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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): April 3, 2006

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 April 3, 2006, we issued a press release announcing our March 2006 performance. The press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits
 

99.1

Press Release for March 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.

 

 

April 3, 2006

By   /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel

       Jennifer L. Vogel

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Corporate Compliance Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

        
 

       
     

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1

Press Release for March 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 MARCH 2006

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, April 3, 2006 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a March consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 81.2 percent, 0.7 points above last year's March consolidated load factor. The carrier reported a mainline load factor of 81.8 percent, 0.5 points above the March 2005 mainline load factor, and a domestic mainline load factor of 83.4 percent, 1.2 points above March 2005. All three were records for March. In addition, the airline had an international mainline March load factor of 79.8 percent, 0.3 points below March 2005.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 71.0 percent and a systemwide mainline completion factor of 99.7 percent.

In March 2006, Continental flew 7.7 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.5 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 11.2 percent and a capacity increase of 10.1 percent as compared to March 2005. In March 2006, Continental flew 6.8 billion mainline RPMs and 8.3 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 10.2 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 9.5 percent as compared to March 2005. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.7 billion RPMs in March 2006, up 4.9 percent from March 2005, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.5 billion ASMs, up 3.3 percent from March 2005.

For the month of March 2006, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 7.0 and 8.0 percent compared to March 2005, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to March 2005.  For February 2006, consolidated passenger RASM increased 8.5 percent compared to February 2005 while mainline passenger RASM increased 6.7 percent from February 2005.

Continental ended the first quarter 2006 with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of approximately $2.01 billion.

Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) had a record March load factor of 77.5 percent, 3.3 points above last year's March load factor. Regional RPMs were 891 million and regional ASMs were 1,149 million in March 2006, resulting in a traffic increase of 19.4 percent and a capacity increase of 14.4 percent versus March 2005.

Continental Airlines is the world's sixth-largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 151 domestic and 133 international destinations - more than any other carrier in the world. More than 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 42,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 61 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture.

For the third consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline on its 2006 list of Most Admired Global Companies. Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication's 2006 America's Most Admired airline industry list. In 2005, Continental again won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Airline of the Year" and "Best Airline Based in North America" for the second consecutive year, and "Best Executive/Business Class" for the third consecutive year. For more company information, visit continental.com.

 

 

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

MARCH

2006

2005

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

3,745,395

3,571,219

4.9

Percent

International

3,053,371

2,599,909

17.4

Percent

Transatlantic

1,396,606

1,194,678

16.9

Percent

Latin America

990,516

873,053

13.5

Percent

Pacific

666,249

532,179

25.2

Percent

Mainline

6,798,766

6,171,128

10.2

Percent

Regional

891,063

746,054

19.4

Percent

Consolidated

7,689,829

6,917,183

11.2

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

4,489,270

4,344,560

3.3

Percent

International

3,826,689

3,247,279

17.8

Percent

Transatlantic

1,769,530

1,438,806

23.0

Percent

Latin America

1,231,650

1,101,040

11.9

Percent

Pacific

825,509

707,434

16.7

Percent

Mainline

8,315,959

7,591,840

9.5

Percent

Regional

1,149,345

1,004,967

14.4

Percent

Consolidated

9,465,304

8,596,807

10.1

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

83.4 Percent

82.2 Percent

1.2

Points

International

79.8 Percent

80.1 Percent

-0.3

Points

Transatlantic

78.9 Percent

83.0 Percent

-4.1

Points

Latin America

80.4 Percent

79.3 Percent

1.1

Points

Pacific

80.7 Percent

75.2 Percent

5.5

Points

Mainline

81.8 Percent

81.3 Percent

0.5

Points

Regional

77.5 Percent

74.2 Percent

3.3

Points

Consolidated

81.2 Percent

80.5 Percent

0.7

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

4,323,402

4,078,136

6.0

Percent

Regional

1,578,415

1,346,897

17.2

Percent

Consolidated

5,901,818

5,425,033

8.8

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

98,866

93,727

5.5

Percent

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

2006

2005

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

9,968,726

9,161,367

8.8

Percent

International

8,049,421

6,997,743

15.0

Percent

Transatlantic

3,550,703

2,987,185

18.9

Percent

Latin America

2,697,336

2,445,888

10.3

Percent

Pacific

1,801,382

1,564,670

15.1

Percent

Mainline

18,018,147

16,159,110

11.5

Percent

Regional

2,317,954

1,952,690

18.7

Percent

Consolidated

20,336,101

18,111,800

12.3

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

12,308,572

11,659,233

5.6

Percent

International

10,725,657

9,186,378

16.8

Percent

Transatlantic

4,845,140

3,950,414

22.6

Percent

Latin America

3,475,827

3,166,501

9.8

Percent

Pacific

2,404,690

2,069,463

16.2

Percent

Mainline

23,034,229

20,845,611

10.5

Percent

Regional

3,081,950

2,739,940

12.5

Percent

Consolidated

26,116,179

23,585,551

10.7

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

81.0 Percent

78.6 Percent

2.4

Points

International

75.0 Percent

76.2 Percent

-1.2

Points

Transatlantic

73.3 Percent

75.6 Percent

-2.3

Points

Latin America

77.6 Percent

77.2 Percent

0.4

Points

Pacific

74.9 Percent

75.6 Percent

-0.7

Points

Mainline

78.2 Percent

77.5 Percent

0.7

Points

Regional

75.2 Percent

71.3 Percent

3.9

Points

Consolidated

77.9 Percent

76.8 Percent

1.1

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

11,487,932

10,599,130

8.4

Percent

Regional

4,106,919

3,523,680

16.6

Percent

Consolidated

15,594,851

14,122,810

10.4

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

262,984

260,724

0.9

Percent

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

MARCH

2006

2005

Change

On-Time Performance 1

71.0%

72.9%

(1.9)

Points

Completion Factor 2

99.7%

99.7%

0.0

Points

February 2006 year-over-year consolidated RASM change

8.5

Percent

February 2006 year-over-year mainline RASM change

6.7

Percent

March 2006 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change

7.0-8.0

Percent

March 2006 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

4.5-5.5

Percent

March 2006 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes

1.91

Dollars

First Quarter 2006 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes

1.90

Dollars

1 Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

2 Mainline Mileage Completion Percentage

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