Continental Reports Traffic, Seat Revenue Down in August

Continental Airlines announced its results for August, reporting that traffic decreased 3.9 percent and capacity decreased 6 percent as compared to August 2008. For August 2009, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is estimated to have decreased between 16.5 and 17.5 percent compared to August 2008, while mainline RASM is estimated to have decreased between 17 and 18 percent.

For July 2009, consolidated passenger RASM decreased 17.4 percent compared to July 2008, while mainline passenger RASM decreased 18.3 percent compared to July 2008.

Paying passengers flew 8.78 billion miles last month on the mainline carrier and its regional affiliates, compared with 9.14 billion miles in August 2008. It cut capacity by 6 percent, to 10.23 billion available seat miles.