Monday, Continental Airlines (CAL) reported that its traffic for December 2008 declined 6.7%, while passenger load factor increased 1.2 points.
The Houston, Texas-based airliner said consolidated traffic for December 2008 declined 6.7% to 7.11 billion revenue passenger miles from 7.62 billion revenue passenger miles (RPM) in the prior year period.
Mainline RPM declined 7.3% to 6.33 billion from 6.83 billion. Domestic RPMs slid 9.3% to 3.35 billion from 3.69 billion while international RPMs fell 4.9% to 2.99 billion from 3.14 billion in the same period last year.
During December 2008 capacity or consolidated Available seal miles (ASM) declined 8.1% to 8.9 billion from 9.69 billion in the prior year period. Mainline ASM fell 9% to 7.88 billion from 8.66 billion in the year-ago month. Regional ASM declined marginally 1.020 billion from 1.025 billion in the same period last year. Domestic ASM fell to 3.99 billion from 4.54 billion in the prior year period. International ASM declined 5.6% to 3.89 billion from 4.13 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Consolidated passenger load factor for December 2008 increased 1.2 points to 79.9% from 78.7% in the prior year period. Mainline load factor increased 1.6 points to 80.4% from 78.8% in the previous year. Regional load factor declined 1.2 points to 76.1%from 77.3% last year. Domestic load factor increased 2.6 points to 84% from 81.4% last year. International load factor increased 0.5 points to 76.6% from 76.1% last year.
During December 2008 the airliner carried 5.2 million passengers, down 6.8% from 5.58 million in the year-ago period. Cargo revenue Ton miles declined 22.3% to 71.65 million from 92.23 million in the year-ago month.
For the full year, consolidated passenger load factor declined 1.2 points to 80.2% from 81.4% in the previous year. Available seat miles declined 0.2% to 115.5 billion from 115.7 billion last year. Revenue passenger miles declined 1.6% to 92.69 billion from 94.17 billion in the previous year.
CAL rose $0.41 or 2.14% and closed Monday's regular trading session at $19.55. After hours, CAL rose further $0.45 or 2.30% and traded at $20.00.
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