Information about Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines
IATA CO	ICAO COA	Callsign CONTINENTAL
Founded		1934 (as Varney Speed Lines)
Hubs		George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) Newark Liberty International Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (Guam)
Frequent flyer program		OnePass
Member lounge		Presidents Club
Alliance		SkyTeam
Subsidiaries		Continental Micronesia
Fleet size		367 (+89 orders)
Destinations		292
Company slogan		Work Hard, Fly Right
Headquarters		Houston, Texas
Key people		Larry Kellner (CEO) Jeff Misner (CFO)
Website: [1]

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) is a U.S. certificated air carrier. Based in Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the U.S.^[1] and the eighth-largest in the world by revenue passenger miles. Continental's marketing slogan, since 1998, has been Work Hard, Fly Right.

Continental operates to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It has more than 3,000 daily departures, serving 151 domestic and 120 international destinations and has 42,200 employees (at March 2007)^[2]. Principal operations are from its three hubs at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (in Cleveland, Ohio), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (in Houston, Texas), and Newark Liberty International Airport (in Newark, New Jersey). With a relatively small number of focus cities, the airline is arguably the most concentrated of all 6 major U.S. carriers around the hub and spoke system of airline travel. Continental Micronesia, a wholly owned subsidiary, operates routes around Micronesia from its hub at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on Guam and connects the Micronesian region with destinations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Honolulu and Cairns, Australia.

Continental Airlines is a minority owner of ExpressJet Airlines, which operates under the trade name Continental Express but is a separately managed and publicly-traded company. They are also a minority owner of Copa Airlines. Cape Air, Colgan Air, CommutAir, and Gulfstream International Airlines feed Continental's flights under the Continental Connection identity, as does Chautauqua Airlines under the Continental Express identity; Continental does not have any ownership interests in these companies.

Since September 2004, Continental has been a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, in which it participates with Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and KLM. In addition to extensive code share arrangements with SkyTeam partner airlines, the airline also code-shares with Amtrak rail services to some cities in the northeastern United States, and with SNCF French Rail to destinations in France.

History

Early history

Continental Airlines began service in 1934 as Varney Speed Lines, named after one of its initial owners, Walter T. Varney operating out of El Paso, Texas and extending through Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico to Pueblo, Colorado. The airline started with Lockheed Vegas, a single engine plane that carried four passengers. The airline later flew other Lockheed planes, including the Lodestar. It was renamed Continental on 1 July 1937 after a new owner Robert Six had taken a forty percent ownership with Varney's co-founder Louis Mueller. Six relocated the airline's headquarters to Stapleton Airport in Denver in October, 1937. Robert F. Six was one of the legendary patriarchs of U.S. aviation had a reputation as a scrappy, pugnacious and risk-taking executive who presided over the airline he largely forged in his image for more than 40 years.^[3]

During World War II Continental's Denver maintenance facilities became a conversion center where the airline converted B-29s and P-51s for the United States Army Air Force. Profits from military transportation and aircraft conversion enabled Continental to contemplate expansion and acquisition of new aircraft types which became available following the war.^[3] Among those types were the DC-3, and Convair 240. Some of the DC-3's were acquired as surplus planes after WW-II. The Convair was the first airplane, opeated by Continental, that was pressurized.

The airline's early route network was limited to the southwestern United States for many years. In 1953, Continental merged with Pioneer Airlines, gaining access to 16 additional cities in Texas and New Mexico which integrated well with the carrier's initial El Paso-Albuquerque-Denver route.^[3]

Growth

By the end of the 1950s, Continental Airlines had seen a broad expansion of its routes. In 1957 it flew for the first time from Chicago to Los Angeles (both nonstop, and via Denver); and from Denver to Kansas City. Continental Airlines introduced turboprop service with the Vickers Viscount 800 Series, on the new medium length routes. Continental was also an early operator of the Boeing 707, taking delivery of its first 707s in 1959. Six, not being satisfied with jet service alone, introduced dramatic service innovations with Continental's 707 operations which were described as, "...nothing short of luxurious" by the Los Angeles Times, and, "...clearly, the finest in the airline industry" by the Chicago Tribune.^[6]

Continental's initial purchase of the Boeing 707 jets was for four jets. The airline introduced a program of progressive maintenance in order to obtain the utilization rates for the jets needed to operate its schedule. That program was crucial to successfully operating with only four jets.

