CAL's overseas forecast

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Seems like someone on this board once discussed how CAL was eventually going to be 777/757 international, and RJs domestic. Prophetic perhaps.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh40512_2005-11-14_19-38-14_n14416662_newsml

Continental sees o/seas capacity topping domestic

Mon Nov 14, 2005 02:38 PM ET

ORLANDO, Florida, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Continental Airlines sees a day when its capacity, or the number of seats put up for sale, on international routes is larger than its domestic capacity, the airline's chief executive said on Monday. The No. 5 U.S. carrier now has a little less than half of its capacity on international flights. But domestic competition from low-fare competitors has forced Continental and other major carriers to look harder for profits on longer, more lucrative overseas routes were low-cost carriers don't fly.

 

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CAL Domestic Capacity to stay the same

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE:CAL - News) sees a day when its capacity, or the number of seats put up for sale, on international routes is larger than its domestic capacity, the airline's chief executive said on Monday.

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The No. 5 U.S. carrier now has a little less than half of its capacity on international flights. But domestic competition from low-fare competitors has forced Continental and other major carriers to look harder for profits on longer, more lucrative overseas routes were low-cost carriers don't fly.
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"I see our international capacity continuing to grow," Kellner said at the PhocusWright Executive Conference for travel professionals in Orlando. "Our international will be bigger than our domestic network."
At the end of September, 47 percent of Continental's capacity was on international routes, up from 44 percent a year earlier. Those figures exclude the carrier's commuter flights.
Kellner said e expects Continental's domestic capacity to remain steady for the foreseeable future because a solid domestic network must feed the international network.
Some industry experts, however, worry that an influx of capacity onto foreign routes by major carriers will create a glut of seats on those routes, causing fares to fall.
The airline industry has been battered by soaring fuel prices and a wave of low-cost competition, factors that have forced some large carriers, such as Delta Air Lines (Other OTC:DALRQ.PK - News) and Northwest Airlines (Other OTC:NWACQ.PK - News) into bankruptcy.
Continental, however, is one of a few carriers to post a profit in this environment. The airline swung to a profit from a loss in the third quarter.
Kellner said the third-quarter profit proves the industry can make money even with oil prices near record highs.
"I clearly think the industry can make money at $50 barrel," he said. "You just have to get everyone adjusted to that point."
NYMEX oil futures (CLc1), which reached a record high above $70 a barrel in August traded near $57.50 a barrel on Monday.
Kellner said the key to airline survival lies in strategic cost cuts.
"We're looking at every piece of the equation," he said. Shares of Continental fell 88 cents to $15.02 on the New York Stock Exchange at mid-afternoon.