HOUSTON, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines today reported a July consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 84.2 percent, 2.2 points below the July 2007 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 85.3 percent, 1.7 points below the July 2007 mainline load factor. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline July load factor of 85.5 percent, 2.5 points below the July 2007 domestic mainline load factor, and an international mainline load factor of 85.0 percent, 1.0 point below July 2007.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 76.1 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 99.1 percent.
In July 2008, Continental flew 9.2 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 10.9 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a consolidated traffic increase of 1.6 percent and a capacity increase of 4.3 percent as compared to July 2007. In July 2008, Continental flew 8.3 billion mainline RPMs and 9.7 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 1.1 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 3.2 percent as compared to July 2007. Domestic mainline traffic was 4.2 billion RPMs in July 2008, down 1.7 percent from July 2007, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.9 billion ASMs, up 1.2 percent from July 2007.
For July 2008 both consolidated and mainline passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) are estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to July 2007. For June 2008, consolidated passenger RASM increased 4.1 percent compared to June 2007, while mainline passenger RASM increased 3.5 percent compared to June 2007.
Continental's regional operations had a July load factor of 76.0 percent, 5.5 points below the July 2007 regional load factor. Regional RPMs were 935.8 million and regional ASMs were 1,231.6 million in July 2008, resulting in a traffic increase of 6.0 percent and a capacity increase of 13.7 percent versus July 2007.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,000 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 140 domestic and 139 international destinations. More than 550 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 46,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 69 million passengers per year.
Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For the fifth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline on its 2008 list of World's Most Admired Companies. 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 2007 10-K and its other securities filings, including any amendments thereto, which identify important matters such as the consequences of the company's high leverage, the significant cost of aircraft fuel, the company's transition to a new global alliance, delays in scheduled aircraft deliveries, its high labor and pension costs, service interruptions at one of its hub airports, disruptions to the operations of its regional operators, 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, an economic downturn in the U.S. and global economies 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 JULY 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 4,174,148 4,246,121 -1.7 Percent International 4,092,027 3,929,204 4.1 Percent Transatlantic 2,245,550 2,092,000 7.3 Percent Latin America 1,207,248 1,152,720 4.7 Percent Pacific 639,229 684,484 -6.6 Percent Mainline 8,266,175 8,175,325 1.1 Percent Regional 935,824 882,769 6.0 Percent Consolidated 9,201,999 9,058,094 1.6 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 4,884,063 4,826,157 1.2 Percent International 4,812,171 4,570,083 5.3 Percent Transatlantic 2,660,924 2,427,413 9.6 Percent Latin America 1,366,080 1,310,433 4.2 Percent Pacific 785,167 832,237 -5.7 Percent Mainline 9,696,234 9,396,240 3.2 Percent Regional 1,231,560 1,082,762 13.7 Percent Consolidated 10,927,794 10,479,002 4.3 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 85.5 Percent 88.0 Percent -2.5 Points International 85.0 Percent 86.0 Percent -1.0 Point Transatlantic 84.4 Percent 86.2 Percent -1.8 Points Latin America 88.4 Percent 88.0 Percent 0.4 Points Pacific 81.4 Percent 82.2 Percent -0.8 Points Mainline 85.3 Percent 87.0 Percent -1.7 Points Regional 76.0 Percent 81.5 Percent -5.5 Points Consolidated 84.2 Percent 86.4 Percent -2.2 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 4,699,437 4,773,432 -1.6 Percent Regional 1,685,391 1,585,663 6.3 Percent Consolidated 6,384,828 6,359,095 0.4 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 83,783 81,597 2.7 Percent PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS YEAR-TO-DATE 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 25,985,345 26,515,325 -2.0 Percent International 24,221,298 22,815,288 6.2 Percent Transatlantic 12,589,643 11,434,794 10.1 Percent Latin America 7,418,534 6,924,391 7.1 Percent Pacific 4,213,121 4,456,103 -5.5 Percent Mainline 50,206,643 49,330,613 1.8 Percent Regional 6,021,184 5,800,611 3.8 Percent Consolidated 56,227,827 55,131,224 2.0 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 31,044,992 31,479,038 -1.4 Percent International 30,862,034 28,455,595 8.5 Percent Transatlantic 16,364,910 14,299,369 14.4 Percent Latin America 8,954,560 8,467,478 5.8 Percent Pacific 5,542,564 5,688,748 -2.6 Percent Mainline 61,907,026 59,934,633 3.3 Percent Regional 7,779,084 7,385,365 5.3 Percent Consolidated 69,686,110 67,319,998 3.5 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 83.7 Percent 84.2 Percent -0.5 Points International 78.5 Percent 80.2 Percent -1.7 Points Transatlantic 76.9 Percent 80.0 Percent -3.1 Points Latin America 82.8 Percent 81.8 Percent 1.0 Point Pacific 76.0 Percent 78.3 Percent -2.3 Points Mainline 81.1 Percent 82.3 Percent -1.2 Points Regional 77.4 Percent 78.5 Percent -1.1 Points Consolidated 80.7 Percent 81.9 Percent -1.2 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 29,895,499 30,135,745 -0.8 Percent Regional 10,890,016 10,519,837 3.5 Percent Consolidated 40,785,515 40,655,582 0.3 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 608,313 588,915 3.3 Percent PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS JULY 2008 2007 Change On-Time Performance(1) 76.1% 69.7% 6.4 Points Completion Factor(2) 99.1% 98.9% 0.2 Points June 2008 year-over-year consolidated RASM change 4.1 Percent June 2008 year-over-year mainline RASM change 3.5 Percent July 2008 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change 4.5 - 5.5 Percent July 2008 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change 4.5 - 5.5 Percent July 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.92 Dollars Third Quarter 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.87 Dollars (1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes (2) Mainline Segment Completion Percentage