Prior to the arrival of the Boeing 707 jets, Continental acquired DC-7's to operate its non-stop route from Los Angeles to Chicago.

Beginning in the early 1960s Continental expanded rapidly, adding service from Los Angeles to Houston (both nonstop, and with services via Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, Midland/Odessa, Austin, and San Antonio); and from Denver and to Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, and Houston (both nonstop, and with services via Wichita and Tulsa/Oklahoma City). In 1963 the company's headquarters moved from Denver to Los Angeles.^[3]

During the late 1960s, Continental replaced the Viscounts with DC-9's from Douglas Aircraft. The company also disposed of its piston powered airplanes, one of the first airlines to do so. The last piston powered airplane operated by Continental was the DC-3.

Throughout the Vietnam War Continental provided extensive cargo and troop transportation for United States Army and Marine forces to Asian and the Pacific bases. As a result of Continental's experience in Pacific operations, the carrier formed subsidiary Air Micronesia, picking up island hopping routes between Saipan/Guam and Honolulu, which Continental operated with 727 aircraft (this unit is currently known as Continental Micronesia). In 1968 a new aircraft livery was launched, the orange and gold cheatlines adorned with a black global circle on the jet's tails. The marketing slogan adopted in the late 1960s and used through the early 70s was, "The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail."^[6][3]

1969 saw the introduction of service from Los Angeles to Honolulu/Hilo; and in 1970, Continental's first Boeing 747s arrived. McDonell-Douglas DC-10s were added to the fleet in 1971. Continental was selected to serve the route from the Pacific Northwest to San Jose and Ontario, CA.^[3]



Continental's growth during this period was about more than new aircraft types or additional route miles. Quality was the watchword in every detail of the carrier's operation; and in one anecdotal indication of Six's passion for premium customer service, every page of the airline's Customer Service Manual was inscribed with these words: "Nothing in this manual supersedes common sense." Bob Six relentlessly prowled the Continental system, as well as competitors' flights, to assure tight quality standards and to search for ideas that could be adopted to Continental's network.^[6][3]

At Six's insistence, Continental (with Pan Am) was a launch airline for the Boeing 747 aircraft. Its upper-deck first class lounge won awards worldwide for the most refined cabin interior among all airlines, as did meal services developed by Continental's Cordon Bleu-trained executive chefs. Continentals 747 services from Chicago and Denver to Los Angeles and Honolulu set the standard for service in the western U.S. When asked by one Denver customer service agent in 1974 why he flew Continental wherever he could, Hollywood legend Henry Fonda remarked, "This operation is class; strictly class!"^[6][3]

First black pilot

In 1963, Continental hired the first black pilot to work for any major carrier in the United States, Marlon Green, after a United States Supreme Court decision allowed a Colorado anti-discrimination law to be applied to his case.^[15]

Acquisition by Texas Air Corp.

In 1981 Texas Air Corporation, an airline holding company controlled by U.S. aviation entrepreneur and raider Frank Lorenzo, acquired Continental after a contentious battle with Continental's management who were adamantly determined to resist Lorenzo. Continental's labor unions also fiercely resisted, fearing what they termed as, "Lorenzo's deregulation tactics." In the end, Texas Air Corp. prevailed. Frank Lorenzo became Continental's new Chairman and CEO. Texas International Airlines (TI), another Lorenzo holding, was merged into Continental Airlines in June 1982. TI ceased to exist and the "new Continental" relocated its headquarters to Texas Air's base in Houston, Texas. The merger resulted in a large expansion of Continental's hub at Houston Intercontinental Airport and its extensive routes to Mexico.^[6][17] Airline unions fought Continental at every step. In the Federal courts, they unsuccessfully sued to stop the company's reorganization. They were successful in working to persuade Congress to pass a new bankruptcy law preventing bankrupt companies from terminating contracts as Continental had successfully done. The law was too late to affect Continental and the drastic cost cutting and changes that had rescued it from liquidation.^[6][17][20]

