American and Continental Report Q2 Profits

The company's adjusted profit was well ahead of the average estimate of 20 cents per share from analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Quarterly revenue totaled $2.86 billion, a gain of 12 percent from $2.55 billion a year earlier.

Continental, the nation's sixth-largest airline, said its traffic grew 7.2 percent and capacity increased 4.2 percent. Its planes were 80.4 percent full for the quarter, compared with 78.1 percent a year ago.

Fuel costs swelled 48.6 percent to $575 million in the quarter, the company said.

Continental shares rose 6 cents to $15.76 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of AMR fell 7 cents to $14.16, while Delta's rose 4 cents to $3.91.