HOUSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines today reported a September consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 76.5 percent, 2.5 points below the September 2007 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 77.4 percent, 1.8 points below the September 2007 mainline load factor. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline September load factor of 78.5 percent, 2.6 points below the September 2007 domestic mainline load factor, and an international mainline load factor of 76.3 percent, 0.9 points below September 2007.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on-time arrival rate of 82.1 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 94.4 percent. Continental's operational performance was negatively impacted by Hurricane Ike in mid-September.
In September 2008, Continental flew 6.5 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 8.5 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a consolidated traffic decrease of 10.9 percent and a capacity decrease of 8.1 percent as compared to September 2007. In September 2008, Continental flew 5.8 billion mainline RPMs and 7.5 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic decrease of 10.9 percent and a mainline capacity decrease of 8.8 percent as compared to September 2007. Domestic mainline traffic was 2.9 billion RPMs in September 2008, down 16.2 percent from September 2007, and domestic mainline capacity was 3.7 billion ASMs, down 13.4 percent from September 2007.
For September 2008, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 8.0 and 9.0 percent compared to September 2007, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 9.0 and 10.0 percent compared to September 2007. For August 2008, consolidated passenger RASM increased 5.3 percent compared to August 2007, while mainline passenger RASM increased 6.1 percent compared to August 2007.
Continental ended the third quarter with an unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance of approximately $2.76 billion. This balance excludes all student loan-related auction rate securities.
Continental's regional operations had a September load factor of 69.5 percent, 7.0 points below the September 2007 regional load factor. Regional RPMs were 665.3 million and regional ASMs were 957.7 million in September 2008, resulting in a traffic decrease of 10.6 percent and a capacity decrease of 1.5 percent versus September 2007.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,500 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 122 domestic and 120 international destinations. More than 550 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 44,000 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, go to 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 SEPTEMBER 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 2,889,642 3,448,145 -16.2 Percent International 2,939,376 3,097,052 -5.1 Percent Transatlantic 1,779,464 1,814,237 -1.9 Percent Latin America 591,423 671,055 -11.9 Percent Pacific 568,489 611,760 -7.1 Percent Mainline 5,829,018 6,545,197 -10.9 Percent Regional 665,285 743,920 -10.6 Percent Consolidated 6,494,303 7,289,117 -10.9 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 3,678,834 4,250,123 -13.4 Percent International 3,849,950 4,009,227 -4.0 Percent Transatlantic 2,338,025 2,303,334 1.5 Percent Latin America 774,378 898,551 -13.8 Percent Pacific 737,547 807,342 -8.6 Percent Mainline 7,528,784 8,259,350 -8.8 Percent Regional 957,659 972,306 -1.5 Percent Consolidated 8,486,443 9,231,656 -8.1 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 78.5 Percent 81.1 Percent -2.6 Points International 76.3 Percent 77.2 Percent -0.9 Points Transatlantic 76.1 Percent 78.8 Percent -2.7 Points Latin America 76.4 Percent 74.7 Percent 1.7 Points Pacific 77.1 Percent 75.8 Percent 1.3 Points Mainline 77.4 Percent 79.2 Percent -1.8 Points Regional 69.5 Percent 76.5 Percent -7.0 Points Consolidated 76.5 Percent 79.0 Percent -2.5 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 3,162,971 3,751,807 -15.7 Percent Regional 1,239,585 1,383,022 -10.4 Percent Consolidated 4,402,556 5,134,829 -14.3 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 78,208 86,687 -9.8 Percent PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS YEAR-TO-DATE 2008 2007 Change REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) Domestic 33,059,679 34,292,569 -3.6 Percent International 31,198,331 29,746,500 4.9 Percent Transatlantic 16,593,207 15,282,538 8.6 Percent Latin America 9,173,141 8,672,677 5.8 Percent Pacific 5,431,983 5,791,285 -6.2 Percent Mainline 64,258,010 64,039,069 0.3 Percent Regional 7,603,772 7,456,823 2.0 Percent Consolidated 71,861,782 71,495,892 0.5 Percent AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) Domestic 39,572,803 40,646,586 -2.6 Percent International 39,551,824 37,045,626 6.8 Percent Transatlantic 21,367,474 19,032,122 12.3 Percent Latin America 11,109,442 10,654,600 4.3 Percent Pacific 7,074,908 7,358,904 -3.9 Percent Mainline 79,124,627 77,692,212 1.8 Percent Regional 9,937,632 9,495,359 4.7 Percent Consolidated 89,062,259 87,187,571 2.2 Percent PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR Domestic 83.5 Percent 84.4 Percent -0.9 Points International 78.9 Percent 80.3 Percent -1.4 Points Transatlantic 77.7 Percent 80.3 Percent -2.6 Points Latin America 82.6 Percent 81.4 Percent 1.2 Points Pacific 76.8 Percent 78.7 Percent -1.9 Points Mainline 81.2 Percent 82.4 Percent -1.2 Points Regional 76.5 Percent 78.5 Percent -2.0 Points Consolidated 80.7 Percent 82.0 Percent -1.3 Points ONBOARD PASSENGERS Mainline 37,714,489 38,649,351 -2.4 Percent Regional 13,794,791 13,549,347 1.8 Percent Consolidated 51,509,280 52,198,698 -1.3 Percent CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) Total 770,009 757,688 1.6 Percent PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS SEPTEMBER 2008 2007 Change On-Time Performance (1) 82.1% 88.0% (5.9) Points Completion Factor (2) 94.4% 99.8% (5.4) Points August 2008 year-over-year consolidated RASM change 5.3 Percent August 2008 year-over-year mainline RASM change 6.1 Percent September 2008 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change 8.0 - 9.0 Percent September 2008 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change 9.0 - 10.0 Percent September 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.77 Dollars Third Quarter 2008 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes 3.86 Dollars (1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes (2) Mainline Segment Completion Percentage
