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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

May 1, 2003

 

 

 

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

1-10323

74-2099724

(State or other jurisdiction

(Commission File Number)

(IRS Employer

of incorporation)

  

Identification No.)

 

1600 Smith Street, Dept. HQSEO, Houston, Texas

77002

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

(713) 324-2950

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Item 5. Other Events.

On May 1, 2003, we issued a press release announcing our April performance and our estimated consolidated breakeven load factor for May. The press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

    1. Exhibits

      1. Press Release

 

 

SIGNATURE

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Continental Airlines, Inc. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
 

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC.

 

 

May 1, 2003

By /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel                           
 

Jennifer L. Vogel
 

Vice President, General Counsel

and Secretary

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

99.1

Press Release

 

 

 

 
News Release

EXHIBIT 99.1

News Release

Contact: Corporate Communications

Houston: 713.324.5080

Email: corpcomm@coair.com

News archive: continental.com/news/ Address: P.O. Box 4607, Houston, TX 77210-4607

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR APRIL 2003

HOUSTON, May 1, 2003 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported an April 2003 systemwide mainline jet load factor of 72.4 percent, 1.1 points below last year's April load factor. Continental reported a record April domestic mainline jet load factor of 75.5 percent and an international mainline jet load factor of 67.5 percent for April 2003.

The airline reported excellent operational performance for the month with an on-time arrival rate of 88.4 percent and a completion factor of 99.7 percent for its mainline jet operations.

In April 2003, Continental flew 4.5 billion mainline jet revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.2 billion mainline jet available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic decrease of 8.4 percent and a capacity decrease of 7.0 percent as compared to April 2002. Domestic mainline jet traffic was 2.9 billion RPMs in April 2003, down 6.7 percent from April 2002, and April 2003 domestic mainline jet capacity was 3.8 billion ASMs, down 7.8 percent from April 2002.

Systemwide April 2003 mainline jet passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have been between flat and a decrease of 2 percent compared to April 2002. For March 2003, RASM decreased 11.8 percent as compared to March 2002.

ExpressJet Airlines, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines doing business as Continental Express, separately reported a record April load factor of 66.9 percent for April 2003, 4.2 points above last year's April load factor. ExpressJet flew 430.5 million RPMs and 643.8 million ASMs in April 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 37.4 percent and a capacity increase of 28.8 percent versus April 2002.

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CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR APRIL 2003/PAGE 2

In addition, earlier today, ExpressJet Holdings filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the 34 million shares of ExpressJet Holdings common stock held by Continental. This filing was made, at Continental's request pursuant to a registration rights agreement with ExpressJet Holdings, on the first day on which ExpressJet Holdings was eligible to file a shelf registration on Form S-3. Continental has previously announced its intention to sell or otherwise dispose of some or all of its interest in ExpressJet Holdings, subject to market conditions. Subject to such registration statement becoming effective, Continental will have additional flexibility regarding the manner of any future sale or disposition of its ExpressJet Holdings common stock.

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.

 

 

 

 

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CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR APRIL 2003/PAGE 3

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

APRIL

  

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

2,863,145

3,069,792

(6.7) Percent
         
 

International

1,603,220

1,803,581

(11.1) Percent
 

Transatlantic

721,617

790,050

(8.7) Percent 
 

Latin America

619,070

618,049

0.2  Percent 
 

Pacific

262,533

395,482

(33.6) Percent 
         
 

Total Jet

4,466,366

4,873,373

(8.4) Percent
         
 

ExpressJet

430,508

313,328

37.4  Percent
         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

3,792,429

4,113,381

(7.8) Percent
         
 

International

2,374,695

2,520,454

(5.8) Percent
 

Transatlantic

1,002,751

1,061,226

(5.5) Percent 
 

Latin America

901,113

892,495

1.0 Percent 
 

Pacific

470,832

566,733

(16.9) Percent
         
 

