News Release
Continental Airlines Reports Record Load Factor in April
HOUSTON, May 5, 1998 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAI.B AND CAI.A) today reported its highest April load factor ever of 73.2 percent. The April load factor was 2.8 points higher than one year ago. The domestic load factor of 74.1 percent was also a record for April.
In April 1998, Continental flew 4.5 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.1 billion available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 16.6 percent and a capacity increase of 12.1 percent versus April 1997. International traffic was 1.4 billion RPMs, up 29.4 percent from April 1997. International capacity was 2.0 billion ASMs, up 26.6 percent from last year.
Continental's wholly owned Continental Express subsidiary reported that its April load factor was 59.7 percent, up 4.0 points from last year, based on 124.6 million RPMs and 208.7 million ASMs. Continental Express April traffic was up 36.5 percent and April capacity was up 27.3 percent from last year.
PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS
| APRIL | 1998 | 1997 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) | ||||
| Domestic | 3,028,118 | 2,718,928 | 11.4 | Percent |
| International | 1,423,885 | 1,100,176 | 29.4 | Percent |
| Total Jet | 4,452,003 | 3,819,104 | 16.6 | Percent |
| Cont'l. Express | 124,609 | 91,282 | 36.5 | Percent |
| AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) | ||||
| Domestic | 4,084,903 | 3,848,454 | 6.1 | Percent |
| International | 1,997,397 | 1,578,130 | 26.6 | Percent |
| Total Jet | 6,082,300 | 5,426,584 | 12.1 | Percent |
| Cont'l. Express | 208,652 | 163,910 | 27.3 | Percent |
| PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR | ||||
| Domestic | 74.1 Percent | 70.6 Percent | 3.5 | Points |
| International | 71.3 Percent | 69.7 Percent | 1.6 | Points |
| Total Jet | 73.2 Percent | 70.4 Percent | 2.8 | Points |
| Cont'l. Express | 59.7 Percent | 55.7 Percent | 4.0 | Points |
| CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) | ||||
| Total | 72,693 | 57,161 | 27.2 | Percent |
| YEAR-TO-DATE | 1998 | 1997 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000) | ||||
| Domestic | 10,940,533 | 10,343,108 | 5.8 | Percent |
| International | 5,584,311 | 4,366,879 | 27.9 | Percent |
| Total Jet | 16,524,845 | 14,709,987 | 12.3 | Percent |
| Cont'l. Express | 420,808 | 311,008 | 35.3 | Percent |
| AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000) | ||||
| Domestic | 15,649,042 | 15,030,195 | 4.1 | Percent |
| International | 7,956,391 | 6,228,286 | 27.7 | Percent |
| Total Jet | 23,605,433 | 21,258,481 | 11.0 | Percent |
| Cont'l. Express | 771,349 | 612,405 | 26.0 | Percent |
| PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR | ||||
| Domestic | 69.9 Percent | 68.8 Percent | 1.1 | Points |
| International | 70.2 Percent | 70.1 Percent | 0.1 | Points |
| Total Jet | 70.0 Percent | 69.2 Percent | 0.8 | Points |
| Cont'l. Express | 54.6 Percent | 50.8 Percent | 3.8 | Points |
| CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000) | ||||
| Total | 287,231 | 215,832 | 33.1 | Percent |