Continental Airlines Reported December 2007 Operational Performance

Continental Airlines reported a December consolidated (mainline plus regional) load factor of 78.7 percent, 0.8 points below the December 2006 consolidated load factor, and a mainline load factor of 78.8 percent, 1.1 points below the December 2006 mainline load factor.

In addition, the carrier reported a domestic mainline load factor of 81.4 percent, 0.4 points below December 2006, and an international mainline load factor of 76.1 percent, 1.4 points below December 2006.

During the month, Continental recorded a U.S. Department of Transportation on-time arrival rate of 66.4 percent and a mainline segment completion factor of 98.4 percent. Continental’s operational performance was negatively impacted by numerous winter storms in the Northeast and Midwest.

In December 2007, Continental flew 7.6 billion consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 9.7 billion consolidated available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 1.9 percent and a capacity increase of 3.0 percent as compared to December 2006.

In December 2007, Continental flew 6.8 billion mainline RPMs and 8.7 billion mainline ASMs, resulting in a mainline traffic increase of 3.2 percent and a mainline capacity increase of 4.6 percent as compared to December 2006. Domestic mainline traffic was 3.7 billion RPMs in December 2007, which is flat as compared to December 2006, and domestic mainline capacity was 4.5 billion ASMs, up 0.5 percent from December 2006.

For December 2007, both consolidated and mainline passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASMs) are estimated to have increased between 5.5 and 6.5 percent compared to December 2006. For November 2007, consolidated passenger RASMs increased 7.4 percent compared to November 2006, while mainline passenger RASMs increased 7.8 percent from November 2006.

Continental ended the fourth quarter of 2007 with unrestricted cash and short-term investments of $2.8 billion.