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UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES

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): March 1, 2005

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

DELAWARE

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

1-10323

74-2099724

(Commission File Number)

(IRS Employer 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)

______________________________________

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act

(17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act

(17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On March 1, 2005, we issued a press release announcing our February performance and our estimated consolidated breakeven load factor for March. The press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

    1. Exhibits
 

99.1

Press Release for February Performance
     

 

 

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.

 

 

March 1, 2005

By    /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel __________
 

        Jennifer L. Vogel
 

        Senior Vice President, General Counsel
        and Secretary

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1

Press Release for February Performance
   

 

 
News Release

EXHIBIT 99.1

News Release

Contact: Corporate Communications

Houston: 713.324.5080

Email: corpcomm@coair.com

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


 CONTINENTAL AIRLINES REPORTS FEBRUARY 2005

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, Mar. 1, 2005 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a February consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 73.9 percent, 4.5 points above last year's February consolidated load factor. The carrier reported a mainline load factor of 74.4 percent, 4.2 points above last year's February mainline load factor, and a domestic mainline load factor of 76.8 percent, 6.2 points above February 2004. All three were operational records for February. In addition, the airline had an international mainline February load factor of 71.5 percent, 2.0 points above February 2004.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 77.1 percent and a mainline completion factor of 99.6 percent.

In February 2005, Continental flew 5.3 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 7.2 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 6.6 percent and a capacity increase of 0.1 percent as compared to February 2004. In February 2005, Continental flew 4.7 billion mainline RPMs and 6.4 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 5.1 percent and a mainline capacity decrease of 1.0 percent as compared to February 2004. Domestic mainline traffic was 2.7 billion RPMs in February 2005, up 0.7 percent from February 2004, and domestic mainline capacity was 3.6 billion ASMs, down 7.4 percent from February 2004. Year over year changes for RPMs and ASMs were affected by leap year in February 2004.

For the month of February 2005, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 1.0 and 2.0 percent compared to February 2004, while mainline RASM is estimated to have increased between 2.0 and 3.0 percent. For January 2005, both consolidated and mainline RASM increased 4.2 percent compared to January 2004.

Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record February load factor of 70.1 percent, 6.9 points above last year's February load factor. Regional RPMs were 589.1 million and regional ASMs were 840.2 million in February 2005, resulting in a traffic increase of 21.1 percent and a capacity increase of 9.1 percent versus February 2004. The leap year also affected the year over year RPM and ASM changes in Continental Express.

Continental Airlines is the world's sixth-largest airline with more than 3,000 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.  The carrier serves 152 domestic and 122 international destinations, more than any other carrier in the world. Nearly 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines, which include Aeromexico, Air France/KLM, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines.  With 41,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and carries approximately 55 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For the second consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline on its 2005 list of Most Admired Global Companies. Continental was also included in the publication's annual "Top 50" list, which ranks all companies, across a wide variety of industries, that appear in the Global Most Admired Companies issue. Continental 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 the consequences of failing to achieve the $500 million reduction in annual payroll and benefit costs by Feb. 28, 2005, 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, industry capacity decisions, regulatory matters and the seasonal nature of the airline business. 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.

(more)


 

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

FEBRUARY

2005

2004

Change


REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

2,728,051

2,708,124

0.7

Percent

International

2,012,533

1,803,777

11.6

Percent

Transatlantic

807,410

700,760

15.2

Percent

Latin America

734,621

674,961

8.8

Percent

Pacific

470,501

428,057

9.9

Percent

Mainline

4,740,584

4,511,901

5.1

Percent

Regional

589,075

486,637

21.1

Percent

Consolidated

5,329,659

4,998,538

6.6

Percent


AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

3,553,366

3,836,231

(7.4)

Percent

International

2,815,846

2,594,230

8.5

Percent

Transatlantic

1,184,571

1,045,931

13.3

Percent

Latin America

986,968

956,958

3.1

Percent

Pacific

644,307

591,341

9.0

Percent

Mainline

6,369,212

6,430,461

(1.0)

