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):

March 3, 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 March 3, 2003, we issued a press release announcing our February performance and our estimated consolidated breakeven load factor for March. 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.

 

 

March 3, 2003

By /s/ Jennifer L. Vogel                           

 

Jennifer L. Vogel

 

Vice President and General Counsel

 

 

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 FEBRUARY 2003

HOUSTON, March 3, 2003 - Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today reported a February 2003 systemwide mainline jet load factor of 68.9 percent, 3.2 points below last year's February load factor. The February 2003 domestic mainline jet load factor was 71.0 percent and the international mainline jet load factor was 65.8 percent.

The airline reported a domestic on-time arrival rate of 77.8 percent and a systemwide completion factor of 97.1 percent for its mainline jet operations in February 2003. Operational results for February were adversely impacted by severe weather across Continental's system for 23 days in February, including the winter storm that paralyzed the northeastern United States over the Presidents' Day weekend.

In February 2003, Continental flew 4.0 billion mainline jet revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 5.8 billion mainline jet available seat miles (ASMs) systemwide, resulting in a traffic decrease of 6.6 percent and a capacity decrease of 2.3 percent as compared to February 2002. Essentially all of the systemwide ASM decline was due to the winter storm around Presidents' Day. Domestic mainline jet traffic was 2.4 billion RPMs in February 2003, down 7.6 percent from February 2002, and February 2003 domestic mainline jet capacity was 3.4 billion ASMs, down 7.3 percent from February 2002. Approximately 3 percentage points of the decline in domestic ASMs were due to the storm.

Systemwide February 2003 mainline jet passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to be between flat and a decrease of 2 percent compared to February 2002. For January 2003, RASM increased 3.6 percent as compared to January 2002.

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CO REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR FEB. 2003/PAGE 2

Consolidated breakeven load factor for March 2003 is estimated to be 75 percent. Consolidated breakeven load factor for February 2003 is estimated to have been 83 percent. Actual consolidated breakeven load factor may vary significantly from these 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.

ExpressJet Airlines, a subsidiary of Continental Airlines doing business as Continental Express, separately reported a record February load factor of 62.2 percent for February 2003, 3.9 points above last year's February load factor. ExpressJet flew 331.1 million RPMs and 532.2 million ASMs in February 2003, resulting in a traffic increase of 28.3 percent and a capacity increase of 20.2 percent versus February 2002. The ASM increase would have been approximately 3 percentage points higher had it not been for the winter storm.

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 may arise after the date of this press release.

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CO REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR FEB. 2003/PAGE 3

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

JANUARY

 

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

2,431,406

2,631,164

(7.6) Percent

         
 

International

1,532,532

1,611,339

(4.9) Percent

 

Transatlantic

605,856

610,751

(0.8) Percent 

 

Latin America

589,492

616,588

(4.4) Percent 

 

Pacific

337,183

384,000

(12.2) Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

3,963,937

4,242,503

(6.6) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

331,095

258,089

28.3  Percent

         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

3,424,916

3,693,899

(7.3) Percent

         
 

International

2,329,474

2,192,952

6.2  Percent

 

Transatlantic

945,585

863,582

9.5 Percent 

 

Latin America

833,920

820,616

1.6 Percent 

 

Pacific

549,969

508,754

8.1 Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

5,754,390

5,886,852

(2.3) Percent 

         
 

ExpressJet

532,228

442,691

20.2  Percent 

         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

   
 

Domestic

71.0 Percent

71.2 Percent

(0.2) Points

         
 

International

65.8 Percent

73.5 Percent

(7.7) Points

 

Transatlantic

64.1 Percent 

70.7 Percent 

(6.6) Points 

 

Latin America

70.7 Percent 

75.1 Percent 

(4.4) Points 

 

Pacific

61.3 Percent 

75.5 Percent 

(14.2) Points 

         
 

Total Jet

68.9 Percent

72.1 Percent

(3.2) Points

         
 

ExpressJet

62.2 Percent

58.3 Percent

3.9  Points

         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

   
 

Total

77,099

67,001

15.1  Percent

 

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CO REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR FEB. 2003/PAGE 4

PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

YEAR-TO-DATE

 

2003   

2002   

Change   

REVENUE PASSENGER MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

5,028,456

5,310,598

(5.3) Percent

         
 

International

3,327,305

3,363,402

(1.1) Percent

 

Transatlantic

1,307,837

1,271,639

2.8  Percent 

 

Latin America

1,279,317

1,301,124

(1.7) Percent 

 

Pacific

740,151

790,639

(6.4) Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

8,355,761

8,674,000

(3.7) Percent

         
 

ExpressJet

658,871

519,204

26.9  Percent

         

AVAILABLE SEAT MILES (000)

   
 

Domestic

7,257,991

7,630,548

(4.9) Percent

         
 

International

4,952,049

4,581,210

8.1  Percent

 

Transatlantic

2,002,338

1,807,073

10.8 Percent 

 

Latin America

1,783,040

1,715,991

3.9 Percent 

 

Pacific

1,166,671

1,058,146

10.3 Percent 

         
 

Total Jet

12,210,040

12,211,758

(0.0) Percent 

         
 

ExpressJet

1,113,429

923,533

20.6  Percent 

         

PASSENGER LOAD FACTOR

   
 

Domestic

69.3 Percent

69.6 Percent

(0.3) Points

         
 

International

67.2 Percent

73.4 Percent

(6.2) Points

 

Transatlantic

65.3 Percent 

70.4 Percent 

(5.1) Points 

 

Latin America

71.7 Percent 

75.8 Percent 

(4.1) Points 

 

Pacific

63.4 Percent 

74.7 Percent 

(11.3) Points 

         
 

Total Jet

68.4 Percent

71.0 Percent

(2.6) Points

         
 

ExpressJet

59.2 Percent

56.2 Percent

3.0  Points

         

CARGO REVENUE TON MILES (000)

   
 

Total

147,186

127,968

15.0  Percent

 

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CO REPORTS OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE FOR FEB. 2003/PAGE 5

PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

FEBRUARY

 

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

77.8%

87.0%

(9.2) Points

         

Completion Factor2

97.1%

99.9%

(2.8) Points

       
         

YEAR-TO-DATE

 

2003 

2002 

Change  

On-Time Performance1

81.7%

85.3%

(3.6) Points

         

Completion Factor2

98.5%

99.8%

(1.3) Points

       
     

January 2003 actual consolidated breakeven load factor3

81.3  Percent

         

February 2003 estimated year-over-year RASM change

(0-2) Percent

         

February 2003 estimated average price per gallon of fuel,

                           excluding fuel taxes

94 Cents   

         

February 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3

83 Percent

         

February 2003 actual consolidated load factor4

68.3  Percent

         

March 2003 estimated consolidated breakeven load factor3

75 Percent

 

YEAR-OVER-YEAR RASM5

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 (estimated)

(0-2) Percent

(11-13) 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

4 Includes Continental Airlines and Continental Express

5 CAL has been releasing RASM data since May 2001

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