ExpressJet traffic down, revises 3Q loss to profit
Wednesday November 12, 2:31 pm ET
ExpressJet, operator of feeder service for Continental, reports October traffic fell
DALLAS (AP) -- ExpressJet Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it flew 29 percent fewer miles with paying customers in October but its planes were more full after it cut capacity from a year ago.
The company, which operates regional flights for Continental Airlines Inc. but grounded its own airline and ended regional flights for Delta Air Lines Inc., flew 620 million revenue passenger miles in October, down from 872 million a year ago.
Load factor, or average occupancy, rose to 75.4 percent from 71.8 percent a year earlier, as capacity was cut 32 percent from October 2007.
On Tuesday, Houston-based ExpressJet said it earned $5 million, or 32 cents per share, in the third quarter instead of the loss of $4.8 million, or 30 cents per share, that it reported last week.
The difference was due to a gain from modifying terms of convertible notes due in 2023, which was raised to $27.8 million from the originally reported $11.8 million. The revision caused changes in other figures, such as tax and interest expenses.
ExpressJet missed a Monday deadline for filing its third-quarter financial report with the SEC because of the issue of assessing fair-market value of the notes. The company also said this week that it planned to drop its outside auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, beginning with the audit for calendar 2009.
Shares of ExpressJet fell 19 cents to $1.51 in Wednesday afternoon trading.