View:
Download DOC
Download PDF
Download XLS
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): September 1, 2004

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 September 1, 2004, we issued a press release announcing our August performance and our estimated consolidated breakeven load factor for September. 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 August 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.

 

 

September 1, 2004

By   /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel      
 

        Jennifer L. Vogel
 

        Senior Vice President, General Counsel
        and Secretary

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1

Press Release for August Performance

 

 
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 AUGUST 2004

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, September 1, 2004 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported an August consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 81.6 percent, 0.5 points above last year's August consolidated load factor. The carrier reported a mainline load factor of 82.6 percent, 0.4 points above last year's August mainline load factor and a domestic mainline load factor of 82.5 percent, 0.3 points above August 2003. All three were operational records for August. In addition, the airline had an international mainline August load factor of 82.7 percent, 0.4 points above August 2003.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 81.3 percent and a mainline completion factor of 99.7 percent. Continental also recorded 17 days with a 100 percent completion factor, an all-time monthly record for the carrier.

In August 2004, Continental flew 7.0 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 8.5 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 9.1 percent and a capacity increase of 8.4 percent as compared to August 2003. In August 2004, Continental flew 6.3 billion mainline RPMs and 7.6 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a traffic increase of 7.2 percent and a capacity increase of 6.8 percent as compared to August 2003. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.5 billion RPMs in August 2004, up 0.7 percent from August 2003, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.3 billion ASMs, up 0.3 percent from August 2003.

Beginning this month, Continental will provide estimated and historical consolidated year-over-year passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) results, since the company purchases all of the regional jet capacity operated as Continental Express and is responsible for the revenue generation of that capacity. To aid in comparisons, this month's tables provide historical data for both consolidated and mainline year-over-year RASM.

For the month of August 2004, consolidated passenger RASM is estimated to have decreased between 0.5 and 1.5 percent compared to August 2003, while mainline RASM is estimated to have decreased between 1.0 and 2.0 percent. For July 2004, consolidated RASM increased 2.9 percent compared to July 2003 and mainline RASM increased 2.8 percent.

Continental's regional operations (Continental Express) set a record August load factor of 73.6 percent, 2.9 points above last year's August load factor. Regional RPMs were 692.2 million and regional ASMs were 940.1 million in August 2004, resulting in a traffic increase of 29.1 percent and a capacity increase of 23.9 percent versus August 2003.

Continental Airlines is the world's sixth-largest airline with more than 2,900 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Continental serves 149 domestic and 119 international destinations - more than any other airline in the world - and nearly 200 additional points are served via codeshare partner airlines. With 42,000 employees, the airline has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and carries approximately 51 million passengers per year. In 2004, Continental has earned awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. FORTUNE ranks Continental one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, an honor it has earned for six consecutive years, and also ranks Continental as the top airline in its Most Admired Global Companies in 2004.

The carrier 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 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.

(more)

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

AUGUST

  

2004   

2003   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

3,514,679

3,491,797

0.7  Percent
         
 

International

2,762,371

2,361,480

17.0  Percent
 

Transatlantic

1,402,377

1,118,696

25.4  Percent 
 

Latin America

861,273

762,133

13.0  Percent 
 

Pacific

498,721

480,651

3.8  Percent 
         
 

Mainline

6,277,051

5,853,277

7.2  Percent
         
 

Regional

692,249

536,252

29.1  Percent
         
 

Consolidated

6,969,300

6,389,530

9.1  Percent
         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

4,261,166

4,249,665

0.3  Percent
         
 

International

3,339,584

2,868,545

16.4  Percent
 

Transatlantic

1,643,482

1,303,795

26.1  Percent 
 

Latin America

1,058,403

928,334

14.0  Percent 
 

Pacific

637,699

636,417

0.2  Percent 
         
 

Mainline

7,600,750

7,118,210

6.8  Percent
         
 

Regional

940,072

758,477

23.9  Percent
         
 

Consolidated

8,540,823

7,876,687

8.4  Percent
         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

    
 

Domestic

82.5 Percent

82.2 Percent

0.3  Points
         
 

International

82.7 Percent

82.3 Percent

0.4  Points
 

Transatlantic

85.3 Percent 

85.8 Percent 

(0.5)  Points 
 

Latin America

81.4 Percent 

82.1 Percent 

(0.7) Points 
 

Pacific

78.2 Percent 

75.5 Percent 

2.7  Points 
         
 

Mainline

82.6 Percent

82.2 Percent

0.4  Points
         
 

Regional

73.6 Percent

70.7 Percent

2.9  Points
         
 

Consolidated

81.6 Percent

81.1 Percent

0.5  Points
         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

    
 

Total

81,991

73,136

12.1  Percent

 

 

 

YEAR-TO-DATE

  

2004   

2003   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

25,650,581

24,505,356

4.7  Percent
         
 