First bankruptcy

Frank Lorenzo took Continental into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 1983 after extensive negotiations with labor unions proved unsuccessful. Continental imposed a series of new labor agreement on its union workers, sharply reducing the airline's labor costs. This move made Continental vastly more competitive with the new airline startups then emerging and thriving in the southwestern U.S.^[17][20]

Much of the airline was liquidated and the company was rebranded as a low-cost carrier. Continental was also forced to abandon its hub in Los Angeles although it maintained its Denver and South Pacific routes. A more streamlined, leaner Continental emerged only a few days after the bankruptcy filing, a fact which gave Continental the distinction of being the first airline to fly through bankruptcy.^[17][20]

Rapid growth through consolidation

In October 1983, Texas Air Corp. made an offer for a Denver-based regional carrier, Frontier Airlines, opening a bidding war with People Express, which was headed by Lorenzo's former TI associate Don Burr. PeopleExpress paid a substantial premium for Frontier's high-cost operation. The acquisition, funded by debt, did not seem to industry observers be rational from either the route integration or the operating philosophy points of view, but was in the opinion of most industry analysts rather an attempt by Burr to best his former boss, Frank Lorenzo.^[6][20]

In June 1985, Continental rebounded as signaled by a major strategic move: initiating European service with flights from Newark and Houston to London. .

On August 24, 1986, Frontier filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. With PeopleExpress hemorraging cash, Texas Air acquired PeopleExpress on September 15, 1986, at the same time gaining Frontier, which reinforced Continental's already formidable Denver hub. The PeopleExpress hub at Newark allowed Continental to expand its east coast services dramatically for the first time in its history; and the carrier soon became the third-largest airline in the U.S.. Continental emerged from bankruptcy in 1986 with dramatically improved asset and cash flow positions and a much more competitive route structure with routes radiating to every large U.S. city from major hubs at Denver, Newark and Houston.^[20][6]

On February 1, 1987, People Express, New York Air, and several commuter carriers were merged into Continental Airlines to create the sixth largest airline in the world. 1987 also saw the creation of the OnePass frequent flier program (jointly with Eastern Airlines), and in 1988 Continental formed its first strategic partnership (and the first international airline alliance of its kind with SAS.^[6]

Second bankruptcy

In 1990, Frank Lorenzo retired after 18 years at the helm of Texas International and later Texas Air and Continental Airlines, selling the majority of his Jet Capital Corporation to Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). According to William F. Buckley, in his September 17, 1990 article on National Review, the sale to SAS was conditioned on Lorenzo leaving the company. Shortly after Lorenzo left Continental, the airline filed for its second bankruptcy inside of a decade. There were a number of circumstances behind the second bankruptcy, most importantly: Lorenzo had dedicated himself almost full time to Eastern Air Lines acquisition and labor relations issues; the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the resultant Gulf War had prompted a dramatic increase in the price of jet fuel; and People Express had also been highly leveraged at the time of its merger with Continental, having purchased Frontier Airlines just two years before. In addition to Lorenzo embarking on deals which saddled the airline with other carriers' debts, he also began consolidating the different airlines into one system. That resulted in a fleet comprising numerous aircraft types, evident in the array of liveries in the Continental fleet for years to come.

In the late 1980s, following a dramatic reduction of service by United Airlines and an unsuccessful attempt by USAir to build-up point-to-point service, Continental slowly moved into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and established what would become its third-largest system hub. Continental quickly gained nearly all of the gates in the airport's C concourse (once dominated by United), and later expanded that concourse in addition to constructing an entirely new Concourse D.

