Earnings Rise At United Airlines

United Airlines’ parent company said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings rose 70 percent from a year ago as a big gain from the sale of its stake in a computerized reservations service beefed up its results.

Its earnings were up a more modest 5 percent without the gain.

Trans World Airlines Inc., meanwhile, said it earned $2.4 million in the July-September period, its first profitable quarter since the crash of Flight 800 15 months ago.