UAL reports a loss of $53 million

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported a $53-million loss for the fourth quarter Tuesday on a sharp rise in the price of fuel and bad weather that forced a raft of holiday flight cancellations.

The loss was less than expected but nevertheless reflected the damage that high oil and jet fuel costs are doing to the bottom line of the nation’s second-largest carrier and other U.S. airlines.

Chief Executive Glenn Tilton, who has long expressed interest in pairing United with another airline, was mum about talks widely reported to be underway with Delta Air Lines Inc., which is looking at potential combinations with United or Northwest Airlines Corp.

The net loss for the last three months of 2007 amounted to 47 cents a share and was slightly improved from a loss of $61 million, or 55 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue was $5.03 billion, up 10% from a year earlier, partly because of higher fares.

Poor December weather forced United, one of the leading carriers in the Los Angeles market, to cancel about 2,350 flights last month.

Labor discord also is thought to have contributed to its schedule problems, with at least one analyst saying pilots called in sick and refused to fly customary extra hours because of an ongoing dispute with management over pay. The pilots union blamed staffing shortages.

Soaring fuel costs have at least temporarily halted U.S. airlines’ brief run of profitability. United’s biggest rival, American Airlines parent AMR Corp., last week reported its first loss in six quarters -- a $69-million deficit -- because of jet fuel expenses.