Continental to Charge $10 for Paper Tickets

Continental Airlines Inc. said it will charge a $10 fee to cover processing costs when passengers choose to use paper tickets issued by the airline.

The fee will be assessed for paper tickets issued by Continental’s reservation centers, city ticket offices, airport locations and Web site, spokesman Dave Messing said.

The fee, which will be charged when an electronic ticket could be used instead, will not apply to tickets issued by travel agencies or to group travel.

The announcement came one day after the Houston-based company said third-quarter profit fell 98% to $3 million, or5 cents a share. Continental cut 20% of its seat and flight capacity and 12,000 of its 56,000 jobs after the terrorist attacks as demand fell.

The company’s shares rose 11 cents to close at $17.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Paper tickets cost more than electronic versions because of the cost of the paper and the cost of collecting the tickets and sending them to a central processing center. The amount of the potential savings wasn’t disclosed.