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HOUSTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a record November systemwide mainline load factor of 75.3 percent, 5.5 points above last year's November load factor. In addition, the airline had a record November domestic mainline load factor of 74.7 percent, 4.5 points above November 2002, and a record international mainline load factor of 76.3 percent, 7.2 points above November 2002.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 78.7 percent and a systemwide mainline completion factor of 99.5 percent.
In November 2003, Continental flew 4.7 billion mainline revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.3 billion mainline available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic increase of 8.7 percent and a capacity increase of 0.7 percent as compared to November 2002. Domestic mainline traffic was 2.9 billion RPMs in November 2003, up 6.7 percent from November 2002, and domestic mainline capacity was 3.9 billion ASMs, up 0.3 percent from November 2002.
Systemwide November 2003 passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to November 2002. For October 2003, RASM increased 4.4 percent as compared to October 2002.
Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record November load factor of 70.2 percent, 7.1 points above last year's November load factor. Regional RPMs were 523.6 million and regional ASMs were 745.6 million in November 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 51.7 percent and a capacity increase of 36.4 percent versus November 2002.
In November, Continental sold its entire investment in Hotwire, resulting in a net gain of approximately $37 million ($23 million after income taxes).
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
NOVEMBER 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 2,911,748 2,729,366 6.7 Percent
International 1,834,240 1,638,384 12.0 Percent
Transatlantic 839,037 713,564 17.6 Percent
Latin America 567,537 549,545 3.3 Percent
Pacific 427,666 375,275 14.0 Percent
Mainline 4,745,988 4,367,750 8.7 Percent
Regional 523,581 345,180 51.7 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 3,897,664 3,887,299 0.3 Percent
International 2,405,252 2,372,670 1.4 Percent
Transatlantic 1,058,339 977,919 8.2 Percent
Latin America 788,703 817,567 (3.5) Percent
Pacific 558,210 577,185 (3.3) Percent
Mainline 6,302,916 6,259,969 0.7 Percent
Regional 745,618 546,736 36.4 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 74.7 Percent 70.2 Percent 4.5 Points
International 76.3 Percent 69.1 Percent 7.2 Points
Transatlantic 79.3 Percent 73.0 Percent 6.3 Points
Latin America 72.0 Percent 67.2 Percent 4.8 Points
Pacific 76.6 Percent 65.0 Percent 11.6 Points
Mainline 75.3 Percent 69.8 Percent 5.5 Points
Regional 70.2 Percent 63.1 Percent 7.1 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 78,219 82,887 (5.6) Percent
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 33,044,331 33,065,200 (0.1) Percent
International 20,939,481 21,454,071 (2.4) Percent
Transatlantic 9,712,792 9,731,025 (0.2) Percent
Latin America 6,945,671 6,837,799 1.6 Percent
Pacific 4,281,018 4,885,247 (12.4) Percent
Mainline 53,983,812 54,519,271 (1.0) Percent
Regional 5,214,041 3,567,616 46.1 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 43,340,678 44,893,518 (3.5) Percent
International 28,314,734 28,704,166 (1.4) Percent
Transatlantic 12,661,840 12,500,825 1.3 Percent
Latin America 9,465,232 9,610,647 (1.5) Percent
Pacific 6,187,662 6,592,694 (6.1) Percent
Mainline 71,655,412 73,597,684 (2.6) Percent
Regional 7,638,613 5,650,390 35.2 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 76.2 Percent 73.7 Percent 2.5 Points
International 74.0 Percent 74.7 Percent (0.7) Points
Transatlantic 76.7 Percent 77.8 Percent (1.1) Points
Latin America 73.4 Percent 71.1 Percent 2.3 Points
Pacific 69.2 Percent 74.1 Percent (4.9) Points
Mainline 75.3 Percent 74.1 Percent 1.2 Points
Regional 68.3 Percent 63.1 Percent 5.2 Points
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 841,226 834,500 0.8 Percent
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
NOVEMBER 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 78.7% 83.6% (4.9) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.5% 99.8% (0.3) Points
YEAR-TO-DATE 2003 2002 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 82.5% 84.1% (1.6) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.5% 99.8% (0.3) Points
October 2003 consolidated breakeven load factor (C) 77.1 Percent
November 2003 estimated year-over-year RASM change 4.5-5.5 Percent
November 2003 estimated average price per gallon of
fuel, excluding fuel taxes 86.0 Cents
November 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load
factor (C),(D) 77 Percent
November 2003 actual consolidated load factor (E) 74.8 Percent
December 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load
factor (C) 79 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 (11.0) Percent
February (0.4) Percent (11.3) Percent
March (11.7) Percent (17.4) Percent
April (1.0) 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 4.4 Percent 14.1 Percent
November (estimated) 4.5-5.5 Percent 3.0-4.0 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) Net gain on sale of investment in Hotwire accounts for approximately
5 percentage points in November 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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