Continental Airlines Inc., the fourth-largest American carrier, posted a second-quarter loss of $3 million as fare increases failed to keep pace with rising jet-fuel costs.

The deficit of 3 cents a share compared with net income a year earlier of $228 million, or $2.03, the Houston-based airline said yesterday in a statement. Excluding one-time gains and costs, Continental had an operating loss of $25 million, less than analysts expected.

Continental is among the big American airlines cutting seating capacity, grounding planes and paring payrolls to blunt this year’s 49% jump in fuel prices. The reductions will trim operating expenses and let carriers drop their cheapest tickets.

Higher fares were “not enough to offset the skyrocketing fuel bills, and that will be the main concern for the second half of the year,” a Calyon Securities analyst in New York who rates Continental “neutral,” Ray Neidl, said.

Sales gained 9% to $4 billion.Continental’s fuel cost, its largest expense, rose 66% from a year earlier to $1.36 billion.

“We’re experiencing the worst financial environment for U.S. carriers since 9/11 due to record-high fuel prices, a weak dollar and a generally uncertain economic environment,” the chief executive officer, Larry Kellner, said on a conference call with analysts and investors.