Percent

Regional

840,154

770,143

9.1

Percent

Consolidated

7,209,366

7,200,604

0.1

Percent


PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

76.8 Percent

70.6 Percent

6.2

Points

International

71.5 Percent

69.5 Percent

2.0

Points

Transatlantic

68.2 Percent

67.0 Percent

1.2

Points

Latin America

74.4 Percent

70.5 Percent

3.9

Points

Pacific

73.0 Percent

72.4 Percent

0.6

Points

Mainline

74.4 Percent

70.2 Percent

4.2

Points

Regional

70.1 Percent

63.2 Percent

6.9

Points

Consolidated

73.9 Percent

69.4 Percent

4.5

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

3,162,799

3,087,706

2.4

Percent

Regional

1,071,540

920,156

16.5

Percent

Consolidated

4,234,339

4,007,862

5.7

Percent


CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

85,584

82,362

3.9

Percent

(more)

 

 

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS


YEAR-TO-DATE


2005


2004


Change


REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

5,590,071

5,435,913

2.8

Percent

International

4,397,834

3,839,070

14.6

Percent

Transatlantic

1,792,508

1,503,328

19.2

Percent

Latin America

1,572,836

1,419,076

10.8

Percent

Pacific

1,032,490

916,666

12.6

Percent

Mainline

9,987,905

9,274,983

7.7

Percent

Regional

1,207,675

956,659

26.2

Percent

Consolidated

11,195,580

10,231,642

9.4

Percent


AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

7,314,634

7,758,560

(5.7)

Percent

International

5,939,099

5,341,366

11.2

Percent

Transatlantic

2,511,609

2,156,899

16.4

Percent

Latin America

2,065,461

1,958,804

5.4

Percent

Pacific

1,362,029

1,224,757

11.2

Percent

Mainline

13,253,733

13,099,020

1.2

Percent

Regional

1,736,513

1,537,033

13.0

Percent

Consolidated

14,990,246

14,636,053

2.4

Percent


PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

76.4 Percent

70.1 Percent

6.3

Points

International

74.0 Percent

71.9 Percent

2.1

Points

Transatlantic

71.4 Percent

69.7 Percent

1.7

Points

Latin America

76.1 Percent

72.4 Percent

3.7

Points

Pacific

75.8 Percent

74.8 Percent

1.0

Points

Mainline

75.4 Percent

70.8 Percent

4.6

Points

Regional

69.5 Percent

62.2 Percent

7.3

Points

Consolidated

74.7 Percent

69.9 Percent

4.8

Points


ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

6,520,826

6,220,991

4.8

Percent

Regional

2,176,781

1,800,783

20.9

Percent

Consolidated

8,697,607

8,021,774

8.4

Percent


CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

166,994

157,848

5.8

Percent

(more)

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS


FEBRUARY


2005


2004


Change

On-Time Performance 1

77.1%

79.9%

(2.8)

Points

Completion Factor 2

99.6%

99.7%

(0.1)

Points


YEAR-TO-DATE


2005


2004


Change

On-Time Performance 1

77.5%

79.9%

(2.4)

Points

Completion Factor 2

99.3%

99.5%

(0.2)

Points



January 2005 consolidated breakeven load factor 3,4



81.6



Percent

January 2005 year-over-year consolidated RASM change

4.2

Percent

January 2005 year-over-year mainline RASM change

4.2

Percent

February 2005 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change

1.0-2.0

Percent

February 2005 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

2.0-3.0

Percent

February 2005 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes

1.43

Dollars

February 2005 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor 3

88

Percent

February 2005 actual consolidated load factor 5

73.9

Percent

March 2005 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor 3

84

Percent

 

1 Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

2 Mainline 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 Web site at continental.com in the Investor Relations-

Financial/Traffic Releases section.

4 Gains related to the contribution of XJT shares to the pension plan decreased the breakeven load factor by

6.4 percentage points.

5 Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express

###