HOUSTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines today reported an August consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 83.9 percent, 1.4 points below the August 2007 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 84.9 percent, 1.0 point below the August 2007 mainline load factor. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline August load factor of 86.3 percent, 1.7 points below the August 2007 domestic mainline load factor, and an international mainline load factor of 83.4 percent, 0.3 points below August 2007.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 73.8 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 99.4 percent.
In August 2008, Continental flew 9.1 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 10.9 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a consolidated traffic increase of 0.7 percent and a capacity increase of 2.4 percent as compared to August 2007. In August 2008, Continental flew 8.2 billion mainline RPMs and 9.7 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 0.7 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 2.0 percent as compared to August 2007. Domestic mainline traffic was 4.2 billion RPMs in August 2008, down 3.3 percent from August 2007, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.8 billion ASMs, down 1.4 percent from August 2007.
For August 2008, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to August 2007, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 5.5 and 6.5 percent compared to August 2007. For July 2008, consolidated passenger RASM increased 4.8 percent compared to July 2007, while mainline passenger RASM increased 4.9 percent compared to July 2007.
Continental's regional operations had an August load factor of 76.4 percent, 3.8 points below the August 2007 regional load factor. Regional RPMs were 917.3 million and regional ASMs were 1,200.8 million in August 2008, resulting in a traffic increase of 0.5 percent and a capacity increase of 5.5 percent versus August 2007.
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 AUGUST 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 4,184,702 4,329,100 -3.3 Percent International 4,037,658 3,834,162 5.3 Percent Transatlantic 2,224,100 2,033,507 9.4 Percent Latin America 1,163,184 1,077,232 8.0 Percent Pacific 650,374 723,423 -10.1 Percent Mainline 8,222,360 8,163,262 0.7 Percent Regional 917,293 912,292 0.5 Percent Consolidated 9,139,653 9,075,554 0.7 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 4,848,977 4,917,424 -1.4 Percent International 4,839,841 4,580,806 5.7 Percent Transatlantic 2,664,539 2,429,420 9.7 Percent Latin America 1,380,505 1,288,572 7.1 Percent Pacific 794,797 862,814 -7.9 Percent Mainline 9,688,818 9,498,230 2.0 Percent Regional 1,200,818 1,137,688 5.5 Percent Consolidated 10,889,636 10,635,918 2.4 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 86.3 Percent 88.0 Percent -1.7 Points International 83.4 Percent 83.7 Percent -0.3 Points Transatlantic 83.5 Percent 83.7 Percent -0.2 Points Latin America 84.3 Percent 83.6 Percent 0.7 Points Pacific 81.8 Percent 83.8 Percent -2.0 Points Mainline 84.9 Percent 85.9 Percent -1.0 Points Regional 76.4 Percent 80.2 Percent -3.8 Points Consolidated 83.9 Percent 85.3 Percent -1.4 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 4,656,022 4,761,799 -2.2 Percent Regional 1,665,162 1,646,488 1.1 Percent Consolidated 6,321,184 6,408,287 -1.4 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 83,488 82,086 1.7 Percent PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS YEAR-TO-DATE 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 30,170,036 30,844,424 -2.2 Percent International 28,258,956 26,649,450 6.0 Percent Transatlantic 14,813,743 13,468,301 10.0 Percent Latin America 8,581,718 8,001,623 7.2 Percent Pacific 4,863,495 5,179,526 -6.1 Percent Mainline 58,428,992 57,493,874 1.6 Percent Regional 6,938,476 6,712,903 3.4 Percent Consolidated 65,367,468 64,206,777 1.8 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 35,893,969 36,396,463 -1.4 Percent International 35,701,874 33,036,399 8.1 Percent Transatlantic 19,029,449 16,728,788 13.8 Percent Latin America 10,335,064 9,756,049 5.9 Percent Pacific 6,337,361 6,551,562 -3.3 Percent Mainline 71,595,843 69,432,862 3.1 Percent Regional 8,979,902 8,523,053 5.4 Percent Consolidated 80,575,745 77,955,915 3.4 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 84.1 Percent 84.7 Percent -0.6 Points International 79.2 Percent 80.7 Percent -1.5 Points Transatlantic 77.8 Percent 80.5 Percent -2.7 Points Latin America 83.0 Percent 82.0 Percent 1.0 Point Pacific 76.7 Percent 79.1 Percent -2.4 Points Mainline 81.6 Percent 82.8 Percent -1.2 Points Regional 77.3 Percent 78.8 Percent -1.5 Points Consolidated 81.1 Percent 82.4 Percent -1.3 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 34,551,518 34,897,544 -1.0 Percent Regional 12,555,178 12,166,325 3.2 Percent Consolidated 47,106,696 47,063,869 0.1 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 691,801 671,001 3.1 Percent PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS AUGUST 2008 2007 Change On-Time Performance (1) 73.8% 75.3% (1.5)Points Completion Factor (2) 99.4% 99.2% 0.2 Points July 2008 year-over-year consolidated RASM change 4.8 Percent July 2008 year-over-year mainline RASM change 4.9 Percent August 2008 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change 4.5 - 5.5 Percent August 2008 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change 5.5 - 6.5 Percent August 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.87 Dollars Third Quarter 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.81 Dollars (1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes (2) Mainline Segment Completion Percentage
