DALLAS -- Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak ended. So did Cal Ripken Jr.'s string of consecutive games. Will Southwest Airlines' mark of 69 straight profitable quarters be the next record to fall?

On Thursday, the low-fare pioneer reported a bigger second-quarter profit than Wall Street expected, thanks again to financial deals that lowered its fuel spending.

But the whispers grew that Southwest might soon succumb to the same combination of high fuel costs and a sagging economy that have already plunged other U.S. airlines into big losses this year.

After growing earlier this year, Southwest has stopped adding flights, and the chief executive said Thursday that the company might continue the freeze right into 2009.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said Thursday it earned $321 million, or 44 cents per share in the quarter ended June 30.

That's up 15 percent from a year ago when the airline earned $278 million, or 36 cents per share.

Excluding special items, Southwest said it would have earned $121 million, or 16 cents per share. Analysts, who also skip the items, had forecast 12 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose 11 percent, to $2.87 billion, as Southwest raised fares and carried more passengers.

Still, shares of Southwest fell 98 cents, or 6.2 percent, to close at $14.90. Other airline stocks fell more sharply as the price of oil rose again after a short slump. Light, sweet crude gained $1.05 a barrel to settle at $125.49 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Southwest has not had a losing quarter since early 1991, plugging ahead through two major industry downturns in the past seven years mostly because of fuel hedging -- financial transactions that lock in lower prices for fuel.

Those deals can lose money if oil prices fall, but they've been golden for Southwest. In the second quarter, they were worth $511 million. Without them, Southwest would have lost money.

The analysts surveyed by Thomson expect the company to earn 6 cents per share in the third quarter and just a penny per share in the fourth.