HOUSTON, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines CAL today 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 (RASM) are estimated to have increased between 5.5 and 6.5 percent compared to December 2006. For November 2007, consolidated passenger RASM increased 7.4 percent compared to November 2006, while mainline passenger RASM 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.

Continental's regional operations had a record December load factor of 77.3 percent, 0.3 points above the December 2006 load factor. Regional RPMs were 792.5 million and regional ASMs were 1,025.7 million in December 2007, resulting in a traffic decrease of 8.3 percent and a capacity decrease of 8.6 percent versus December 2006.

Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 144 domestic and 138 international destinations. More than 580 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With more than 45,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 67 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture.

For the fourth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline on its 2007 list of World's Most Admired Companies. Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication's 2007 America's Most Admired airline industry list. Additionally, Continental again won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Best Airline Based in North America" for the fourth year in a row, and "Best Executive/Business Class" for the fifth consecutive year. For more company information, visit continental.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not limited to historical facts, but reflect the company's current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future events. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. For examples of such risks and uncertainties, please see the risk factors set forth in the company's 2006 10-K and its other securities filings, including any amendments thereto, which identify important matters such as the consequences of the company's significant financial losses and high leverage, the significant cost of aircraft fuel, its high labor and pension costs, service interruptions at one of its hub airports, disruptions in its computer systems, and industry conditions, including the airline pricing environment, industry capacity decisions, industry consolidation, terrorist attacks, regulatory matters, excessive taxation, the availability and cost of insurance, public health threats and the seasonal nature of the airline business. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law.

                         PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

    DECEMBER                  2007           2006     Change
    REVENUE PASSENGER
     MILES (000)
      Domestic           3,692,343      3,692,424        0.0      Percent

      International      3,138,375      2,924,332        7.3      Percent
      Transatlantic      1,543,411      1,388,629       11.1      Percent
      Latin America        976,440        932,655        4.7      Percent
      Pacific              618,524        603,048        2.6      Percent

      Mainline           6,830,718      6,616,756        3.2      Percent
      Regional             792,498        864,671       -8.3      Percent
      Consolidated       7,623,216      7,481,427        1.9      Percent
    AVAILABLE SEAT
     MILES (000)
      Domestic           4,537,528      4,513,421        0.5      Percent

      International      4,125,710      3,771,250        9.4      Percent
      Transatlantic      2,021,735      1,760,714       14.8      Percent
      Latin America      1,273,197      1,206,874        5.5      Percent
      Pacific              830,778        803,662        3.4      Percent

      Mainline           8,663,238      8,284,671        4.6      Percent
      Regional           1,025,705      1,122,506       -8.6      Percent
      Consolidated       9,688,943      9,407,177        3.0      Percent
    PASSENGER LOAD
     FACTOR
      Domestic        81.4 Percent   81.8 Percent       -0.4       Points

      International   76.1 Percent   77.5 Percent       -1.4       Points
      Transatlantic   76.3 Percent   78.9 Percent       -2.6       Points
      Latin America   76.7 Percent   77.3 Percent       -0.6       Points
      Pacific         74.5 Percent   75.0 Percent       -0.5       Points

      Mainline        78.8 Percent   79.9 Percent       -1.1       Points
      Regional        77.3 Percent   77.0 Percent        0.3       Points
      Consolidated    78.7 Percent   79.5 Percent       -0.8       Points
    ONBOARD PASSENGERS
      Mainline           4,145,405      4,131,505        0.3      Percent
      Regional           1,432,173      1,520,870       -5.8      Percent
      Consolidated       5,577,578      5,652,375       -1.3      Percent
    CARGO REVENUE
     TON MILES (000)
      Total                 92,237         91,819        0.5      Percent


                         PRELIMINARY TRAFFIC RESULTS

    YEAR-TO-DATE              2007           2006     Change
    REVENUE PASSENGER
     MILES (000)
      Domestic          45,356,239     43,265,128        4.8      Percent

      International     38,953,687     35,923,629        8.4      Percent
      Transatlantic     20,136,822     17,849,451       12.8      Percent
      Latin America     11,174,860     10,635,518        5.1      Percent
      Pacific            7,642,005      7,438,660        2.7      Percent

      Mainline          84,309,926     79,188,757        6.5      Percent
      Regional           9,855,802     10,324,681       -4.5      Percent
      Consolidated      94,165,728     89,513,438        5.2      Percent
    AVAILABLE SEAT
     MILES (000)
      Domestic          54,090,839     51,738,779        4.5      Percent

      International     49,048,119     45,927,564        6.8      Percent
      Transatlantic     25,350,543     22,655,352       11.9      Percent
      Latin America     13,875,830     13,554,639        2.4      Percent
      Pacific            9,821,746      9,717,573        1.1      Percent

      Mainline         103,138,958     97,666,343        5.6      Percent
      Regional          12,598,846     13,251,078       -4.9      Percent
      Consolidated     115,737,804    110,917,421        4.3      Percent
    PASSENGER LOAD
     FACTOR
      Domestic        83.9 Percent   83.6 Percent        0.3       Points

      International   79.4 Percent   78.2 Percent        1.2       Points
      Transatlantic   79.4 Percent   78.8 Percent        0.6       Points
      Latin America   80.5 Percent   78.5 Percent        2.0       Points
      Pacific         77.8 Percent   76.5 Percent        1.3       Points

      Mainline        81.7 Percent   81.1 Percent        0.6       Points
      Regional        78.2 Percent   77.9 Percent        0.3       Points
      Consolidated    81.4 Percent   80.7 Percent        0.7       Points
    ONBOARD
     PASSENGERS
      Mainline          50,959,989     48,787,157        4.5      Percent
      Regional          17,970,335     18,331,254       -2.0      Percent
      Consolidated      68,930,324     67,118,411        2.7      Percent
    CARGO REVENUE TON
     MILES (000)
      Total                944,873        982,385       -3.8      Percent


                PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS

    DECEMBER                  2007         2006       Change
    On-Time Performance (1)  66.4%        73.4%        (7.0)       Points
    Completion Factor (2)    98.4%        99.4%        (1.0)        Point
    November 2007 year-over-year consolidated RASM
     change                                              7.4      Percent
    November 2007 year-over-year mainline RASM
     change                                              7.8      Percent
    December 2007 estimated year-over-year
     consolidated RASM change                      5.5 - 6.5      Percent
    December 2007 estimated year-over-year
     mainline RASM change                          5.5 - 6.5      Percent
    December 2007 estimated average price per
     gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes               2.66      Dollars
    Fourth Quarter 2007 estimated average price
     per gallon of fuel, including fuel taxes           2.51      Dollars

     (1) Department of Transportation Arrivals within 14 minutes

     (2) Mainline Segment Completion Percentage

Source: Continental Airlines