In 1993 Air Canada, along with Air Partners and Texas Pacific Group, aided Continental in coming out of chapter 11 once again by investing $450 million in the airline. Under the leadership of former Boeing executive Gordon Bethune, who became President in October of 1994, Continental subsequently ordered new aircraft in an effort to convert to an all-Boeing fleet. The airline's Denver hub - its historic operational base and headquarters for, in effect, almost 50 years - was reduced to spoke status (with service only to Houston, Newark, and Cleveland) in a further efficiency measure in 1995. Bethune also launched a 'Go-Forward Plan', designed to fix numerous other problems with the airline. His experiences were chronicled in his 1999 book From Worst to First.^[30]

Current operations

Continental embarked on an ambitious program to expand its international operations. In 1998 it launched flights to Ireland and Scotland, and in October 1998 the airline received its first Boeing 777 aircraft, allowing non-stop flights from Newark and Houston to Tokyo, Japan and from Newark to Tel Aviv, Israel. Continental in the same year launched partnerships with Northwest Airlines, Copa, Avant Airlines, Transbrasil, and Cape Air, and Continental and America West Airlines became the first two US airlines to launch interline electronic ticketing.

On March 1, 2001, Continental launched a non-stop flight from Newark to Hong Kong, flying over the North Pole, which was the first non-stop long-haul flight service for any airline with flying duration of 16 hours. The September 11, 2001 attacks and the SARS outbreak in Asia caused service to be suspended until August 1, 2003. The launch in 2001 started the battle between Continental, United Airlines and Cathay Pacific over non-stop flights between Hong Kong and New York.

In 2005, Continental expanded service from Newark to Beijing after being awarded the China route. During the same year, five new European destinations including Stockholm in Sweden, Belfast and Bristol in the United Kingdom, and Hamburg and Berlin in Germany. 2005 was a year in which coverage in Asia was also expanded; Continental introduced a nonstop daily flight from Newark to New Delhi, India. With the immense success of this Newark-Delhi route, Continental decided to open a second gateway in India. With the recent announcement of daily nonstop service to Mumbai, Continental will have the most nonstop flights from the United States to India by any carrier. Continental also began new non-stop service to Athens in June 2007.

By May 2006, Continental passed bankrupt Northwest Airlines to become the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, the first change in the top-five rankings since 2001.

The Wall Street Journal revealed on December 12, 2006 that Continental was in merger discussions with United Airlines. Of issue would be Continental's golden share held by Northwest Airlines, dating from a stakeholding relationship during the late 1990s, and the divestiture of Continental's Guamanian hub. A deal was not "certain or imminent," with the talks being in a preliminary state.^[31][32]



In mid-2007, Continental will feature docking capability for Apple Computer's iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with Continental's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.^[33]

Recognizing operational capacity limits at Newark, Continental has begun utilizing its Cleveland hub as a reliever by developing more international service. In 2008, Continental will begin flying from Cleveland to Paris, and has announced new, seasonal once-weekly flights between Cleveland and Québec City. Additional international routes are expected to follow, pending the completion of a newly-expanded Federal Inspection Services station in Continental's primary concourse in Cleveland.

Awards

Continental has recently earned other noteworthy recognitions and awards:

• No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline; FORTUNE magazine (2004, 2005, and 2006)
• No. 1 Most Admired U.S. Airline; FORTUNE magazine (2006)
• Best Executive/Business Class; OAG Airline of the Year Awards (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006)
• Best Airline Based in North America; OAG Airline of the Year Awards (2004, 2005, and 2006)
• Best Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific Business Class among U.S. airlines; Conde Nast Traveler (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006)
• Best Airline for Travel in North America, Best Flight Attendants in the US, and Best Inflight Service in the US by reader survey in the UK's Business Traveller magazine (December 2006)
• "Airline of the Year" by OAG
• Continental was also named "World's Most Admired Airline." by Yahoo
• Award for Highest- Ranked Network Airline by J.D. Power and Associates

Destinations

Further information: Continental Airlines destinations Former Continental Airlines Destinations

Continental Airlines operates primarily a hub and spoke route network with hubs in Cleveland, Houston, and Newark, and a Micronesian hub in Guam. It operates most of its flights from its hubs, with the exception of some notable routes (most notably Seattle-Anchorage and Los Angeles-Honolulu). Continental Connection also operates flights not involving hubs, such as Florida-Bahamas service and some service in the U.S. Northeast.

