Rankings / Continental Airlines
Last reported 2011Continental Airlines
In 2011, its last year in the data, Continental Airlines flew 54.5 passenger-miles per gallon of jet fuel. That's 6% better than the all-airline figure that year. Since 2000 its figure has risen 35%.
About Continental Airlines
Continental flew from hubs at Houston, Newark and Cleveland, and ran a Pacific network from Guam through its Continental Micronesia subsidiary. It merged with United in October 2010. United's page includes its flying from 2012 on.
- 54.5passenger-miles per gallon, 2011
- 0.179 kgCO2 per passenger-mile
- 81%of seats filled
- 104seats per flight on average
The story in the figures
Continental Airlines' passenger-miles per gallon rose 35% between 2000 and 2011, from 40.3 to 54.5. Most of that came from the aircraft: seat-miles per gallon rose 23%, while planes ran fuller, with 74% of seat-miles filled in 2000 against 81% in 2011.
The shape of the flying changed as well: the average passenger flew 1,227 miles per segment in 2000 and 1,504 in 2011. In general, longer flights spend a smaller share of their fuel on takeoff and climb.
Its best year was 2010, at 57.0 passenger-miles per gallon.
Against the all-airline figure for 2011 (51.5), Continental Airlines was 6.0% better. On a 1,000 mile trip that works out to 179 kg of CO2 for one passenger, from burning jet fuel only.
What one seat costs the climate
CO2 for one passenger on Continental Airlines, from burning jet fuel only.
- 89 kgover 500 miles
- 179 kgover 1,000 miles
- 357 kgover 2,000 miles
Continental Airlines sells seats on flights operated by regional partners, mainly XE (1) and 9L. In 2011 about 7.5% of its seat-miles were flown by regionals. How much of each regional's flying belongs to Continental Airlines is an estimate based on the hubs the regional serves. The figure for 2011 sits between 54.2 and 54.5 passenger-miles per gallon depending on how multi-airline regionals are split. See the methodology.
Continental merged with United, and BTS began combining their filings in January 2012. Continental Micronesia, which merged into Continental in December 2010, counts here as Continental. Later years are under United Airlines.
Year-by-year figures
| Year | Passenger-miles per gallon | kg CO2 per passenger-mile | Seat-miles per gallon | Load factor | Passengers (millions) | Fuel (million gallons) | CO2 (thousand tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 54.5 | 0.179 | 67.1 | 81.3% | 58.4 | 1,610 | 15,695 |
| 2010 | 57.0 | 0.171 | 68.7 | 83.0% | 62.3 | 1,595 | 15,549 |
| 2009 | 52.9 | 0.184 | 65.1 | 81.3% | 62.8 | 1,679 | 16,373 |
| 2008 | 50.9 | 0.192 | 63.6 | 80.1% | 68.1 | 1,835 | 17,895 |
| 2007 | 50.6 | 0.193 | 62.5 | 81.0% | 69.7 | 1,870 | 18,231 |
| 2006 | 49.4 | 0.197 | 61.2 | 80.7% | 67.5 | 1,813 | 17,678 |
| 2005 | 47.9 | 0.203 | 60.7 | 78.9% | 61.2 | 1,672 | 16,299 |
| 2004 | 46.3 | 0.211 | 60.1 | 77.0% | 56.3 | 1,578 | 15,389 |
| 2003 | 44.0 | 0.222 | 58.8 | 74.9% | 51.7 | 1,473 | 14,366 |
| 2002 | 44.6 | 0.219 | 60.8 | 73.4% | 50.6 | 1,415 | 13,792 |
| 2001 | 40.9 | 0.238 | 56.9 | 71.8% | 53.1 | 1,582 | 15,422 |
| 2000 | 40.3 | 0.242 | 54.4 | 74.1% | 55.5 | 1,688 | 16,461 |
Where the leaders stand
Nearby airline results
These airlines sit nearby by passenger-miles per gallon in their last data year. Historical airlines have different end years, shown here, so this isn't a same-year ranking.
Airline references
Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Schedule P-12(a) fuel, T-100 traffic and regional Schedule T-2 filings; US EPA jet-fuel CO2 factor. See the methodology.