Continental Airlines
| Continental Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| IATA CO |
ICAO COA |
Callsign CONTINENTAL |
| Founded | 1934 (as Varney Speed Lines)[1] |
|
| Commenced operations | July 15, 1934[1] | |
| Hubs | ||
| Frequent flyer program | OnePass | |
| Member lounge | Presidents Club | |
| Alliance | SkyTeam Star Alliance (future)[2] |
|
| Subsidiaries | Continental Micronesia | |
| Fleet size | 359 (+96 orders) | |
| Destinations | 283[3] | |
| Company slogan | Work Hard, Fly Right | |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas | |
| Key people | Larry Kellner (CEO) Jeff Misner (CFO) |
|
| Website: http://www.continental.com | ||
Continental Airlines, Inc. (IATA: CO, ICAO: COA, and Callsign: CONTINENTAL) (NYSE: CAL) is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles.[4] Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."
Continental operates flights to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific regions. It has more than 6,000 daily departures, serving over 151 domestic and 190 international destinations and has 85,200 employees (as of March 2007).[5] Principal operations are from its three hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (in Newark, New Jersey), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (in Houston, Texas), and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (in Cleveland, Ohio). 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. 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, although Continental does not have any ownership interests in these companies.
Since September 2005, Continental has been a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, in which it participates with Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air France, Aeromexico, Alitalia 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, with US Helicopter which fly from Newark Liberty International Airport to Manhattan, and with SNCF French Rail to destinations in France. In January 2009, Continental announced that it will leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance at an unspecified date.
Continental Airlines began service in 1931 as Varney Speed Lines (named after one of its initial owners, Walter T. Varney, who was also a founder of United Airlines) operating out of El Paso and extending through Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas, NM to Pueblo, CO. The airline commenced operations with the Lockheed Vega, a single engine plane that carried four passengers. The airline later flew other Lockheed planes, including the Lockheed L-9 Orion, the Lockheed Electra Junior, and the Lockheed Lodestar. Following cancellation of all domestic airmail contracts by the Roosevelt administration in 1934, Six learned of an opportunity to buy into the Southwest Division of Varney Speed Lines, which needed money to handle its newly-won Pueblo-El Paso route. Six was introduced to Louis Mueller (who would serve as Chairman of the Board of Continental until February 28th, 1966). Mueller had helped found the Southwest Division of Varney in 1934 with Walter T. Varney. As an upshot of all this, Six bought into the airline with $90,000 and became general manager on July 5th, 1936. Varney was awarded a 17-cent-rate airmail contract between Pueblo and El Paso; it carried passengers as a sideline. The carrier was renamed Continental on 8 July 1937. Six relocated the airline's headquarters to Denver Union (later Stapleton) Airport in Denver in October, 1937. [6]
Robert F. Six was one of the colorful group of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries (including Juan Trippe, William A. Patterson, Jack Frye, C.R. Smith, and Eddie Rickenbacker) who established and built the U.S. airline industry. Throughout his life, Six had a reputation as a combative and risk-taking executive who presided forcefully over the airline that was largely forged in his image for more than 40 years.[6] [7]
During World War II Continental's Denver maintenance facilities became a conversion center where the airline converted B-17s, 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.[6]
Among those types were the DC-3, the Convair 240 and the Convair 340. Some of the DC-3's were acquired as surplus military aircraft following WW-II. The Convairs were the first aircraft operated by Continental that were pressurized (see photo).