Continental has served Australia in the past with DC-10 service from Hawaii but eventually withdrew from the Australian market with the exception of less than daily 737 service between Cairns and Guam. Continental also operated a large hub in Denver but closed the hub in 1995 after Stapleton International Airport was closed and replaced with the current Denver International Airport.

Briefly during the mid-1990s, Continental operated a hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport, primarily as the base of its short-lived Continental Lite experiment but for other flights as well. The GSO hub was closed by 1995.

Continental was initially a domestic airline though it has served Mexican destinations for many years. It entered in transatlantic market in April, 1985 with the introduction of the Houston-London Gatwick flight. Current Bermuda II treaty obligations with the United Kingdom do not allow new entrant airlines to fly into London Heathrow, but the U.S. has awarded Continental route authority to Heathrow. The British have allowed Continental to codeshare with Virgin Atlantic into Heathrow but have not allowed Continental to exercise the route authority to actually fly aircraft into Heathrow that the U.S. has unilaterally granted.



However, as of March 2008, a new Open Skies Agreement with the EU takes effect, effectively invalidating Bermuda II restrictions limiting the number of carriers and cities in the US that can serve Heathrow. As a result, Continental is hoping to gain slots to fly into Heathrow.

Continental flies to the most scheduled destinations of any US airline in India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, and is the only US airline to fly to the Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Norway and Palau. It has the most scheduled international destinations of any U.S.-based airline if some Continental Express destinations to Mexico are included. Continental began service from Newark to Mumbai, India on October 1, 2007 making it Continental's second Indian destination.

On September 24, 2007 the Department of Transportation tentatively awarded Continental permission to begin daily direct service between Cleveland and Shanghai via Newark in March 2009. The route is planned to be operated with a Boeing 777 aircraft.^[34]

Fleet

Continental's all-Boeing fleet with an age of 8.9 years consists of the following aircraft:^[2]

Continental Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First*/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Boeing 737-300	48	124 (12/112)	Domestic short-medium haul US, Mexico, Canada	Will retrofit all with winglets Exiting from service: 7 in 2008
Boeing 737-500	63	114 (8/106)	Domestic short-medium haul	Will retrofit 37 with winglets Selling 10 to Transaero Exiting from service: 3 in 2007, 12 in 2008
Boeing 737-700	36 (22 orders)	124 (12/112)	Domestic short-medium haul	All configured with winglets
Boeing 737-800	96 (15 orders)	150 (18/132) 152 (20/132) 155 (14/141) 157 (16/141)	Domestic short-medium haul Continental Micronesia US, Mexico, Canada	All configured with winglets Deliveries: 12 in 2008
Boeing 737-900	12	167 (18/149)	Domestic medium-long haul
Boeing 737-900ER	(27 orders)	173 (20/153)		Entry into service: 2008 Deliveries: 21 in 2008
Boeing 757-200	41	175 (16/159)	Domestic/international medium-long haul	Configured with BusinessFirst seats All configured with winglets To be fitted with new interiors
Boeing 757-300	17	216 (24/192)	Domestic medium-long haul
Boeing 767-200ER	10	174 (25/149)	International medium-long haul Europe, South America, Asia, US Domestic (i.e. EWR-IAH)
Boeing 767-400ER	16	235 (35/200) 256 (20/236)	International medium-long haul Continental Micronesia Mainland Hawaii, Europe, South America, Asia, US Domestic (i.e. EWR-MCO)
Boeing 777-200ER	20	283 (48/235) 285 (50/235)	International long haul	To be fitted with new interiors
Boeing 787-8	(8 orders)			Entry into service: Late 2008 or early 2009
Boeing 787-9	(17 orders)			Entry into service: Late 2011 or early 2012

^{*First Class is offered on Domestic Flights. BusinessFirst is offered on Transatlantic/Transpacific Flights.}
Recently, Continental Airlines announced that it will acquire 24 more Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, bringing the total number of Boeing 737NGs in its fleet to 213 when these aircraft, and pre-existing firm order 737NG aircraft, are delivered. On August 3, 2006, Continental converted an order for 12 Boeing 737NG's for an order for 737-900ERs, the first carrier in the Americas to operate the aircraft, with first delivery in 2008.^[35]


Continental Airlines was one of three carriers (with American Airlines and Delta Air Lines) to sign an exclusivity agreement with Boeing in the late 1990s. When Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, the European Union forced Boeing to void the contracts. However, both parties have been adhering to the terms under a gentlemen's agreement.

