Airlines See Steady October

Airlines filled more seats in October than they did a year ago, but fare prices were still cheap and demand was flat -- a reminder that the strong summer season is over.

Nonetheless, with shares steady after strong third-quarter earnings and with October results matching analyst expectations, stocks could be growing more attractive to investors who missed the rally.

Continental Airlines(CAL Quote), a bellwether for the rest of the network carriers, said traffic increased in October on the year, while revenue passenger miles, or traffic, grew 3.1% from last year, and capacity, or available seat miles, fell 3.3%. As a result, load factor for October, or the percentage of seats filled on every plane, hit 74% for the month, up from last year's 69.4%. ...