Total Jet

6,167,124

6,633,835

(7.0) Percent
         
 

ExpressJet

643,806

500,030

28.8  Percent 
         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

    
 

Domestic

75.5 Percent

74.6 Percent

0.9  Points
         
 

International

67.5 Percent

71.6 Percent

(4.1) Points
 

Transatlantic

72.0 Percent 

74.4 Percent 

(2.4) Points 
 

Latin America

68.7 Percent 

69.2 Percent 

(0.5) Points 
 

Pacific

55.8 Percent 

69.8 Percent 

(14.0) Points 
         
 

Total Jet

72.4 Percent

73.5 Percent

(1.1) Points
         
 

ExpressJet

66.9 Percent

62.7 Percent

4.2  Points
         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

    
 

Total

74,556

72,540

2.8  Percent

 

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CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR APRIL 2003/PAGE 4

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

  

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

10,924,867

11,663,364

(6.3) Percent
         
 

International

6,815,366

7,242,430

(5.9) Percent
 

Transatlantic

2,830,540

2,907,584

(2.6) Percent 
 

Latin America

2,606,732

2,669,672

(2.4) Percent 
 

Pacific

1,378,094

1,665,174

(17.2) Percent 
         
 

Total Jet

17,740,233

18,905,794

(6.2) Percent
         
 

ExpressJet

1,508,895

1,148,235

31.4  Percent
         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

15,132,735

15,982,098

(5.3) Percent
         
 

International

10,110,653

9,603,162

5.3  Percent
 

Transatlantic

4,234,235

3,866,720

9.5 Percent 
 

Latin America

3,652,339

3,550,456

2.9 Percent 
 

Pacific

2,224,079

2,185,986

1.7 Percent 
         
 

Total Jet

25,243,388

25,585,260

(1.3) Percent
         
 

ExpressJet

2,411,113

1,923,805

25.3  Percent 
         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

    
 

Domestic

72.2 Percent

73.0 Percent

(0.8) Points
         
 

International

67.4 Percent

75.4 Percent

(8.0) Points
 

Transatlantic

66.8 Percent 

75.2 Percent 

(8.4) Points 
 

Latin America

71.4 Percent 

75.2 Percent 

(3.8) Points 
 

Pacific

62.0 Percent 

76.2 Percent 

(14.2) Points 
         
 

Total Jet

70.3 Percent

73.9 Percent

(3.6) Points
         
 

ExpressJet

62.6 Percent

59.7 Percent

2.9  Points
         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

    
 

Total

308,130

280,723

9.8  Percent

 

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CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR APRIL 2003/PAGE 5

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

APRIL

  

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

88.4%

87.9%

0.5  Points
         

Completion Factor2

99.7%

99.9%

(0.2) Points
       
         

YEAR-TO-DATE

  

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

83.6%

85.9%

(2.3) Points
         

Completion Factor2

99.0%

99.9%

(0.9) Points
       
     

March 2003 actual consolidated breakeven load factor3, 5

86.8  Percent
         

April 2003 estimated year-over-year RASM change

(2)-0 Percent
         

April 2003 estimated average price per gallon of fuel,

                       excluding fuel taxes

92.0 Cents   
         

April 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3

81 Percent
         

April 2003 actual consolidated load factor4

71.9  Percent
         

May 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3, 6

54 Percent
 

YEAR-OVER-YEAR RASM7

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

3.6 Percent

(10.9) Percent

  

February

(0.4) Percent

(11.3) Percent

  

March

(11.8) Percent

(17.4) Percent

  

April (estimated)

(2)-0 Percent

(10-12) Percent

  

1 Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

2 System Mileage Completion Percentage

3 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.

4 Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express

5 After-tax special charges of $41 million account for 8.3 percentage points

6 Estimated security fee reimbursement of $171 million (pre-tax) expected to be received in May, accounts for 22 percentage points.

7 CAL has been releasing RASM data since May 2001

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