Continental was one of the first major airlines to fly the Boeing 757 on transatlantic routes. There have been some instances of range limitations on west-bound transatlantic flights due to strong headwinds resulting in a fuel stop which does not appear on the timetable, but these stops are not common. The use of the 757 with its smaller seating capacity has allowed for "thin" routes (routes with less passenger traffic) to be economically viable. It has allowed non-stop service from smaller cities, such as Bristol England, to the New York area. Previously, customers in Bristol had to go to London to cross the Atlantic.

Cabin

Continental Airlines along with all U.S. SkyTeam carriers have a two-class layout, First/BusinessFirst and Economy Class. On international flights using the Boeing 757, 767 and 777, the premium cabin service is known as BusinessFirst, the equivalent of business class, while on all domestic flights, the premium cabin service is simply known as First Class.

Unlike many U.S. carriers, Continental did not eliminate items such as pillows and food service from its domestic economy cabin. Snacks and meals are still available, depending on the length and time of the flight. Headsets are also available for purchase, which can then be kept.

Due to triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), none of the planes in the Continental fleet or in use as Continental Express have a 13th row.

OnePass

OnePass is Continental Airlines frequent flyer program, which was established in 1987, offering regular travelers the ability to obtain free tickets, First Class upgrades on flights, discounted membership for its airport lounge (President's Club), or other types of rewards. Customers accumulate miles from flight segments they fly or through Continental Airlines partners. OnePass elite tiers are Silver, Gold, and Platinum Elite which have benefits such as complimentary upgrades, mileage bonus, priority check-in, priority boarding, and much more. Continental previously had a frequent flyer program prior to OnePass, which was started not long after American Airline started its frequent flyer program in 1981 and when most large US airlines followed, but this was merged with Eastern Airlines' frequent flyer program in 1987 to form OnePass.^[36][37] The name "OnePass" refers to the ability to accumulate miles on two major airlines, namely Continental and Eastern, in one frequent flyer program.

In addition to its Continental Express, Continental Connection, and SkyTeam Alliance partnerships, Continental has frequent flyer partnerships with the following airlines:

AeroRepública Air Europa Alaska Airlines American Eagle (only within California) Cape Air Copa Airlines

Emirates EVA Air Hawaiian Airlines Horizon Air Island Air Qantas Virgin Atlantic

Continental Airlines also offers frequent flyer partnerships with the following car rental companies:

Advantage Alamo Avis Budget Dollar

Hertz National Sixt Thrifty

Presidents Club

The Presidents Club is the membership airport lounge program of Continental Airlines. The clubs all have open bars and free wifi. Continental was the first airline to offer free wifi in their lounge.^[38] There are 27 clubs throughout the world and members have full reciprocal privileges at over 40 additional locations including lounges operated by selected SkyTeam partners including Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico, Alitalia, and Northwest Airlines. Presidents club members also have access to Alaska Airlines lounges and Amtrak Acela clubs. The Presidents Club offers lifetime memberships, something that as of 2007 costs non-elite OnePass members $4,690.^[39]

Locations

The Presidents Club locations are listed below:

Atlanta Austin Boston (Closing) Chicago O'Hare Shared with Northwest Airlines Cleveland Dallas/Fort Worth Denver Fort Lauderdale

Guam Honolulu Houston (5) Los Angeles Las Vegas (Coming Soon) Mexico City, Mexico New York La Guardia Newark (3) Panama City, Panama

San Antonio San Francisco San Juan Seattle/Tacoma Washington Reagan

Continental Airlines President Club members are allowed to use partner clubs, which offer more clubs in more locations. For partner club information see club location information at continental.com

Codeshare agreements

Continental Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of September 2007:
(This list does not include SkyTeam airlines)

