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HOUSTON, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported an October consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 78.3 percent, 4.7 points above last year's October consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 78.9 percent, 4.8 points above last year's October mainline load factor. The carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 79.0 percent, 4.6 points above October 2003, and an international mainline load factor of 78.6 percent, 5.1 points above October 2003. All four were operational records for October.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 87.7 percent and a mainline completion factor of 99.9 percent.
In October 2004, Continental flew 6.2 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 7.9 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 14.5 percent and a capacity increase of 7.7 percent as compared to October 2003. In October 2004, Continental flew 5.5 billion mainline RPMs and 7.0 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 13.7 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 6.7 percent as compared to October 2003. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.2 billion RPMs in October 2004, up 6.7 percent from October 2003, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.0 billion ASMs, up 0.5 percent from October 2003.
For the month of October 2004, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 0.0 and 1.0 percent compared to October 2003, while mainline RASM is estimated to have increased between 0.5 and 1.5 percent. For September 2004, consolidated RASM decreased 1.2 percent and mainline RASM decreased 1.0 percent compared to September 2003.
Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record October load factor of 74.3 percent, 4.0 points above last year's October load factor. Regional RPMs were 671.6 million and regional ASMs were 903.9 million in October 2004, resulting in a traffic increase of 21.8 percent and a capacity increase of 15.2 percent versus October 2003.
Continental Airlines is the world's sixth-largest airline with more than 3,000 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Continental serves 151 domestic and 120 international destinations -- more than any other airline in the world -- and nearly 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With 41,000 employees, the airline has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and carries approximately 51 million passengers per year. In 2004, Continental has earned awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. FORTUNE ranks Continental one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, an honor it has earned for six consecutive years, and also ranks Continental as the top airline in its Most Admired Global Companies in 2004. The carrier won major awards at the 2004 OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Airline of the Year," "Best Airline Based in North America" and "Best Executive/Business Class." For more company information, visit 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 2003 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.
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PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS
OCTOBER 2004 2003 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 3,159,437 2,960,476 6.7 Percent
International 2,358,444 1,892,945 24.6 Percent
Transatlantic 1,313,105 973,026 35.0 Percent
Latin America 550,411 478,464 15.0 Percent
Pacific 494,928 441,455 12.1 Percent
Mainline 5,517,881 4,853,420 13.7 Percent
Regional 671,567 551,200 21.8 Percent
Consolidated 6,189,448 5,404,620 14.5 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 3,997,202 3,977,213 0.5 Percent
International 2,999,107 2,576,802 16.4 Percent
Transatlantic 1,574,299 1,240,375 26.9 Percent
Latin America 797,735 740,310 7.8 Percent
Pacific 627,073 596,117 5.2 Percent
Mainline 6,996,309 6,554,015 6.7 Percent
Regional 903,887 784,348 15.2 Percent
Consolidated 7,900,196 7,338,363 7.7 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 79.0 Percent 74.4 Percent 4.6 Points
International 78.6 Percent 73.5 Percent 5.1 Points
Transatlantic 83.4 Percent 78.4 Percent 5.0 Points
Latin America 69.0 Percent 64.6 Percent 4.4 Points