The airline's early route network was limited to the southwestern United States. In 1953, however, Continental merged with Pioneer Airlines, gaining access to 16 additional cities in Texas and New Mexico. These Pioneer destinations integrated well with the Continental's initial El Paso-Albuquerque-Denver route, and provided impetus for the Civil Aeronautics Board, the industry regulator, to subsequently award additional routes between points in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma. However, Continental was, like most U.S. carriers of the day, essentially a limited regional operation. Bob Six was highly dissatisfied with this situation. He vigorously petitioned the CAB for longer haul routes to larger cities, a part of his plan to transform the regional into a trunkline like United, TWA, and American. Simultaneously, he was quietly discussing with Boeing for Continental to become one of the first among the world's airlines to operate the soon-to-be-launched 707 jet aircraft. The timing was crucial, since the new routes would justify the 707s, and vice versa.[6]
By the end of the 1950s, Six's strategy had succeeded. Continental Airlines had seen a broad expansion of its routes, thanks to a responsive CAB and persistent efforts by Six and his Congressional lobby. 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, on the new medium length routes. Prior to the introduction of its Boeing 707 jets, Continental acquired DC-7s to operate its non-stop route from Los Angeles to Chicago (see photos).
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Six clearly established himself as the airline industry's leading lower-fare advocate. He correctly prophesied that increased traffic, not higher rates, was the answer to the airline industry's problems. Six stunned the industry when he introduced the economy fare on the Chicago-Los Angeles route in 1962. He later pioneered a number of other low or discount fares which brought air travel to many who otherwise could not have afforded it. One of Continental's early innovations was a system-wide economy excursion fare which cut the standard coach fares by more than 25 percent. [6]
As Six had planned, Continental was one of the earliest operators of the Boeing 707, taking delivery of its first of four 707s in spring of 1959. Although Pan Am and TWA inaugurated 707 service a few weeks before Continental did, Continental was the first airline in the world to widely use the Boeing 707 in domestic service, first utilizing the type on the Chicago-Los Angeles nonstop route. Six, not being satisfied with 707 service alone, introduced exclusive innovations and luxe cuisine 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.[7]
Beginning in the early 1960s Continental added routes from Los Angeles to Houston, both nonstop and with 1- and 2-stop services to Houston via Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, Midland-Odessa, Austin, and San Antonio. New service was also inaugurated from Denver to Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, and Houston (to Houston: both nonstop, and with 1- and 2-stop services via Wichita/Tulsa/Oklahoma City). In 1963 the company's headquarters were moved from Denver to Los Angeles.[6]
During the late 1960s, the company disposed of the last of its turboprop and piston powered aircraft--one of the first U.S. airlines to do so. Continental replaced the Viscount fleet with DC-9s from Douglas Aircraft and began an aggressive acquisition of Boeing 727 aircraft. These two types (DC-9 and B-727) were to become the workhorses of the Continental fleet from the late 1960s, and for the next twenty years. During this era, Denver continued to be the central hub and route center of the Continental system; and the B-747 and DC-10 aircraft operated in large inter-city markets (usually from Los Angeles to Chicago, Denver, Houston and Honolulu; and from Denver to Chicago, Seattle and Houston), the DC-9 and B-727 types predominated over the rest of the system.[7] Next to Braniff, Continental operated fewer aircraft types during this period than any U.S. trunkline, affording substantial savings in parts, maintenance, and crew training costs. [7] In 1968 a new systemwide Continental Airlines livery was launched, the orange and gold cheatlines adorned with a black global logo (by noted industrial designer Saul Bass) on the jets' tails (logo was later altered to red; see photo of 747). The marketing slogan adopted in 1968 and employed for about a decade was, "The Proud Bird with the Golden Tail." [7][6]
Throughout the Vietnam War Continental provided extensive cargo and troop transportation for United States Army and Marine Corps forces to Asian and the Pacific bases. Continental's 707s were the most common non-military aircraft transiting Saigon Tan Son Nhat airport. As a result of Continental's experience in Pacific operations, the carrier formed subsidiary Air Micronesia in May 1968, inaugurating island hopping routes between Yap/Saipan/Guam, Majuro, Rota, Ponape and Honolulu. "Air Mike", as it was known, initially operated with Boeing 727-100 aircraft specially outfitted with open-ocean survival gear and doppler radar. Air Micronesia now operates as subsidiary Continental Micronesia.