• AeroRepublica
• Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air
• Cape Air, and the Continental Connection agreement, 'Continental Connection operated by Cape Air in Micronesia and Southern Florida.
• China Southern Airlines (Joining Skyteam late 2007)
• Emirates
• EVA Airways
• Kingfisher Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Island Air
• US Helicopter
• Virgin Atlantic Airways

Continental Connection codeshares

''Continental Connection has a codeshare with American Eagle (the American Airlines and AMR Corporation version of Continental Express), yet not with American Airlines. Also, American Eagle does not operate as Continental Connection, it codeshares specifically with Continental Connection, not Continental Airlines. The operators of Continental Connection are:

• CommutAir operates mostly from Continental's Cleveland hub.
• Colgan Air operates out of its hub at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Colgan, as a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines (which currently flies as the largest operator of Northwest Airlink flights, will soon begin flying new [Bombardier Q400] aircraft as 'Continental Connection'.
• Cape Air operates (Continental also has a codeshare with the mainstream Cape Air) in Southern Florida and from Guam to Saipan, Saipan to Rota and Rota to Guam.
• Gulfstream International Airlines operates in the Bahamas, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Fort Walton, Tallahassee, Fort Myers, Key West, and Sarasota-Bradenton International

Incidents and accidents

The following are major incidents and accidents that occurred on Continental Airlines mainline aircraft.

Continental Airlines Reported Incidents

Flight	Date	Aircraft	Location	Description	Casualties
Fatal	Serious	Minor/Uninjured	Ground
11 [2]	May 22, 1962	Boeing 707-100	Unionville, MO	A passenger looking to claim money from life insurance planted a bomb on the aircraft which departed Chicago-O’Hare destined for. Kansas City Municipal Airport. The bomb exploded, the tail broke off, and the plane crashed on a farm near Unionville, Missouri. All 45 on board died. The aircraft had previously been subject to an attempted hijack to Cuba, although the hijackers were captured in El Paso, TX.	45
290 [3]	January 29, 1963	Vickers Viscount	Kansas City, MO	Flight 290 was flying from Midland, TX to Kansas City when it crashed on approach. The plane crashed near the south end of the runway and burst into flames.	8
N/A [4]	April 13, 1973	NA-265 Sabreliner	Montrose, CO	The thrust reverser of the aircraft was deployed in flight shortly after takeoff. The Sabreliner descended from 1000 feet and struck the ground.	2
603 [5]	March 1, 1978	DC-10	Los Angeles, CA	Flight 603 was scheduled to fly to Honolulu, HI from Los Angeles. The DC-10 overran the runway during an aborted takeoff as a result of a tire explosion resulting in a fire engulfing the aircraft. The aircraft was declared a total loss.	2	31	167
1713 [6]	November 15, 1987	DC-9	Denver, CO	Flight 1713 bound for Boise, Idaho crashed on take-off during a snowstorm.	28	28	26
55 [7]	July 25, 2000	DC-10	Paris, France	Flight 55 contributed to the crash of Air France Concorde Flight 4590 in Paris. The Continental jet dropped a strip of metal from its thrust reverser on the runway, causing the Concorde's tires to explode as it began its takeoff roll. The exploding tires penetrated Concorde's wing fuel tanks, starting fires in engines 1 and 2, leading to the crash which killed all aboard. According to the official report on the accident, the strip of metal installed on the Continental jet had not been authorized by the US Federal Aviation Administration or the aircraft manufacturer. This led French authorities to begin a criminal investigation into Continental Airlines.[40]				113

