HOUSTON, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines today reported an October consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 79.5 percent, 0.2 points above the October 2006 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 79.8 percent, 0.3 points above the October 2006 mainline load factor. Both load factors were records for the month. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 82.5 percent, 0.6 points below October 2006, and an international mainline load factor of 76.7 percent, 1.3 points above October 2006.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 80.4 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 99.6 percent.
In October 2007, Continental flew 7.7 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.7 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 6.0 percent and a capacity increase of 5.7 percent as compared to October 2006. In October 2007, Continental flew 6.9 billion mainline RPMs and 8.6 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 7.3 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 7.0 percent as compared to October 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.7 billion RPMs in October 2007, up 4.6 percent from October 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.5 billion ASMs, up 5.3 percent from October 2006.
For October 2007, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 6.0 and 7.0 percent compared to October 2006, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 7.0 and 8.0 percent compared to October 2006. For September 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 4.2 percent compared to September 2006, while mainline passenger RASM increased 5.1 percent from September 2006.
Continental's regional operations had an October load factor of 76.9 percent, 0.4 points below the October 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 821.5 million and regional ASMs were 1,067.8 million in October 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 3.9 percent and a capacity decrease of 3.4 percent versus October 2006.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 144 domestic and 138 international destinations. More than 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 45,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 67 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture.
For the fourth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline on its 2007 list of World's Most Admired Companies. Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication's 2007 America's Most Admired airline industry list. Additionally, Continental again won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Best Airline Based in North America" for the fourth year in a row, and "Best Executive/Business Class" for the fifth consecutive year. For more company information, visit continental.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not limited to historical facts, but reflect the company's current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future events. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. For examples of such risks and uncertainties, please see the risk factors set forth in the company's 2006 10-K and its other securities filings, including any amendments thereto, which identify important matters such as the consequences of the company's significant financial losses and high leverage, the significant cost of aircraft fuel, its high labor and pension costs, service interruptions at one of its hub airports, disruptions in its computer systems, and industry conditions, including the airline pricing environment, industry capacity decisions, industry consolidation, terrorist attacks, regulatory matters, excessive taxation, the availability and cost of insurance, public health threats and the seasonal nature of the airline business. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law.
PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS OCTOBER 2007 2006 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 3,748,932 3,584,913 4.6 Percent International 3,124,304 2,822,048 10.7 Percent Transatlantic 1,791,893 1,546,101 15.9 Percent Latin America 704,683 655,677 7.5 Percent Pacific 627,728 620,270 1.2 Percent Mainline 6,873,236 6,406,961 7.3 Percent Regional 821,467 854,551 -3.9 Percent Consolidated 7,694,703 7,261,512 6.0 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 4,545,441 4,315,906 5.3 Percent International 4,071,163 3,740,657 8.8 Percent Transatlantic 2,321,631 2,028,144 14.5 Percent Latin America 919,601 901,037 2.1 Percent Pacific 829,931 811,476 2.3 Percent Mainline 8,616,604 8,056,563 7.0 Percent Regional 1,067,799 1,105,020 -3.4 Percent Consolidated 9,684,403 9,161,583 5.7 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 82.5 Percent 83.1 Percent -0.6 Points International 76.7 Percent 75.4 Percent 1.3 Points Transatlantic 77.2 Percent 76.2 Percent 1.0 Points Latin America 76.6 Percent 72.8 Percent 3.8 Points Pacific 75.6 Percent 76.4 Percent -0.8 Points Mainline 79.8 Percent 79.5 Percent 0.3 Points Regional 76.9 Percent 77.3 Percent -0.4 Points Consolidated 79.5 Percent 79.3 Percent 0.2 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 4,115,874 3,947,787 4.3 Percent Regional 1,535,726 1,560,051 -1.6 Percent Consolidated 5,651,600 5,507,838 2.6 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 94,608 96,418 -1.9 Percent PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS YEAR-TO-DATE 2007 2006 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 38,041,502 36,040,992 5.6 Percent International 32,870,803 30,325,388 8.4 Percent Transatlantic 17,074,430 15,134,401 12.8 Percent Latin America 9,377,360 8,930,736 5.0 Percent Pacific 6,419,013 6,260,251 2.5 Percent Mainline 70,912,305 66,366,380 6.8 Percent Regional 8,278,290 8,637,192 -4.2 Percent Consolidated 79,190,595 75,003,572 5.6 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 45,192,026 43,032,146 5.0 Percent International 41,116,790 38,701,836 6.2 Percent Transatlantic 21,353,753 19,188,826 11.3 Percent Latin America 11,574,201 11,365,266 1.8 Percent Pacific 8,188,836 8,147,744 0.5 Percent Mainline 86,308,816 81,733,982 5.6 Percent Regional 10,563,158 11,063,882 -4.5 Percent Consolidated 96,871,974 92,797,864 4.4 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 84.2 Percent 83.8 Percent 0.4 Points International 79.9 Percent 78.4 Percent 1.5 Points Transatlantic 80.0 Percent 78.9 Percent 1.1 Points Latin America 81.0 Percent 78.6 Percent 2.4 Points Pacific 78.4 Percent 76.8 Percent 1.6 Points Mainline 82.2 Percent 81.2 Percent 1.0 Points Regional 78.4 Percent 78.1 Percent 0.3 Points Consolidated 81.7 Percent 80.8 Percent 0.9 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 42,765,225 40,699,650 5.1 Percent Regional 15,085,073 15,323,226 -1.6 Percent Consolidated 57,850,298 56,022,876 3.3 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 852,637 890,567 -4.3 Percent PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS OCTOBER 2007 2006 Change On-Time Performance (1) 80.4% 71.4% 9.0 Points Completion Factor (2) 99.6% 99.4% 0.2 Points September 2007 year-over-year consolidated RASM change 4.2 Percent September 2007 year-over-year mainline RASM change 5.1 Percent October 2007 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change 6.0 - 7.0 Percent October 2007 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change 7.0 - 8.0 Percent October 2007 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 2.33 Dollars Fourth Quarter 2007 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 2.50 Dollars (1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes (2) Mainline Segment Completion Percentage
