Continental leads airline stocks higher

Continental Airlines planes are seen at Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey September 13, 2006. Airline stocks rallied on Tuesday, with Continental Airlines Inc. up more than 7 percent after the No. 4 U.S. carrier said its March revenue rose 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Airline stocks rallied on Tuesday, with Continental Airlines Inc. CAL.N up more than 7 percent after the No. 4 U.S. carrier said its March revenue rose 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Shares of Continental were up 7.4 percent or $2.65 at $38.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. The Amex airline index .XAL was up 3.1 percent.

The gains came after Continental said on Monday that its March revenue per available seat mile increased on fuller planes. The airline's monthly report ripples throughout the industry, as Continental is the only major carrier to publish its revenue estimates.

"Strong month-of-March demand at Continental portends a quarterly profit for that carrier, hopefully serving as a reassuring reminder that demand trends remain intact," said J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker in a research note.

A drop in oil prices -- directly related to the price of jet fuel -- may also have underpinned the stock gains. NYMEX crude futures CLc1 were down 2.21 percent at $64.42 a barrel. Soaring fuel prices has been a burden on airlines.

Shares of AMR Corp AMR.N, parent of American Airlines, gained 4.7 percent to $31.75 on NYSE. Shares of UAL Corp UAUA.O were up 4.9 percent at $40.21 at Nasdaq. US Airways Group (LCC.N) shares were up 5.2 percent at $47.40 on NYSE.