HOUSTON — Continental said Thursday that soaring fuel costs pushed it to a loss in the first quarter, and it plans to retrench by mothballing planes and reducing flights.
Chairman and chief executive Lawrence Kellner had repeatedly said the Houston-based carrier would prefer to remain independent, but said Thursday that the Delta-Northwest announcement had changed things.
Kellner didn’t comment on speculation that Continental could combine with United, but the carrier took a step toward a possible deal by buying out Northwest’s right to veto a deal involving Continental. Continental was able to do that — for a token $100 — after Northwest announced its deal with Delta.
In the first quarter, Continental lost $80 million, or 81 cents per share, in the January-March period compared with a profit of $22 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 12.3 percent to $3.57 billion from $3.18 billion a year earlier.
