Texas Air Loss Widens to $885.6 Million in ’89 : Airlines: Continental turned a $3.1-million profit for the year. Eastern lost $852.3 million.

HOUSTON — Texas Air Corp., the nation’s largest airline company, said Tuesday that it lost $362.8 million in the fourth quarter of 1989 as subsidiaries Eastern Airlines and Continental Airlines both posted losses.

Texas Air’s deficit was widened from a net loss of $224.4 million in the fourth quarter of 1988.

The latest quarterly loss pushed Texas Air’s loss for 1989 to $885.6 million--a record high for the U.S. airline industry. That compared to its 1988 loss of $718.6 million.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell to $1.7 billion from $2 billion. For the full year, Texas Air’s revenue was $6.7 billion, down from $8.6 billion in 1988.

The October-December figures include a $56.1-million net loss for Houston-based Continental, narrowed from a $99.2-million loss in fourth quarter 1988. Continental’s fourth-quarter revenue was $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion.

For the year, Continental turned a $3.1-million profit, reversing a $315.5-million loss for 1988. Full-year revenue was $5.1 billion, up from $4.7 billion in 1988.

“We are pleased with Continental’s strong improvement in profitability in 1989,” Texas Air Chairman Frank Lorenzo said in a statement. “In addition, given the significantly negative factors affecting all airlines in the fourth quarter, Continental stands out as the only major carrier showing marked improvement in year-over-year fourth-quarter results.”

Continental’s figures included one-time net gains of $81.2 million from asset sales and $10.6 million in retired debt.

Miami-based Eastern, which is reorganizing under federal bankruptcy court supervision, showed a fourth-quarter net loss of $282.6 million on revenue of $482.2 million. In the fourth quarter of 1988, Eastern lost $101.7 million on revenue of $844.4 million.

For all of 1989, Eastern lost $852.3 million on revenue of $1.5 billion, compared to a 1988 loss of $335.4 million on revenue of $3.8 billion.