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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 2, 2007

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 2, 2007, we issued a press release announcing our March 2007 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 2, 2007

By  /s/ Lori A. Gobillot

      Lori A. Gobillot

Staff Vice President and Assistant General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
   
   

 

 

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 2007

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, April 2, 2007 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a March consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 82.6 percent, 1.4 points above the March 2006 consolidated load factor. The carrier reported a mainline load factor of 83.1 percent, 1.3 points above the March 2006 mainline load factor, and a domestic mainline load factor of 84.2 percent, 0.8 points above March 2006. All three were records for the month. In addition, the airline had an international mainline load factor of 81.9 percent, 2.1 points above March 2006.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 71.2 percent and a March mainline completion factor of 97.6 percent.

In March 2007, Continental flew 8.0 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.6 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 3.4 percent and a capacity increase of 1.8 percent as compared to March 2006. In March 2007, Continental flew 7.1 billion mainline RPMs and 8.5 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 4.1 percent and a 2.4 percent increase in mainline capacity as compared to March 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.8 billion RPMs in March 2007, up 2.4 percent from March 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.6 billion ASMs, up 1.5 percent from March 2006.

For March 2007, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent compared to March 2006, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 6.5 and 7.5 percent compared to March 2006. During the month of March, Continental's operations were negatively impacted by major storms in the Northeast.  Following the storms, the carrier was able to quickly recover operations minimizing the adverse impact to March operating revenue from flight cancellations, which drove ASMs lower. Continental estimates that the adverse revenue impact from these storms was approximately $10 million.  Continental estimates that March mainline and consolidated year-over-year RASM percent changes were higher by about one point as a result of the storm's impact on capacity (due to lower ASMs).  For February 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 2.4 percent compared to February 2006, while mainline passenger RASM increased 3.8 percent from February 2006.

Continental ended the first quarter with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of approximately $2.64 billion.

March 2007 sales at continental.com increased 18 percent over March 2006.

Continental's regional operations had a record March load factor of 78.4 percent, 0.9 points above the March 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 878.1 million and regional ASMs were 1,120.1 million in March 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 1.4 percent and a capacity decrease of 2.5 percent versus March 2006.

Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 150 domestic and 136 international destinations. More than 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines.  With more than 44,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 67 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture.

In 2006, Continental Airlines won its sixth J.D. Power and Associates award since 1996. The carrier received the highest rank in customer satisfaction among network carriers in North America in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Airline Satisfaction Index SurveySM. For the fourth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline on its 2007 list of Most Admired Global Companies. Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication's 2007 America's Most Admired airline industry list. Additionally, Continental again won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Best Airline Based in North America" for the third year in a row, and "Best Executive/Business Class" for the fourth consecutive year. 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 2006 10-K and its other securities filings, including any amendments thereto, which identify important matters such as the consequences of the company's significant financial losses and high leverage, the significant cost of aircraft fuel, its high labor and pension costs, service interruptions at one of its hub airports, disruptions in its computer systems, and industry conditions, including the airline pricing environment, industry capacity decisions, industry consolidation, terrorist attacks, regulatory matters, excessive taxation, the availab ility and cost of insurance, public health threats 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, except as required by applicable law.

 

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

MARCH

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

3,836,162

3,745,395

2.4

Percent

International

3,238,756

3,053,318

6.1

Percent

Transatlantic

1,512,874

1,396,553

8.3

Percent

Latin America

1,045,508

990,516

5.6

Percent

Pacific

680,374

666,249

2.1

Percent

Mainline

7,074,918

6,798,713

4.1

Percent

Regional

878,143

891,060

-1.4

Percent

Consolidated

7,953,061

7,689,773

3.4

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

4,557,305

4,489,345

1.5

Percent

International

3,955,157

3,826,718

3.4

Percent

Transatlantic

1,870,665

1,769,559

5.7

Percent

Latin America

1,266,020

1,231,650

2.8

Percent

Pacific

818,472

825,509

-0.9

Percent

Mainline

8,512,462

8,316,063

2.4

Percent

Regional

1,120,072

1,149,341

-2.5

Percent

Consolidated

9,632,534

9,465,404

1.8

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

84.2 Percent

83.4 Percent

0.8

Points

International

81.9 Percent

79.8 Percent

2.1

Points

Transatlantic

80.9 Percent

78.9 Percent

2.0

Points

Latin America

82.6 Percent

80.4 Percent

2.2

Points

Pacific

83.1 Percent

80.7 Percent

2.4

Points

Mainline

83.1 Percent

81.8 Percent

1.3

Points

Regional

78.4 Percent

77.5 Percent

0.9

Points

Consolidated

82.6 Percent

81.2 Percent

1.4

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

4,438,799

4,321,013

2.7

Percent

Regional

1,572,177

1,579,331

-0.5

Percent

Consolidated

6,010,976

5,900,344

1.9

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

93,119

98,866

-5.8

Percent

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

10,388,016

9,968,726

4.2

Percent

International

8,702,403

8,049,368

8.1

Percent

Transatlantic

3,957,956

3,550,650

11.5

Percent

Latin America

2,902,063

2,697,336

7.6

Percent

Pacific

1,842,384

1,801,382

2.3

Percent

Mainline

19,090,419

18,018,094

6.0

Percent

Regional

2,359,387

2,317,951

1.8

Percent

Consolidated

21,449,806

20,336,045

5.5

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

12,815,482

12,308,647

4.1

Percent

International

11,308,601

10,725,686

5.4

Percent

Transatlantic

5,296,254

4,845,169

9.3

Percent

Latin America

3,614,142

3,475,827

4.0

Percent

Pacific

2,398,205

2,404,690

-0.3

Percent

Mainline

24,124,083

23,034,333

4.7

Percent

Regional

3,125,657

3,081,947

1.4

Percent

Consolidated

27,249,740

26,116,280

4.3

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

81.1 Percent

81.0 Percent

0.1

Points

International

77.0 Percent

75.0 Percent

2.0

Points

Transatlantic

74.7 Percent

73.3 Percent

1.4

Points

Latin America

80.3 Percent

77.6 Percent

2.7

Points

Pacific

76.8 Percent

74.9 Percent

1.9

Points

Mainline

79.1 Percent

78.2 Percent

0.9

Points

Regional

75.5 Percent

75.2 Percent

0.3

Points

Consolidated

78.7 Percent

77.9 Percent

0.8

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

11,945,262

11,485,543

4.0

Percent

Regional

4,230,792

4,107,835

3.0

Percent

Consolidated

16,176,054

15,593,378

3.7

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

254,267

263,003

-3.3

Percent

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

MARCH

2007

2006

Change

On-Time Performance 1

71.2%

71.0%

0.2

Points

Completion Factor 2

97.6%

99.7%

(2.1)

Points

February 2007 year-over-year consolidated RASM change

2.4

Percent

February 2007 year-over-year mainline RASM change

3.8

Percent

March 2007 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change

4.5 - 5.5

Percent

March 2007 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

6.5 - 7.5

Percent

March 2007 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes

1.89

Dollars

First Quarter 2007 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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