Southwest Airlines posted a second-quarter net profit of $321 million

--its 69th consecutive quarterly profit, up from $278 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the carrier's net income was $121 million, down from $195 million. Southwest thus far is the only commercial U.S. airline to report second-quarter numbers in the black. "We continue to raise fares to avoid nickel and diming our customers with added fees," said CEO Gary Kelly. The carrier's average second-quarter fare rose 8 percent to $114.48. Passenger revenue jumped 11 percent to a record $2.75 billion.