Continental Airlines reported a third quarter 2009 net loss of $18 million ($0.14 diluted loss per share). Excluding $20 million of previously announced special charges, Continental recorded net income of $2 million ($0.02 diluted earnings per share).

Third quarter results continued to be adversely affected by significant declines in high yield traffic as business travelers are flying less and purchasing lower yield economy tickets due to the global recession.

"We had record operational performance thanks to the hard work of my co-workers," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer. "Their focus on customer service and running an on-time operation continued to set us apart from the competition. We are well-positioned to take full advantage of improvement in the economic environment."

Operating results for the third quarter improved $213 million year-over-year, primarily driven by a $926 million decline in fuel expense, which was largely offset by an $839 million decline in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Third Quarter Revenue and Capacity
Total revenue for the quarter was $3.3 billion, a decrease of 20.2 percent compared to the same period in 2008. Passenger revenue for the quarter fell 21.6 percent ($813 million) compared to the same period last year due to lower fares and passenger traffic declines.

Consolidated revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the third quarter decreased 0.9 percent on a capacity (available seat mile, ASM) decrease of 4.5 percent year-over-year.

Consolidated load factor in the third quarter was a record 85.1 percent, 3.1 points higher than the third quarter of 2008. Consolidated yield for the quarter decreased 20.9 percent year-over-year. As a result, third quarter 2009 consolidated revenue per available seat mile (RASM) for the third quarter decreased 17.9 percent year-over-year.

Mainline RPMs in the third quarter of 2009 decreased 0.9 percent on a mainline capacity decrease of 4.1 percent year-over-year.

Mainline load factor in the third quarter was a record 85.8 percent, up 2.9 points year-over-year. Continental's mainline yield decreased 21.7 percent in the third quarter over the same period in 2008. As a result, third quarter 2009 mainline RASM was down 19.1 percent compared to the third quarter of 2008.