1969 saw the introduction of Continental service from Los Angeles to Honolulu/Hilo. In 1970, Continental was awarded routes from the Pacific Northwest to San Jose, Hollywood-Burbank Airport, and Ontario, California; and from San Francisco to Alburquerque and Dallas.[6].
At Six's insistence, Continental (with Pan Am and Trans World Airlines) was a launch airline for the Boeing 747 aircraft. In May 1970, Continental's first Boeing 747 arrived, and the carrier was the first to introduce the 747 into domestic service.[7] 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 chef, Lucien DeKeyser.[7]
Continental's 747 services from Chicago and Denver to Los Angeles and Honolulu set the standard for service in the western U.S.[6] 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!"[7]
In 1974, after many delays and legal proceedings, Continental inaugurated service between Houston and Miami, and on May 21st, 1976, Continental was authorized to operate between San Diego and Denver. 1977 was an important year for Continental. The airline began flying daily round trips between Air Micronesia destination Saipan and Japan. Service from Denver to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa/St. Petersburg was inaugurated and President Carter approved a route for Continental from Los Angeles to Australia via Honolulu, American Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The South Pacific service began May 1st, 1979.[7]
In October of 1978, Continental inaugurated DC-10 service between Los Angeles and Taipei, via Honolulu and Guam. Service between Houston and Washington D.C. was inaugurated in January of 1979. In June, Continental linked Denver with Washington D.C., Las Vegas, San Francisco and San Jose and also began Houston-Tampa service. October saw Continental begin flights from the New York area airports to Houston and Denver, and from Denver to Phoenix.[7]
During 1978, Continental explored the possibility of a merger with Western Airlines. Western was also headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and operated a fleet consisting predominantly of the same B-727 and DC-10 aircraft types as Continental. The route systems would have been complementary, with little overlap; because, although they both served the Western states, Continental had strength in Hawaii, southern-tier and the Great Plains states; Western's strengths were in the California intrastate market, Alaska, Mexico, and the intermountain West. Both airlines served the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, but along different routes from Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix. This merger was not consummated, however, and industry changes were to take Continental down a very different path.[7]
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.[7][6] In a continuing tribute to Six's passion for quality customer service, Continental regularly garners more passenger-preference and travel industry professional awards for quality service than any other airline.[8]
[edit] First African-American pilot
In 1963, Continental hired the first African-American 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 against Continental.[9]
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 determined to resist Lorenzo. Continental's labor unions also fiercely resisted, fearing what they termed as, "Lorenzo's deregulation tactics." During this struggle, Continental Airlines President, A. L. Feldman, committed suicide, on August 9, 1981, in his office.[10] 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.[7][11] 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 cost cutting and changes that had rescued it from liquidation.[7][11][12]
Frank Lorenzo took Continental into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 1983 after unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate a lower pay rate with labor unions. Following bankruptcy, Continental was freed of its contractual obligations and imposed a series of new labor agreement on its union workers, sharply reducing the airline's labor costs at the cost of employee morale.[13] This move made Continental vastly more competitive with the new airline startups then emerging and thriving in the southwestern U.S., but had notable negative impact on employee attitudes and loyalty. [11][12]
Much of the airline was liquidated and the company was rebranded as a low-cost carrier. Continental was also forced to abandon its small hub in Los Angeles although it maintained its Denver, Chicago, Houston, 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 U.S. airline to fly through bankruptcy.[11][12]
In June 1985, Continental began its rebound, as signaled by the inauguration of nonstop service from Houston to London. In October 1985, 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 rational to industry observers 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.[7][12]
On August 24, 1986, Frontier filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. With PeopleExpress hemorrhaging cash, Texas Air acquired PeopleExpress on September 15, 1986, at the same time gaining Frontier, which reinforced Continental's already formidable Denver hub. Because it had been the largest airline operating in the New York market, the PeopleExpress hub at Newark would permit Continental to expand its east coast services dramatically for the first time in its history. Continental soon became the third-largest airline in the U.S., and the predominant force in the New York, Denver and Houston airline markets. Continental emerged from bankruptcy in 1986 with improved asset and cash flow positions and a more competitive route structure with routes radiating to every large U.S. city from major hubs at Denver and Houston.[12][7]
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, and an even larger player in the northeastern markets. 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.[7]
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, the airline filed for its second bankruptcy in 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 patchwork 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 establish point-to-point service, Continental 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 a new Concourse D.
