Continental Airlines today reported a November consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 80.5 percent, 3.2 points above the November 2008 consolidated load factor, and a record mainline load factor of 81.1 percent, 3.3 points above the November 2008 mainline load factor. The carrier reported a domestic mainline November load factor of 83.3 percent, 2.7 points above the November 2008 domestic mainline load factor, and a record international mainline load factor of 78.8 percent, 3.8 points above November 2008.
During November, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on-time arrival rate of 86.2 percent, a record for the month, and a mainline segment completion factor of 99.6 percent.
In November 2009, Continental flew 6.8 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 8.4 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a consolidated traffic increase of 2.9 percent and a capacity decrease of 1.2 percent as compared to November 2008. In November 2009, Continental flew 6.0 billion mainline RPMs and 7.4 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 2.7 percent and a mainline capacity decrease of 1.4 percent as compared to November 2008. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.2 billion RPMs in November 2009, up 2.9 percent from November 2008, and domestic mainline capacity was 3.8 billion ASMs, down 0.5 percent from November 2008.
For November 2009, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have decreased between 7.0 and 9.0 percent compared to November 2008, while mainline RASM is estimated to have decreased between 8.0 and 10.0 percent. The ranges of the year-over-year RASM estimates for the month of November are wider than usual due to processing delays associated with the transition to Star Alliance.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,400 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 130 domestic and 132 international destinations. Continental is a member of Star Alliance, which provides access to more than 900 additional points in 169 countries via 24 other member airlines. With more than 41,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with its regional partners, carries approximately 63 million passengers per year.
