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):

July 1, 2003

 

 

 

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

1-10323

74-2099724

(State or other jurisdiction

(Commission File Number)

(IRS Employer

of incorporation)

 

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)

Item 5. Other Events.

On July 1, 2003, we issued a press release announcing our June performance and our estimated consolidated breakeven load factor for July. The press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

    1. Exhibits

      1. Press Release

 

 

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.

 

 

July 1, 2003

By /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel                           

 

Jennifer L. Vogel

 

Vice President, General Counsel

and Secretary

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

99.1

Press Release

 

 

 

 

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

OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR JUNE 2003

HOUSTON, July 1, 2003 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported an all-time record systemwide mainline jet load factor of 81.0 percent for June 2003, 2.3 points above last year's June load factor and 0.6 points above the previous record set in July 2000. Continental reported an all-time record domestic mainline jet load factor of 81.8 percent, 4.3 points above June 2002, and 2.6 points above the previous record of June 2000. Continental reported an international mainline jet load factor of 79.8 percent for June 2003.

During the month, Continental recorded a DOT on-time arrival rate of 81.4 percent and a systemwide completion factor of 99.9 percent for its mainline jet operations.

In June 2003, Continental flew 5.4 billion mainline jet revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 6.6 billion mainline jet available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic decrease of 1.5 percent and a capacity decrease of 4.3 percent compared to June 2002. Domestic mainline jet traffic was 3.3 billion RPMs in June 2003, up 3.4 percent from June 2002, and June 2003 domestic mainline jet capacity was 4.1 billion ASMs, down 2.0 percent from June 2002.

Systemwide June 2003 mainline jet passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to be relatively flat compared to June 2002, with a year-over-year RASM change ranging from -1% to +1%, while showing improvement in the second half of the month. For May 2003, RASM increased 2.0 percent compared to May 2002.

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JUNE 2003 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE/PAGE 2

Continental ended June 2003 with a record-high quarter end consolidated cash and short-term investments balance of approximately $1.62 billion (including $128 million of restricted cash), which is an increase of approximately $440 million since the end of the first quarter of 2003.

ExpressJet Airlines, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines doing business as Continental Express, separately reported an all-time record load factor of 73.5 percent for June 2003, 5.5 points above last year's June load factor and 3.5 points above the previous record set last month. ExpressJet flew 538.9 million RPMs and 733.7 million ASMs in June 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 55.9 percent and a capacity increase of 44.2 percent versus June 2002.

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 2002 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 June arise after the date of this press release.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JUNE 2003 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE/PAGE 3

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

JUNE

 

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

3,319,825

3,211,792

3.4  Percent

         
 

International

2,062,293

2,253,486

(8.5) Percent

 

Transatlantic

1,030,432

1,094,475

(5.9) Percent 

 

Latin America

677,945

652,452

3.9  Percent 

 

Pacific

353,917

506,559

(30.1) Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

5,382,118

5,465,278

(1.5) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

538,935

345,799

55.9  Percent

         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

4,059,192

4,143,051

(2.0) Percent

         
 

International

2,584,718

2,797,195

(7.6) Percent

 

Transatlantic

1,205,885

1,255,835

(4.0) Percent 

 

Latin America

878,904

906,747

(3.1) Percent 

 

Pacific

499,929

634,612

(21.2) Percent

         
 

Total Jet

6,643,911

6,940,246

(4.3) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

733,731

508,704

44.2  Percent 

         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

   
 

Domestic

81.8 Percent

77.5 Percent

4.3  Points

         
 

International

79.8 Percent

80.6 Percent

(0.8) Points

 

Transatlantic

85.5 Percent 

87.2 Percent 

(1.7) Points 

 

Latin America

77.1 Percent 

72.0 Percent 

5.1  Points 

 

Pacific

70.8 Percent 

79.8 Percent 

(9.0) Points 

         
 

Total Jet

81.0 Percent

78.7 Percent

2.3  Points

         
 

ExpressJet

73.5 Percent

68.0 Percent

5.5  Points

         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

   
 

Total

75,457

77,100

(2.1) Percent

 

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JUNE 2003 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE/PAGE 4

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

 

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

17,288,135

18,017,223

(4.0) Percent

         
 

International

10,658,376

11,500,944

(7.3) Percent

 

Transatlantic

4,696,156

4,947,325

(5.1) Percent 

 

Latin America

3,895,550

3,916,193

(0.5) Percent 

 

Pacific

2,066,670

2,637,426

(21.6) Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

27,946,511

29,518,167

(5.3) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

2,534,187

1,837,998

37.9  Percent

         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

23,130,006

24,299,734

(4.8) Percent

         
 

International

15,114,081

15,225,090

(0.7) Percent

 

Transatlantic

6,498,639

6,384,889

1.8  Percent 

 

Latin America

5,393,728

5,379,483

0.3  Percent 

 

Pacific

3,221,714

3,460,718

(6.9) Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

38,244,087

39,524,824

(3.2) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

3,840,090

2,956,402

29.9  Percent 

         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

   
 

Domestic

74.7 Percent

74.1 Percent

0.6  Points

         
 

International

70.5 Percent

75.5 Percent

(5.0) Points

 

Transatlantic

72.3 Percent 

77.5 Percent 

(5.2) Points 

 

Latin America

72.2 Percent 

72.8 Percent 

(0.6) Points 

 

Pacific

64.1 Percent 

76.2 Percent 

(12.1) Points 

         
 

Total Jet

73.1 Percent

74.7 Percent

(1.6) Points

         
 

ExpressJet

66.0 Percent

62.2 Percent

3.8  Points

         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

   
 

Total

458,556

432,458

6.0  Percent

 

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JUNE 2003 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE/PAGE 5

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

JUNE

 

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

81.4%

81.5%

(0.1) Points

         

Completion Factor2

99.9%

99.7%

0.2  Points

         

YEAR-TO-DATE

 

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

83.8%

85.2%

(1.4) Points

         

Completion Factor2

99.3%

99.8%

(0.5) Points

     

May 2003 actual consolidated breakeven load factor3,5

55.4  Percent

         

June 2003 estimated year-over-year RASM change

(1)-1 Percent

         

June 2003 estimated average price per gallon of fuel,

                       excluding fuel taxes

79.0 Cents   

         

June 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3

77 Percent

         

June 2003 actual consolidated load factor4

80.3  Percent

         

July 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3

81 Percent

 

YEAR-OVER-YEAR RASM6

2002 vs. 2001

2002 vs. 2000

 

May

(6.3) Percent

(15.1) Percent

 

June

(5.5) Percent

(15.5) Percent

 

July

(4.0) Percent

(13.5) Percent

 

August

(2.7) Percent

(15.2) Percent

 

September

10.8  Percent

(17.6) Percent

 

October

9.3  Percent

(15.7) Percent

 

November

(1.7) Percent

(18.4) Percent

 

December

10.1 Percent

(5.7) Percent

 
 

2003 vs. 2002

2003 vs. 2001

 

January

3.6 Percent

(10.9) Percent

 

February

(0.4) Percent

(11.3) Percent

 

March

(11.8) Percent

(17.4) Percent

 

April

(1.1) Percent

(11.3) Percent

 

May

2.0 Percent

(4.4) Percent

 

June (estimated)

(1)-1 Percent

(5-7) Percent

 

1 Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

2 System 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 Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express

5 Security fee reimbursement of $176 million accounts for 24.5 percentage points.

6 CAL has been releasing RASM data since May 2001

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