Continental put up its ticket prices in May

The US airline, which like many in the industry has put up ticket prices to try to compensate for the rise in fuel costs, has posted a loss of $17m (�9m).

In the same period last year, the carrier reported a $79m profit.

Continental, which last year received a one-off government payment of $111m to pay for additional security costs, described the loss as "disappointing".

The Houston-based company said it had hoped to break even.

Its $17m loss, which equates to 26 cents a share, was much higher than the expected 9 cents.

"There results remain disappointing in a year where we hoped to break even," said Continental chief executive Gordon Bethune.