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HOUSTON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported an October 2003 systemwide mainline load factor of 74.0 percent, an October record and 4.6 points above last year's October load factor. In addition, the airline had a record October domestic mainline load factor of 74.4 percent, 4.3 points above October 2002, and an international mainline load factor of 73.4 percent, 5.1 points above October 2002.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 88.2 percent and a systemwide completion factor of 99.8 percent.
In October 2003, Continental flew 4.9 billion mainline revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.6 billion mainline available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic increase of 3.1 percent and a capacity decrease of 3.3 percent as compared to October 2002. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.0 billion RPMs in October 2003, up 2.5 percent from October 2002, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.0 billion ASMs, down 3.5 percent from October 2002.
Mainline October 2003 passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 3.5 and 4.5 percent compared to October 2002. For September 2003, RASM increased 5.3 percent as compared to September 2002.
Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record October load factor of 70.3 percent, 7.0 points above last year's October load factor. Regional RPMs were 551.2 million and regional ASMs were 784.3 million in October 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 58.6 percent and a capacity increase of 43.0 percent versus October 2002.
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 2002 10-K and its other securities filings, which identify important matters such as terrorist attacks, domestic and international economic conditions, the significant cost of aircraft fuel, labor costs, competition, regulatory matters and industry conditions, including the demand for air travel, the airline pricing environment and industry capacity decisions. 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.
PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS
OCTOBER 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 2,960,474 2,888,386 2.5 Percent
International 1,892,847 1,816,814 4.2 Percent
Transatlantic 973,007 934,017 4.2 Percent
Latin America 478,448 479,665 (0.3) Percent
Pacific 441,392 403,132 9.5 Percent
Mainline 4,853,321 4,705,200 3.1 Percent
Regional 551,200 347,460 58.6 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 3,977,213 4,121,112 (3.5) Percent
International 2,578,463 2,658,906 (3.0) Percent
Transatlantic 1,240,375 1,254,185 (1.1) Percent
Latin America 740,283 792,297 (6.6) Percent
Pacific 597,804 612,423 (2.4) Percent
Mainline 6,555,676 6,780,017 (3.3) Percent
Regional 784,348 548,575 43.0 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 74.4 Percent 70.1 Percent 4.3 Points
International 73.4 Percent 68.3 Percent 5.1 Points
Transatlantic 78.4 Percent 74.5 Percent 3.9 Points
Latin America 64.6 Percent 60.5 Percent 4.1 Points
Pacific 73.8 Percent 65.8 Percent 8.0 Points
Mainline 74.0 Percent 69.4 Percent 4.6 Points
Regional 70.3 Percent 63.3 Percent 7.0 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 83,463 87,373 (4.5) Percent
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 30,132,581 30,335,834 (0.7) Percent
International 19,104,410 19,815,687 (3.6) Percent
Transatlantic 8,873,737 9,017,461 (1.6) Percent
Latin America 6,378,118 6,288,254 1.4 Percent
Pacific 3,852,555 4,509,972 (14.6) Percent
Mainline 49,236,991 50,151,521 (1.8) Percent
Regional 4,690,460 3,222,436 45.6 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 39,443,014 41,006,219 (3.8) Percent
International 25,909,455 26,331,494 (1.6) Percent
Transatlantic 11,603,501 11,522,905 0.7 Percent
Latin America 8,676,503 8,793,080 (1.3) Percent
Pacific 5,629,451 6,015,509 (6.4) Percent
Mainline 65,352,469 67,337,713 (2.9) Percent
Regional 6,892,996 5,103,655 35.1 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 76.4 Percent 74.0 Percent 2.4 Points
International 73.7 Percent 75.3 Percent (1.6) Points
Transatlantic 76.5 Percent 78.3 Percent (1.8) Points
Latin America 73.5 Percent 71.5 Percent 2.0 Points
Pacific 68.4 Percent 75.0 Percent (6.6) Points
Mainline 75.3 Percent 74.5 Percent 0.8 Points
Regional 68.0 Percent 63.1 Percent 4.9 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 763,007 751,613 1.5 Percent
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
OCTOBER 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 88.2% 78.4% 9.8 Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.8% 99.5% 0.3 Points
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 82.9% 84.2% (1.3) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.4% 99.7% (0.3) Points
September 2003 consolidated breakeven
load factor (C),(D) 65.7 Percent
October 2003 estimated year-over-year
RASM change 3.5-4.5 Percent
October 2003 estimated average price
per gallon of fuel, excluding fuel taxes 81.0 Cents
October 2003 estimated consolidated
breakeven load factor (C) 79 Percent
October 2003 actual consolidated load
factor (E) 73.6 Percent
November 2003 estimated consolidated
breakeven load factor (C) 80 Percent
YEAR-OVER-YEAR RASM (F)
2002 vs 2001 2002 vs 2000
May (6.3) Percent (15.1) Percent
June (5.5) Percent (15.5) Percent
July (4.0) Percent (13.5) Percent
August (2.7) Percent (15.2) Percent
September 10.8 Percent (17.6) Percent
October 9.3 Percent (15.7) Percent
November (1.7) Percent (18.4) Percent
December 10.1 Percent (5.7) Percent
2003 vs 2002 2003 vs 2001
January 3.5 Percent (11) Percent
February (0.4) Percent (11.3) Percent
March (11.7) Percent (17.4) Percent
April (1) Percent (11.3) Percent
May 2.0 Percent (4.3) Percent
June 0.3 Percent (5.2) Percent
July 4.9 Percent 0.7 Percent
August 4.4 Percent 1.5 Percent
September 5.3 Percent 16.7 Percent
October (estimated) 3.5-4.5 Percent 13-14 Percent
(A) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes
(B) System Mileage Completion Percentage
(C) Consolidated load factor (including Continental Airlines and
Continental Express) needed to break even on a consolidated net income
basis. Actual consolidated breakeven load factor may vary
significantly from estimates depending on actual passenger revenue
yields, fuel price and other factors. Month-to-date consolidated load
factor information can be found on Continental's website at
continental.com in the Investor Relations-Financial/Traffic Releases
section.
(D) Gains on disposition of ExpressJet stock account for 14.6 percentage
points in September 2003
(E) Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express
(F) CAL has been releasing RASM data since May 2001
SOURCE Continental Airlines
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