Minor incidents

• On July 1, 1965 Continental Airlines Flight 12 ran off the runway at Kansas City Downtown Airport landing in heavy rain. All 66 on board survived.
• On February 19, 1996 Continental Airlines flight 1943, a Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft flying from Washington, DC to Houston, made a wheels up landing in Houston Intercontinental Airport. There were no fatalities. The cause of the accident was flightcrew’s failure to perform the landing checklist and confirm that the landing gear was extended.^[41]
• On August 2, 1997, aboard a Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200 in Lima, Peru, a passenger in a wheelchair was left at the top of the air stairs while an agent was bringing the wheelchair for loading. The passenger was reportedly instructed to remain in place. The passenger continued to walk and passed through an open door on the right side of the plane used for catering and fell to the tarmac resulting in death. The incident, not a result of an aircraft crash, initiated an FAA investigation and report because it involved a passenger death.
• On April 25, 2000, a Continental Airlines DC-10 suffered an uncontained engine failure when 2 of its 3 engines burst through the fan casing. The breach also ruptured the primary hydraulic lines, and blew the tires. The aircraft landed 34 minutes after takeoff on one engine.
• In a mishap on June 14, 2000, a Continental Airlines MD-80's engines were undergoing a test run, at gate C115 at Newark International Airport, which inadvertently caused it to crash into the gate area with six people aboard, all staff members. Nobody was hurt, but the gate area was damaged. The plane was scheduled to be operated as Continental Airlines Flight 481 to be flown between Newark and Detroit.^[42]
• On 6 January 2004, Continental Airlines flight 6 from Tokyo, Japan to Houston, Texas was forced to divert to Midway Atoll in Pacific with 279 passengers and 14 crew. An engine on the Boeing 777-200ER twinjet was shut down after suffering an "oil leak from a starter", and the flight was required to land at the nearest available airfield in accordance with ETOPS regulations.^[43]
• On 2 March 2005, a Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, with 14 crew and 198 passengers on board, scraped the tail region on take off from Newark Liberty International Airport. The aircraft landed back uneventfully. The rear pressure bulkhead was found to have been damaged (ref: Flight International, July 2005).
• On January 16, 2006, a Continental Airlines contract mechanic was sucked into the engine of a Boeing 737-500 and killed. The incident took place at El Paso International Airport.^[44]
• On October 28, 2006, Continental Flight 1883, a Boeing 757-200 aircraft carrying 160 passengers, landed on a narrow unoccupied taxiway parallel of runway 29 at Newark Liberty International Airport. No one was injured and both pilots were stripped of their flying duties pending an investigation and have since been reinstated. Poor runway lighting was cited in the investigation.^[45]
• On January 20, 2007, Continental Flight 1838, a Boeing 757, departed George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 11:30 a.m. with 210 passengers. The aircraft bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was forced to divert to McAllen, TX after the captain, who was on his initial operating experience, became incapacitated while in flight. The check captain, who was acting as first officer, executed a safe landing in McAllen where the captain was pronounced dead.http://www.airportbusiness.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=9797
• On March 26, 2007, Continental Flight 98, a Boeing 777 from Hong Kong, landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at 2 p.m., but was held for two hours during which the Centers for Disease Control investigated the cause of flu-like symptoms among a group of passengers that had been on the same river cruise in China. At about 4 p.m., all the passengers were allowed to disembark.^[46]
• On April 11, 2007, four Israeli fighter jets were scrambled to escort the Continental Flight 90 flying from Newark to Tel Aviv after it failed to make contact with ATC while on approach to Ben Gurion International Airport.^[47]
• On June 13, 2007, passengers aboard Continental Flight 71 from Amsterdam to Newark endured harsh conditions when raw sewage spilled from one of the lavatories on the aircraft. The plane landed at Shannon Airport in Ireland, where an overnight repair attempt was made and took off from Shannon as Continental Flight 1970. The problem resurfaced while the plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, and passengers were exposed to overflowed human waste for the remainder of the trip. It was discovered a passenger flushed latex gloves, an object that is not supposed to be flushed, down the toilet.^[48]
• On July 24, 2007 a Continental flight with 116 passengers and a crew of 8 flying from Panama City to Houston had to land in Managua because one of the internal security windows suffered a rupture. ^[49]

References

See also

• Izod Center, known as the Continental Airlines Arena from 1996 to October 2007.^[50]

External links

• Continental Airlines official website
• Continental Airlines Cargo
• CNN reports of the CO1515
• Continental Airlines Fleet Age
• Photos of Continental Airlines aircraft
• Continental Airlines seating charts and information

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