Continental Airlines posted a third-quarter profit today, helped by $243 million in US federal grants aimed at staving off the sharp decline in air travel after last month's attacks.
Continental reported an operating loss of $97 million compared with a profit of $135 million a year earlier.
Quarterly revenues fell to $2.22 billion from $2.62 billion a year earlier. Continental ended the quarter with $1.2 billion in cash.
US airlines are expected to report as much as $5 billion in losses this year as the September 11th attacks on New York and the Washington area curtailed travel and further weakened revenues hurt by business spending cuts and costs of new labour contracts.
Before the attacks, Continental had been one of the few major US airlines posting profits this year.
Amid warnings of potential bankruptcies, the Bush administration has approved a $15 billion aid package for the airline industry.
Since January, Continental shares have plummeted more than 67 per cent after falling sharply immediately in the wake of the attacks.
In contrast, the broad benchmark S&P500 index has fallen about 19 per cent over a similar period while the American Stock Exchange Airline Index has shed about 59 per cent over that time.