Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) today reported a systemwide load factor of 79.4 percent in August, the highest August load factor in company history and 1.2 points above the previous record set in August 1998.

In August 2000, Continental flew 6.1 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) and 7.6 billion available seat miles (ASMs), resulting in a traffic increase of 5.5 percent on a capacity increase of 2.5 percent versus August 1999. International traffic was 2.4 billion RPMs, up 8.5 percent from August 1999 and international capacity was 2.9 billion ASMs, up 5.8 percent from last year.

Continental Express, Continental’s wholly owned regional subsidiary, reported a 63.2 percent load factor in August, 1.2 points below last August’s record. Continental Express flew 272.0 million RPMs and 430.4 million ASMs in August, resulting in a traffic increase of 31.7 percent and a capacity increase of 34.3 percent versus last year.

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