaker parts of its network had helped fill aircraft more fully, with more streamlining of the business planned in order to bring costs in line with rivals.

Aer Lingus, which has fended off two hostile bids by Irish rival Ryanair (RYA.I), the industry leader in cutting costs, has warned it must become leaner itself or ultimately risk losing its independence.

"The actions taken to remove capacity on underperforming parts of the network has had a positive impact," Aer Lingus said in a statement.

The former state airline said revenue in the three months to the end of September fell 9.7 percent, but with its load factor -- which it defines as earned revenue passenger kilometres as a percentage of available seat kilometres -- up 1.3 points year-on-year to 80.4 percent. (Reporting by Andras Gergely; Editing by David Holmes)