Continental Reports Heavy Losses amid Travel Flare-up

U.S. carrier Continental Airlines (CA) reported quarterly losses as a result of spiking oil prices, quite a setback from last year’s results after the company received a megabuck bailout package granted by the U.S. government.

CA informed a $17 million shortfall, 26 cents per share in the stock market, compared to the $79 million worth of profits ($1.10 per share) chalked up in the same period the year before.

In the second half of 2003, CA grabbed a tax-deducted $111 million bailout package from the U.S. government to cover safety and security spending.

The report issued by the airline’s front office came on the heels of an upbeat comprehensive analysis pieced together by a number of travel industry companies –most of the from the United States- indicating that airlines are flying with high occupancy rates.