Pacific 78.9 Percent 74.1 Percent 4.8 Points
Mainline 78.9 Percent 74.1 Percent 4.8 Points
Regional 74.3 Percent 70.3 Percent 4.0 Points
Consolidated 78.3 Percent 73.6 Percent 4.7 Points
ONBOARD PASSENGERS
Mainline 3,525,877 3,271,717 7.8 Percent
Regional 1,251,742 1,061,051 18.0 Percent
Consolidated 4,777,619 4,332,768 10.3 Percent
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 95,903 83,463 14.9 Percent
YEAR-TO-DATE 2004 2003 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 31,625,467 30,132,583 5.0 Percent
International 23,359,009 19,104,508 22.3 Percent
Transatlantic 11,329,234 8,873,756 27.7 Percent
Latin America 7,157,639 6,378,134 12.2 Percent
Pacific 4,872,136 3,852,618 26.5 Percent
Mainline 54,984,476 49,237,091 11.7 Percent
Regional 6,118,898 4,690,460 30.5 Percent
Consolidated 61,103,374 53,927,551 13.3 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 40,833,895 39,443,014 3.5 Percent
International 29,969,902 25,907,794 15.7 Percent
Transatlantic 14,045,097 11,603,501 21.0 Percent
Latin America 9,701,397 8,676,529 11.8 Percent
Pacific 6,223,408 5,627,764 10.6 Percent
Mainline 70,803,797 65,350,808 8.3 Percent
Regional 8,603,453 6,892,996 24.8 Percent
Consolidated 79,407,250 72,243,804 9.9 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 77.4 Percent 76.4 Percent 1.0 Points
International 77.9 Percent 73.7 Percent 4.2 Points
Transatlantic 80.7 Percent 76.5 Percent 4.2 Points
Latin America 73.8 Percent 73.5 Percent 0.3 Points
Pacific 78.3 Percent 68.5 Percent 9.8 Points
Mainline 77.7 Percent 75.3 Percent 2.4 Points
Regional 71.1 Percent 68.0 Percent 3.1 Points
Consolidated 76.9 Percent 74.6 Percent 2.3 Points
ONBOARD PASSENGERS
Mainline 35,645,257 33,832,167 5.4 Percent
Regional 11,362,107 9,428,968 20.5 Percent
Consolidated 47,007,364 43,261,135 8.7 Percent
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 845,459 763,007 10.8 Percent
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
OCTOBER 2004 2003 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 87.7% 88.2% (0.5) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.9% 99.8% 0.1 Points
YEAR-TO-DATE 2004 2003 Change
On-Time Performance (A) 79.3% 82.9% (3.6) Points
Completion Factor (B) 99.6% 99.4% 0.2 Points
September 2004 consolidated
breakeven load factor (C,D) 86.3 Percent
October 2004 estimated year-
over-year consolidated
RASM change 0.0-1.0 Percent
October 2004 estimated year-
over-year mainline RASM change 0.5-1.5 Percent
October 2004 estimated average
price per gallon of fuel,
including fuel taxes 1.35 Dollars
October 2004 estimated
consolidated breakeven load
factor (C) 86 Percent
October 2004 actual consolidated
load factor (E) 78.3 Percent
November 2004 estimated consolidated
breakeven load factor (C) 85 Percent
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CONSOLIDATED RASM
2003 vs 2002 2003 vs 2001
September 7.2 Percent 21.6 Percent
October 6.1 Percent 17.1 Percent
November 7.0 Percent 6.3 Percent
December 2.3 Percent 14.0 Percent
2004 vs 2003 2004 vs 2002
January 1.7 Percent 6.1 Percent
February (1.0) Percent (0.3) Percent
March 6.1 Percent (4.2) Percent
April 3.8 Percent 4.8 Percent
May (2.0) Percent 1.5 Percent
June 1.9 Percent 4.1 Percent
July 2.9 Percent 9.8 Percent
August (0.5) Percent 5.0 Percent
September (1.2) Percent 6.0 Percent
October (estimated) 0.0-1.0 Percent 6.0-7.0 Percent
YEAR-OVER-YEAR MAINLINE RASM
2003 vs 2002 2003 vs 2001
September 5.3 Percent 16.7 Percent
October 4.4 Percent 14.1 Percent
November 5.5 Percent 3.7 Percent
December 1.7 Percent 12.0 Percent
2004 vs 2003 2004 vs 2002
January 0.9 Percent 4.5 Percent
February (2.5) Percent (2.9) Percent
March 4.9 Percent (7.4) Percent
April 3.1 Percent 2.1 Percent
May (3.0) Percent (1.1) Percent
June 1.3 Percent 1.6 Percent
July 2.8 Percent 7.8 Percent
August (1.1) Percent 3.2 Percent
September (1.0) Percent 4.2 Percent
October (estimated) 0.5-1.5 Percent 5.0-6.0 Percent
(A) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes
(B) Mainline 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) Income related to fair market value adjustment of trading securities
net of charges related to MD-80 aircraft retirements and other items
reduced the breakeven load factor by 1.4 percentage points.
(E) Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express.
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