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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): October 1, 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 October 1, 2007, we issued a press release announcing our September 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 September 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.



October 1, 2007

By  /s/ Lori A. Gobillot

      Lori A. Gobillot

Staff Vice President and Assistant General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1

Press Release for September 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 SEPTEMBER 2007

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, Oct. 1, 2007 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a September consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 79.0 percent, 0.8 points above the September 2006 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 79.2 percent, 0.6 points above the September 2006 mainline load factor. Both load factors were records for the month. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 81.1 percent, 0.1 points below September 2006, and an international mainline load factor of 77.2 percent, 1.5 points above September 2006.

During the month, Continental excelled operationally, recording a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on-time arrival rate of 88.0 percent, its fifth best on-time performance of any month in the carrier's history. In addition, the carrier reported a mainline mileage completion factor of 99.9 percent, a record for September. The carrier's mainline segment completion factor for the month was 99.8 percent.

In September 2007, Continental flew 7.3 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.2 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 5.6 percent and a capacity increase of 4.5 percent as compared to September 2006. In September 2007, Continental flew 6.5 billion mainline RPMs and 8.3 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 7.1 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 6.2 percent as compared to September 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.4 billion RPMs in September 2007, up 4.5 percent from September 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.3 billion ASMs, up 4.6 percent from September 2006.

For September 2007, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have increased between 4.5 and 5.5 percent compared to September 2006, while mainline passenger RASM is estimated to have increased between 5.5 and 6.5 percent compared to September 2006. For August 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 7.3 percent compared to August 2006, while mainline passenger RASM increased 8.8 percent from August 2006.

Continental ended the third quarter of 2007 with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of approximately $3.04 billion.

Continental's regional operations had a record September load factor of 76.5 percent, 1.5 points above the September 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 743.9 million and regional ASMs were 972.3 million in September 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 5.9 percent and a capacity decrease of 7.9 percent versus September 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 144 domestic and 138 international destinations. More than 400 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines.  With more than 45,000 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.

For the fourth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline on its 2007 list of World's Most Admired 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 fourth year in a row, and "Best Executive/Business Class" for the fifth 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

SEPTEMBER

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

3,448,145

3,300,487

4.5

Percent

International

3,097,052

2,813,233

10.1

Percent

Transatlantic

1,814,237

1,595,875

13.7

Percent

Latin America

671,055

613,867

9.3

Percent

Pacific

611,760

603,491

1.4

Percent

Mainline

6,545,197

6,113,720

7.1

Percent

Regional

743,920

790,974

-5.9

Percent

Consolidated

7,289,117

6,904,694

5.6

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

4,250,123

4,063,216

4.6

Percent

International

4,009,227

3,716,264

7.9

Percent

Transatlantic

2,303,334

2,027,996

13.6

Percent

Latin America

898,551

881,362

2.0

Percent

Pacific

807,342

806,906

0.1

Percent

Mainline

8,259,350

7,779,480

6.2

Percent

Regional

972,315

1,055,252

-7.9

Percent

Consolidated

9,231,665

8,834,732

4.5

Percent


PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

81.1 Percent

81.2 Percent

-0.1

Points

International

77.2 Percent

75.7 Percent

1.5

Points

Transatlantic

78.8 Percent

78.7 Percent

0.1

Points

Latin America

74.7 Percent

69.6 Percent

5.1

Points

Pacific

75.8 Percent

74.8 Percent

1.0

Points

Mainline

79.2 Percent

78.6 Percent

0.6

Points

Regional

76.5 Percent

75.0 Percent

1.5

Points

Consolidated

79.0 Percent

78.2 Percent

0.8

Points


ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

3,751,807

3,574,568

5.0

Percent

Regional

1,383,022

1,421,864

-2.7

Percent

Consolidated

5,134,829

4,996,432

2.8

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

86,730

90,420

-4.1

Percent

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

34,292,570

32,456,079

5.7

Percent

International

29,746,500

27,503,339

8.2

Percent

Transatlantic

15,282,538

13,588,299

12.5

Percent

Latin America

8,672,677

8,275,059

4.8

Percent

Pacific

5,791,285

5,639,981

2.7

Percent

Mainline

64,039,070

59,959,418

6.8

Percent

Regional

7,456,823

7,782,641

-4.2

Percent

Consolidated

71,495,893

67,742,059

5.5

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

40,646,585

38,716,240

5.0

Percent

International

37,045,627

34,961,179

6.0

Percent

Transatlantic

19,032,122

17,160,682

10.9

Percent

Latin America

10,654,600

10,464,229

1.8

Percent

Pacific

7,358,905

7,336,268

0.3

Percent

Mainline

77,692,212

73,677,419

5.4

Percent

Regional

9,495,368

9,958,862

-4.7

Percent

Consolidated

87,187,580

83,636,281

4.2

Percent


PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

84.4 Percent

83.8 Percent

0.6

Points

International

80.3 Percent

78.7 Percent

1.6

Points

Transatlantic

80.3 Percent

79.2 Percent

1.1

Points

Latin America

81.4 Percent

79.1 Percent

2.3

Points

Pacific

78.7 Percent

76.9 Percent

1.8

Points

Mainline

82.4 Percent

81.4 Percent

1.0

Points

Regional

78.5 Percent

78.1 Percent

0.4

Points

Consolidated

82.0 Percent

81.0 Percent

1.0

Points


ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

38,649,351

36,751,863

5.2

Percent

Regional

13,549,347

13,763,175

-1.6

Percent

Consolidated

52,198,698

50,515,038

3.3

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

758,029

794,149

-4.5

Percent

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

SEPTEMBER

2007

2006

Change

On-Time Performance 1

88.0%

81.3%

6.7

Points

Completion Factor 2

99.8%

99.8%

-

Points

August 2007 year-over-year consolidated RASM change

7.3

Percent

August 2007 year-over-year mainline RASM change

8.8

Percent

September 2007 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change

4.5 - 5.5

Percent

September 2007 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

5.5 - 6.5

Percent

September 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 Segment Completion Percentage

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