Continental Airlines loses $18 million in 3Q

DALLAS: Continental Airlines Inc lost money in the third quarter as business travelers stayed home, causing a nosedive in airline revenue.

But not everything was bleak for Continental. Traffic picked up in September, even if it took cheap fares to get customers on board.

And the financial results were much better than a year ago, although they were worse than what analysts expected.

Houston-based Continental said it lost $18 million and revenue plunged 20.2 per cent in the July-through-September quarter.

In the same quarter last year, Continental lost $230 million as it struggled with soaring jet fuel prices.