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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): January 2, 2008

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 January 2, 2008, we issued a press release announcing our December 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 December 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.

 

 

January 2, 2008

By  /s/ Lori A. Gobillot

      Lori A. Gobillot

Staff Vice President and Assistant General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

99.1

Press Release for December 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 DECEMBER 2007

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

HOUSTON, Jan. 2, 2008 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a December consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 78.7 percent, 0.8 points below the December 2006 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 78.8 percent, 1.1 points below the December 2006 mainline load factor. In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 81.4 percent, 0.4 points below December 2006, and an international mainline load factor of 76.1 percent, 1.4 points below December 2006.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 66.4 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 98.4 percent. Continental's operational performance was negatively impacted by numerous winter storms in the Northeast and Midwest.

In December 2007, Continental flew 7.6 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.7 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 1.9 percent and a capacity increase of 3.0 percent as compared to December 2006. In December 2007, Continental flew 6.8 billion mainline RPMs and 8.7 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 3.2 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 4.6 percent as compared to December 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.7 billion RPMs in December 2007, which is flat as compared to December 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.5 billion ASMs, up 0.5 percent from December 2006.

For December 2007, both consolidated and mainline passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) are estimated to have increased between 5.5 and 6.5 percent compared to December 2006. For November 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 7.4 percent compared to November 2006, while mainline passenger RASM increased 7.8 percent from November 2006.

Continental ended the fourth quarter of 2007 with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of $2.8 billion.

Continental's regional operations had a record December load factor of 77.3 percent, 0.3 points above the December 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 792.5 million and regional ASMs were 1,025.7 million in December 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 8.3 percent and a capacity decrease of 8.6 percent versus December 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 580 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

DECEMBER

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

3,692,343

3,692,424

0.0

Percent

International

3,138,375

2,924,332

7.3

Percent

Transatlantic

1,543,411

1,388,629

11.1

Percent

Latin America

976,440

932,655

4.7

Percent

Pacific

618,524

603,048

2.6

Percent

Mainline

6,830,718

6,616,756

3.2

Percent

Regional

792,498

864,671

-8.3

Percent

Consolidated

7,623,216

7,481,427

1.9

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

4,537,528

4,513,421

0.5

Percent

International

4,125,710

3,771,250

9.4

Percent

Transatlantic

2,021,735

1,760,714

14.8

Percent

Latin America

1,273,197

1,206,874

5.5

Percent

Pacific

830,778

803,662

3.4

Percent

Mainline

8,663,238

8,284,671

4.6

Percent

Regional

1,025,705

1,122,506

-8.6

Percent

Consolidated

9,688,943

9,407,177

3.0

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

81.4 Percent

81.8 Percent

-0.4

Points

International

76.1 Percent

77.5 Percent

-1.4

Points

Transatlantic

76.3 Percent

78.9 Percent

-2.6

Points

Latin America

76.7 Percent

77.3 Percent

-0.6

Points

Pacific

74.5 Percent

75.0 Percent

-0.5

Points

Mainline

78.8 Percent

79.9 Percent

-1.1

Points

Regional

77.3 Percent

77.0 Percent

0.3

Points

Consolidated

78.7 Percent

79.5 Percent

-0.8

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

4,145,405

4,131,505

0.3

Percent

Regional

1,432,173

1,520,870

-5.8

Percent

Consolidated

5,577,578

5,652,375

-1.3

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

92,237

91,819

0.5

Percent

 

 

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

2007

2006

Change

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

Domestic

45,356,239

43,265,128

4.8

Percent

International

38,953,687

35,923,629

8.4

Percent

Transatlantic

20,136,822

17,849,451

12.8

Percent

Latin America

11,174,860

10,635,518

5.1

Percent

Pacific

7,642,005

7,438,660

2.7

Percent

Mainline

84,309,926

79,188,757

6.5

Percent

Regional

9,855,802

10,324,681

-4.5

Percent

Consolidated

94,165,728

89,513,438

5.2

Percent

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

Domestic

54,090,839

51,738,779

4.5

Percent

International

49,048,119

45,927,564

6.8

Percent

Transatlantic

25,350,543

22,655,352

11.9

Percent

Latin America

13,875,830

13,554,639

2.4

Percent

Pacific

9,821,746

9,717,573

1.1

Percent

Mainline

103,138,958

97,666,343

5.6

Percent

Regional

12,598,846

13,251,078

-4.9

Percent

Consolidated

115,737,804

110,917,421

4.3

Percent

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

Domestic

83.9 Percent

83.6 Percent

0.3

Points

International

79.4 Percent

78.2 Percent

1.2

Points

Transatlantic

79.4 Percent

78.8 Percent

0.6

Points

Latin America

80.5 Percent

78.5 Percent

2.0

Points

Pacific

77.8 Percent

76.5 Percent

1.3

Points

Mainline

81.7 Percent

81.1 Percent

0.6

Points

Regional

78.2 Percent

77.9 Percent

0.3

Points

Consolidated

81.4 Percent

80.7 Percent

0.7

Points

ONBOARD PASSENGERS

Mainline

50,959,989

48,787,157

4.5

Percent

Regional

17,970,335

18,331,254

-2.0

Percent

Consolidated

68,930,324

67,118,411

2.7

Percent

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

Total

944,873

982,385

-3.8

Percent

 

 

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

DECEMBER

2007

2006

Change

On-Time Performance 1

66.4%

73.4%

(7.0)

Points

Completion Factor 2

98.4%

99.4%

(1.0)

Point

November 2007 year-over-year consolidated RASM change

7.4

Percent

November 2007 year-over-year mainline RASM change

7.8

Percent

December 2007 estimated year-over-year consolidated RASM change

5.5 - 6.5

Percent

December 2007 estimated year-over-year mainline RASM change

5.5 - 6.5

Percent

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

2.66

Dollars

Fourth Quarter 2007 estimated average price per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes

2.51

Dollars

1 Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

2 Mainline Segment Completion Percentage

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