Continental Airlines
Second quarter results were adversely affected by significant declines in high yield traffic as many business travelers curtailed travel or purchased lower yield economy tickets due to the weakened economy. In addition, the H1N1 virus reduced second quarter consolidated passenger revenue by an estimated
In response to the significant decline in revenue, Continental is implementing a number of measures to raise revenues and reduce costs that are designed to achieve approximately
-- Eliminating approximately 1,700 positions across the company, including management and clerical positions. This is in addition to the previously announced elimination of 500 reservation agent positions and special company offered leaves of absence extended for 700 flight attendants. Continental is offering employees voluntary programs to minimize the number of involuntary furloughs and reductions in force. -- Increasing domestic checked baggage fees by$5 for customers who do not prepay those fees online. This change is effective immediately for travelAug. 19, 2009 , and beyond. -- Increasing the telephone reservation booking service fee by$5 effective immediately. -- Other revenue initiatives to be announced when implemented
"My co-workers are doing a great job of working together to focus on customer service despite significant challenges currently facing our industry," said
Second Quarter Revenue and Capacity
Total revenue for the quarter was
Consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the second quarter decreased 6.4 percent year-over-year on a capacity decrease of 7.8 percent, resulting in a second quarter consolidated load factor of 82.7 percent, 1.3 points higher than the second quarter of 2008.
Consolidated yield for the second quarter decreased 19.1 percent year-over-year.
Consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) for the second quarter decreased 17.7 percent year-over-year.
Mainline RPMs in the second quarter of 2009 decreased 5.7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008, on a capacity decrease of 7.3 percent year-over-year.
Mainline load factor was 83.2 percent, up 1.5 points year-over-year for the second quarter. Continental's mainline yield decreased 18.3 percent in the second quarter over the same period in 2008. As a result, second quarter 2009 mainline RASM was down 16.9 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008.
Passenger revenue for the second quarter of 2009 and period-to-period comparisons of related statistics by geographic region for the company's mainline operations and regional operations are as follows:
Percentage Increase (Decrease) in Second Quarter 2009 vs. Second Quarter 2008 Passenger ------------------------------------------- Revenue Passenger (in millions) Revenue ASMs RASM Yield ------- ---- ---- ----- ------ Domestic $1,167 (22.4)% (9.5)% (14.3)% (15.9)% Trans-Atlantic 577 (28.3)% (10.6)% (19.8)% (23.8)% Latin America 345 (20.8)% (5.2)% (16.5)% (16.4)% Pacific 211 (12.3)% 12.8 % (22.3)% (18.9)% Total Mainline $2,300 (22.9)% (7.3)% (16.9)% (18.3)% Regional $467 (29.9)% (11.8)% (20.5)% (20.1)% Consolidated $2,767 (24.2)% (7.8)% (17.7)% (19.1)%
Cargo revenue in the second quarter of 2009 decreased 37.9 percent (
Second Quarter Operations and Notable Accomplishments
During the quarter, employees earned
time operation among the major network carriers in May and June as reported by the
"My co-workers have done an impressive job running a good operation and delivering great service despite very high load factors, which put additional stress on the system," said
The DOT approved the application for Continental to join the existing antitrust immunized alliance including
During the quarter, Continental contributed
Continental continued to install
Second Quarter Costs
Due to significantly lower jet fuel costs, Continental's mainline cost per available seat mile (CASM) decreased 12.9 percent (13.2 percent excluding special charges) in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. The mainline price of a gallon of fuel dropped 39.7 percent year-over-year and mainline fuel consumption fell by 9.4 percent. Holding fuel rate constant and excluding special items, second quarter 2009 mainline CASM increased 2.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008.
"Once again, the entire Continental team did an outstanding job controlling costs and
running an efficient operation in a challenging economic environment," said
Fuel costs for the quarter were
Fleet Changes Continue to Improve Efficiency
Continental continued to improve fuel efficiency during the quarter by adding modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, equipped with winglets. During the quarter, Continental took delivery of two new
Continental is expected to take delivery of seven
Cash and Liquidity
Continental ended the second quarter with
On
In addition, Continental completed an agreement with a commercial bank to provide financing for two