The airline earnings parade continued today with Continental the latest to release its second quarter numbers.

The airline reported earnings of $198 million, or $1.84 a share. Before special items, the airline reported net income of $208 million, or $1.93 a share. Analyst consensus was for the airline to come in at $1.94 a share, so the airline missed that number by a whisker.

We’re going to take a listen to the airline’s earnings call tomorrow, as we were writing all day today. Just looking at the numbers in our PlaneBusiness Earnings Summary, however, it would appear that costs at the airline came in higher than we had expected, and RASM figures posted by the airline were not as strong as those posted by American.

Southwest was on another planet this quarter in terms of RASM performance. The airline saw RASM up 17.9% for the quarter. Outstanding revenue performance.

Let’s hear it for fare hikes.