Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL) today reported an August consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 85.3 percent, 2.9 points above the August 2006 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 85.9 percent, 2.9 points above the August 2006 mainline load factor.
The carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 88.0 percent, 2.5 points above August 2006, and an international mainline load factor of 83.7 percent, 3.4 points above August 2006. All four were records for August. Domestic load factor was an all time record.
During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 75.3 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 99.2 percent.
In August 2007, Continental flew 9.1 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 10.6 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 8.1 percent and a capacity increase of 4.4 percent as compared to August 2006. In August 2007, Continental flew 8.2 billion mainline RPMs and 9.5 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 9.7 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 6.0 percent as compared to August 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 4.3 billion RPMs in August 2007, up 8.7 percent from August 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.9 billion ASMs, up 5.6 percent from August 2006.
For August 2007, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 6.5 and 7.5 percent compared to August 2006, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 8.0 and 9.0 percent compared to August 2006. For July 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 3.0 percent compared to July 2006, while mainline passenger RASM increased 4.1 percent from July 2006.
Continental's regional operations had a record August load factor of 80.2 percent, 2.2 points above the August 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 912.3 million and regional ASMs were 1,137.7 million in August 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 4.9 percent and a capacity decrease of 7.5 percent versus August 2006.
PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS
AUGUST 2007 2006 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 4,329,100 3,981,998 8.7 Percent
International 3,834,162 3,456,972 10.9 Percent
Transatlantic 2,033,507 1,765,194 15.2 Percent
Latin America 1,077,232 1,020,205 5.6 Percent
Pacific 723,423 671,573 7.7 Percent
Mainline 8,163,262 7,438,970 9.7 Percent
Regional 912,292 959,435 -4.9 Percent
Consolidated 9,075,554 8,398,405 8.1 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 4,917,424 4,654,891 5.6 Percent
International 4,580,806 4,305,204 6.4 Percent
Transatlantic 2,429,420 2,200,637 10.4 Percent
Latin America 1,288,572 1,260,029 2.3 Percent
Pacific 862,814 844,538 2.2 Percent
Mainline 9,498,230 8,960,095 6.0 Percent
Regional 1,137,690 1,230,027 -7.5 Percent
Consolidated 10,635,920 10,190,122 4.4 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 88.0 Percent 85.5 Percent 2.5 Points
International 83.7 Percent 80.3 Percent 3.4 Points
Transatlantic 83.7 Percent 80.2 Percent 3.5 Points
Latin America 83.6 Percent 81.0 Percent 2.6 Points
Pacific 83.8 Percent 79.5 Percent 4.3 Points
Mainline 85.9 Percent 83.0 Percent 2.9 Points
Regional 80.2 Percent 78.0 Percent 2.2 Points
Consolidated 85.3 Percent 82.4 Percent 2.9 Points
ONBOARD PASSENGERS
Mainline 4,761,799 4,356,907 9.3 Percent
Regional 1,646,488 1,679,477 -2.0 Percent
Consolidated 6,408,287 6,036,384 6.2 Percent
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 82,093 87,743 -6.4 Percent
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PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS
YEAR-TO-DATE 2007 2006 Change
REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)
Domestic 30,844,424 29,155,593 5.8 Percent
International 26,649,448 24,690,106 7.9 Percent
Transatlantic 13,468,301 11,992,425 12.3 Percent
Latin America 8,001,622 7,661,192 4.4 Percent
Pacific 5,179,525 5,036,489 2.8 Percent
Mainline 57,493,872 53,845,699 6.8 Percent
Regional 6,712,903 6,991,667 -4.0 Percent
Consolidated 64,206,775 60,837,366 5.5 Percent
AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)
Domestic 36,396,463 34,653,024 5.0 Percent
International 33,036,399 31,244,916 5.7 Percent
Transatlantic 16,728,788 15,132,687 10.5 Percent
Latin America 9,756,049 9,582,867 1.8 Percent
Pacific 6,551,562 6,529,362 0.3 Percent
Mainline 69,432,862 65,897,940 5.4 Percent
Regional 8,523,055 8,903,610 -4.3 Percent
Consolidated 77,955,917 74,801,550 4.2 Percent
PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR
Domestic 84.7 Percent 84.1 Percent 0.6 Points
International 80.7 Percent 79.0 Percent 1.7 Points
Transatlantic 80.5 Percent 79.2 Percent 1.3 Points
Latin America 82.0 Percent 79.9 Percent 2.1 Points
Pacific 79.1 Percent 77.1 Percent 2.0 Points
Mainline 82.8 Percent 81.7 Percent 1.1 Points
Regional 78.8 Percent 78.5 Percent 0.3 Points
Consolidated 82.4 Percent 81.3 Percent 1.1 Points
ONBOARD PASSENGERS
Mainline 34,897,544 33,177,295 5.2 Percent
Regional 12,166,325 12,341,311 -1.4 Percent
Consolidated 47,063,869 45,518,606 3.4 Percent
CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)
Total 671,296 703,729 -4.6 Percent
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PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
AUGUST 2007 2006 Change
On-Time Performance(1) 75.3% 76.3% (1.0)Points
Completion Factor(2) 99.2% 99.6% (0.4)Points
July 2007 year-over-year
consolidated RASM change 3.0 Percent
July 2007 year-over-year
mainline RASM change 4.1 Percent
August 2007 estimated year-over-year
consolidated RASM change 6.5 - 7.5 Percent
August 2007 estimated year-over-year
mainline RASM change 8.0 - 9.0 Percent
August 2007 estimated average price
per gallon of fuel, including fuel
taxes 2.23 Dollars
Third Quarter 2007 estimated average
price per gallon of fuel, including
fuel taxes 2.21 Dollars
(1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes
(2) Mainline Mileage Completion Percentage
