HOUSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a systemwide mainline load factor of 72.3 percent for September 2003, 4.4 points above last year's September load factor. In addition, the airline had a September domestic mainline load factor of 71.3 percent, 5.1 points above September 2002, and an international mainline load factor of 73.8 percent, 3.3 points above September 2002.
Continental's traffic on the Sept. 11 anniversary was not significantly impacted when compared to last year. Systemwide mainline traffic on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003 declined 6.8 percent in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 3.3 percent in available seat miles (ASMs) compared to Thursday, Sept. 4, 2003. In comparison, systemwide mainline traffic on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002 was down 42 percent in RPMs and 22 percent in ASMs compared to Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 78.1 percent and a systemwide completion factor of 99.1 percent. The airline's operational results were adversely impacted by a month-long runway resurfacing project at Newark Liberty International Airport, which was completed Sept. 27, 2003, and Hurricane Isabel.
In September 2003, Continental flew 4.6 billion mainline revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.3 billion mainline available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic increase of 2.1 percent and a capacity decrease of 4.0 percent as compared to September 2002. Domestic mainline traffic was 2.7 billion RPMs in September 2003, up 2.7 percent from September 2002, and domestic mainline capacity was 3.7 billion ASMs, down 4.6 percent from September 2002.
Systemwide September 2003 passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to September 2002. For August 2003, RASM increased 4.4 percent as compared to August 2002.
Continental ended the third quarter 2003 with a consolidated cash and short-term investments balance of approximately $1.6 billion (including $139 million of restricted cash). Continental has hedged 60 percent of its projected fourth quarter fuel volume with caps averaging $28.75 per barrel.
Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record September load factor of 66.9 percent, 6.4 points above last year's September load factor. Regional RPMs were 483.3 million and regional ASMs were 722.9 million in September 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 57.0 percent and a capacity increase of 42.2 percent versus September 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
SEPTEMBER 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 2,666,725 2,596,156 2.7 Percent
International 1,890,127 1,866,166 1.3 Percent
Transatlantic 985,373 953,068 3.4 Percent
Latin America 450,696 451,593 (0.2) Percent
Pacific 454,059 461,505 (1.6) Percent
Mainline 4,556,852 4,462,322 2.1 Percent
Regional 483,324 307,756 57.0 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 3,741,969 3,920,862 (4.6) Percent
International 2,561,590 2,648,166 (3.3) Percent
Transatlantic 1,258,044 1,250,382 0.6 Percent
Latin America 690,084 762,163 (9.5) Percent
Pacific 613,462 635,621 (3.5) Percent
Mainline 6,303,559 6,569,028 (4.0) Percent
Regional 722,893 508,432 42.2 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 71.3 Percent 66.2 Percent 5.1 Points
International 73.8 Percent 70.5 Percent 3.3 Points
Transatlantic 78.3 Percent 76.2 Percent 2.1 Points
Latin America 65.3 Percent 59.3 Percent 6.0 Points
Pacific 74.0 Percent 72.6 Percent 1.4 Points
Mainline 72.3 Percent 67.9 Percent 4.4 Points
Regional 66.9 Percent 60.5 Percent 6.4 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 72,436 76,538 (5.4) Percent
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 27,172,081 27,447,448 (1.0) Percent
International 17,211,389 17,998,872 (4.4) Percent
Transatlantic 7,900,730 8,083,443 (2.3) Percent
Latin America 5,899,518 5,808,589 1.6 Percent
Pacific 3,411,141 4,106,840 (16.9) Percent
Mainline 44,383,470 45,446,320 (2.3) Percent
Regional 4,139,264 2,874,976 44.0 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 35,465,800 36,885,107 (3.8) Percent
International 23,330,993 23,672,589 (1.4) Percent
Transatlantic 10,363,126 10,268,720 0.9 Percent
Latin America 7,936,220 8,000,783 (0.8) Percent
Pacific 5,031,647 5,403,086 (6.9) Percent
Mainline 58,796,793 60,557,696 (2.9) Percent
Regional 6,108,624 4,555,079 34.1 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 76.6 Percent 74.4 Percent 2.2 Points
International 73.8 Percent 76.0 Percent (2.2) Points
Transatlantic 76.2 Percent 78.7 Percent (2.5) Points
Latin America 74.3 Percent 72.6 Percent 1.7 Points
Pacific 67.8 Percent 76.0 Percent (8.2) Points
Mainline 75.5 Percent 75.0 Percent 0.5 Points
Regional 67.8 Percent 63.1 Percent 4.7 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 679,544 664,240 2.3 Percent
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
SEPTEMBER 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 78.1% 86.2% (8.1) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.1% 99.7% (0.6) Points
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 82.3% 84.8% (2.5) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.4% 99.8% (0.4) Points
August 2003 consolidated breakeven load factor (C), (D) 65.4 Percent
September 2003 estimated year-over-year RASM change 4.5-5.5 Percent
September 2003 estimated average price per gallon of fuel,
excluding fuel taxes 84.0 Cents
September 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load
factor (C), (D) 69 Percent
September 2003 actual consolidated load factor (E) 71.7 Percent
October 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor (C) 78 Percent
YEAR-OVER-YEAR RASM (E)
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 (10.9) Percent
February (0.4) Percent (11.3) Percent
March (11.8) Percent (17.4) Percent
April (1.1) Percent (11.3) Percent
May 2.0 Percent (4.3) Percent
June 0.4 Percent (5.1) Percent
July 4.8 Percent 0.6 Percent
August 4.4 Percent 1.5 Percent
September (estimated) 4.5-5.5 Percent 16-17 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 8.1 percentage
points in August 2003 and 11 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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