International

18,755,614

15,321,261

22.4  Percent
 

Transatlantic

8,769,344

6,915,358

26.8  Percent 
 

Latin America

6,093,617

5,448,822

11.8  Percent 
 

Pacific

3,892,653

2,957,081

31.6  Percent 
         
 

Mainline

44,406,195

39,826,617

11.5  Percent
         
 

Regional

4,869,918

3,655,931

33.2  Percent
         
 

Consolidated

49,276,113

43,482,548

13.3  Percent
         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

    
 

Domestic

33,045,254

31,724,702

4.2  Percent
         
 

International

24,032,745

20,769,403

15.7  Percent
 

Transatlantic

10,903,922

9,105,082

19.8  Percent 
 

Latin America

8,138,976

7,246,136

12.3  Percent 
 

Pacific

4,989,847

4,418,185

12.9  Percent 
         
 

Mainline

57,077,999

52,494,105

8.7  Percent
         
 

Regional

6,864,610

5,385,745

27.5  Percent
         
 

Consolidated

63,942,609

57,879,850

10.5  Percent
         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

    
 

Domestic

77.6 Percent

77.2 Percent

0.4  Points
         
 

International

78.0 Percent

73.8 Percent

4.2  Points
 

Transatlantic

80.4 Percent 

76.0 Percent 

4.4  Points 
 

Latin America

74.9 Percent 

75.2 Percent 

(0.3) Points 
 

Pacific

78.0 Percent 

66.9 Percent 

11.1  Points 
         
 

Mainline

77.8 Percent

75.9 Percent

1.9  Points
         
 

Regional

70.9 Percent

67.9 Percent

3.0  Points
         
 

Consolidated

77.1 Percent

75.1 Percent

2.0  Points
         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

    
 

Total

664,792

607,108

9.5  Percent

 

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

AUGUST

  

2004 

2003 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

81.3%

79.8%

1.5  Points

Completion Factor2

99.7%

99.7%

-    Points
         

YEAR-TO-DATE

  

2004 

2003 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

77.5%

82.8%

(5.3) Points

Completion Factor2

99.6%

99.4%

0.2  Points
         

July 2004 consolidated breakeven load factor3,4

78.4  Percent

August 2004 estimated year-over-year consolidated

  RASM change


(1.5)-(0.5) Percent

August 2004 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

(2.0)-(1.0) Percent

August 2004 estimated average price per gallon of fuel,

  including fuel taxes


1.20 Dollars

August 2004 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3,5

81 Percent

August 2004 actual consolidated load factor6

81.6 Percent

September 2004 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3,5

88 Percent
 

YEAR-OVER-YEAR CONSOLIDATED RASM

    
 

2003 vs. 2002

2003 vs. 2001

  

July

6.7 Percent

2.8 Percent

  

August

5.5 Percent

3.0 Percent

  

September

7.2 Percent

21.6 Percent

  

October

6.7 Percent

17.7 Percent

  

November

7.0 Percent

6.3 Percent

  

December

2.3 Percent

14.0 Percent

  
 

2004 vs. 2003

2004 vs. 2002

  

January

1.7 Percent

6.1 Percent

  

February

(1.0) Percent

(0.3) Percent

  

March

6.1 Percent

(4.2) Percent

  

April

3.8 Percent

4.8 Percent

  

May

(2.0) Percent

1.5  Percent

  

June

1.9 Percent

4.1 Percent

  

July

2.9 Percent

9.8 Percent

  

August (estimated)

(1.5)-(0.5) Percent

4.0-5.0 Percent

  
       

 

 

YEAR-OVER-YEAR MAINLINE RASM

    
 

2003 vs. 2002

2003 vs. 2001

  

July

4.9 Percent

0.7  Percent

  

August

4.4 Percent

1.5 Percent

  

September

5.3 Percent

16.7 Percent

  

October

4.4 Percent

14.1 Percent

  

November

5.5 Percent

3.7 Percent

  

December

1.7 Percent

12.0 Percent

  
 

2004 vs. 2003

2004 vs. 2002

  

January

0.9 Percent

4.5 Percent

  

February

(2.5) Percent

(2.9) Percent

  

March

4.9 Percent

(7.4) Percent

  

April

3.1 Percent

2.1 Percent

  

May

(3.0) Percent

(1.1) Percent

  

June

1.3 Percent

1.6 Percent

  

July

2.8 Percent

7.8 Percent

  

August (estimated)

(2.0)-(1.0) Percent

2.0-3.0 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 website at

continental.com in the Investor Relations-Financial/Traffic Releases section.

4 Expenses related to net fair market value adjustment of trading securities for 1.4 percentage points.

5 Charge related to MD-80 aircraft retirements accounts for 1 percentage point in both August and September.

6 Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express.

 

 

###