PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF THE
Vila Olímpia
05457-006 São Paulo, São Paulo
Federative Republic of Brazil
annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F ___X___ Form 40-F ______
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ______ No ___X___
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
GOL Announces Traffic Statistics for December 2008
São Paulo, January 8, 2009 - GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and Bovespa: GOLL4), Brazil’s low cost airline, today released preliminary passenger statistics for the month of December 2008. Domestic passenger traffic (RPK) for December 2008 decreased 1.7% and capacity (ASK) increased 5.1% year-over-year (vs. December 2007). Domestic load factor for the month was 68% and international load factor was 49%. GOL’s total system load factor for the month of December was 65%.
| Consolidated Operating Data | December | December | Change | |||
| 2008 * | 2007 * | (%) | ||||
| Total System | ||||||
| ASK (mm) (1) | 3,240.4 | 3,480.5 | -6.9% | |||
| RPK (mm) (2) | 2,096.7 | 2,376.7 | -11.8% | |||
| Load Factor (3) | 64.7% | 68.3% | -3.6 p.p. | |||
| Domestic Market | ||||||
| ASK (mm) (1) | 2,737.8 | 2,605.2 | 5.1% | |||
| RPK (mm) (2) | 1,852.8 | 1,884.9 | -1.7% | |||
| Load Factor (3) | 67.7% | 72.4% | -4.7 p.p. | |||
| International Market | ||||||
| ASK (mm) (1) | 502.6 | 875.3 | -42.6% | |||
| RPK (mm) (2) | 243.9 | 491.8 | -50.4% | |||
| Load Factor (3) | 48.5% | 56.2% | -7.7 p.p. | |||
| ( * ) December 2008 - preliminary data; final data for December 2007. | ||||||
(1) Available seat kilometers represents the aircraft seating capacity multiplied by the number of kilometers the seats are flown.
(2) Revenue passenger kilometers represents the numbers of kilometers flown by revenue passengers.
(3) Load factor represents the percentage of aircraft seating capacity that is actually utilized (calculated by dividing revenue passenger kilometers by available seat kilometers).
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| CONTACT: | About GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. | |
| Investor Relations | GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and Bovespa: GOLL4), Brazil’s low-cost airline, offers nearly 800 daily flights to 49 destinations connecting the most important cities in Brazil and ten major destinations in South America. The company operates a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, the safest and most comfortable aircraft of its class that provides high aircraft utilization and efficiency ratios. The Company’s service is recognized as the best value proposition in the market. | |
| Ph: (5511) 3169 6800 | ||
| E-mail: ri@golnaweb.com.br | ||
| Site: www.voegol.com.br/ir | ||
| Corporate Communication | ||
| Ph.: (11) 2128-4413 | ||
| comcorp@golnaweb.com.br | ||
| Media | This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the prospects of the business, estimates for operating and financial results, and those related to growth prospects of GOL These are merely projections and, as such, are based exclusively on the expectations of GOL’s management. . Such forward-looking statements depend, substantially, on external factors, besides those disclosed in GOL’s filed disclosure documents and are, therefore, subject to change without prior notice. | |
| FSB Comunicações (Brazil): | ||
| Heloísa Reinert | ||
| Ph.: (11) 3061-9596 | ||
| heloisa.reinert@fsb.com.br | ||
| Edelman (EUA): | ||
| M. Smith and N. Dean | ||
| Ph.: 1 (212) 704-8196 / 704-4484 | ||
| meaghan.smith@edelman.com | ||
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GOL LINHAS AÉREAS INTELIGENTES S.A. |
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By: |
/S/ Anna Cecília Bettencourt Cochrane |
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Name: Anna Cecília Bettencourt Cochrane
Title: Investor Relations Officer |
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on management's current view and estimates offuture economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will a ctually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.