Continental traffic rose 7 percent in August

HOUSTON — Continental Airlines Inc. said Thursday that traffic in September rose 7 percent from a year earlier and planes had record occupancy levels, giving an upbeat ending to a quarter that started with falling traffic in July and August.

However, other figures showed that Continental still took in less money per airplane seat, as carriers cut fares to fill their planes.

Continental said paying passengers flew 6.95 billion miles last month compared with 6.49 billion miles in September 2008. That included regional flights and Continental’s mainline brand.

Capacity increased 0.5 percent, to 8.53 billion available seat miles, including regional affiliates.

With traffic rising faster than capacity, average occupancy rose to a September record of 81.5 percent from 76.5 percent a year earlier.

The traffic increase in September followed declines of 3.9 percent in August and 3.4 percent in July.

The Houston-based airline said revenue per available seat mile, a closely watched measurement of financial performance among airlines, fell about 19 percent, even worse than August’s 17.2 percent drop. That reflected continued fare-cutting and weakness in high-priced business travel.

Excluding the regional affiliates, the revenue measurement fell between 20 and 21 percent.

The mainline Continental brand, excluding regional flying, saw traffic rise 6.7 percent, capacity increase 0.5 percent, and average occupancy rise to 82.2 percent from 77.4 percent a year ago.

Continental shares fell $1.36 to $15.08 in trading Thursday.