In 1993 Air Canada, along with Air Partners and Texas Pacific Group, enabled Continental to emerge from bankruptcy by investing $450 million in the airline. Under the leadership of former Boeing executive Gordon Bethune, who became President in October 1994, Continental began a substantial work of re-invention. Bethune began by ordering new aircraft in an effort to convert to an all-Boeing fleet. After the opening of Denver International Airport on February 28, 1995, Continental management decided that the Denver hub - its historic operational base and heart of the system for almost 60 years - would be abruptly reduced to spoke status (with service only to Houston, Newark, and Cleveland). This decision centered on cost-reductions, since DIA charges and landing fees were substantially higher than those at Stapleton, which DIA had replaced. Bethune also launched a 'Go-Forward Plan', designed to repair damanged morale and to fix other problems with the airline. His experiences are chronicled in his 1999 book From Worst to First. [14]
Continental embarked on a program to expand its international operations. In 1998 it inaugurated services 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 non-stop service from Newark to Hong Kong, operating over the North circumpolar route. This service was the first non-stop long-haul route for any airline with flying duration exceeding 16 hours. The SARS outbreak in Asia caused service to be suspended until August 1, 2003. The launch in 2001 initiated a brief battle between Continental, United Airlines and Cathay Pacific over rights to 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 were added: Stockholm in Sweden, Belfast and Bristol in the United Kingdom, and Hamburg and Berlin in Germany. Continental also began new non-stop service to Oslo, Norway in 2004, Cologne, Germany in 2006 and to Athens, Greece in 2007. Among U.S. airlines, only Delta serves more European destinations than Continental.
In 2005 service to Asia was expanded as Continental introduced daily nonstop service between Newark and New Delhi, India. The success of this Newark-New Delhi route presaged establishment of a second gateway in India with the announcement of daily nonstop service to Mumbai. Establishment of the Mumbai service signifies that Continental will offer the most nonstop flights by any carrier from the United States to India.
By May 2006, the carrier's passenger traffic surpassed that of Northwest Airlines, and Continental became the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, the first change in the top-five passenger enplanement rankings since 2001.
The Wall Street Journal reported 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 of a preliminary nature.[15][16]
Recognizing operational capacity limits at Newark, Continental announced plans to further utilize its Cleveland hub by developing more international services at Cleveland. On September 14, 2007, Continental outlined a two-year expansion of its Cleveland hub, including new service from Cleveland to Paris commencing May 22, 2008. 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.
Domestically, the planned expansion would involve two phases. The first phase encompasses twelve destinations to be served from Cleveland primarily on regional jets, with the new service in place by May 2008. Later, in 2009, up to 20 new destinations were planned to be added, primarily on mainline aircraft. Continental stated that the expansion would be complete in time for the summer 2009 travel season, resulting in up to 700 new jobs at the Cleveland hub. However, the Economic crisis of 2008 has ended those plans and, in fact, resulted in a reduction of operations at the Cleveland hub.[17]
In May 2008, Continental Airlines sold its remaining 4.38 million share investment in Panamanian flag carrier Copa for $35.75 a share, netting proceeds of $149.8 million. Continental had been a principal shareholder in Copa.[19]
Continental said on June 5, 2008 that due to national and internatinal economic conditions, it would cut 3,000 jobs and that the CEO and president would reduce their salaries for the remainder of the year. The airline also said it would reduce capacity and eliminate 67 mainline aircraft from its fleet by the end of 2009, retiring all of Continental's 737-300s and all but 35 of its 737-500s.
On June 19, 2008, Continental announced that it planned to withdraw from the SkyTeam Alliance and would join the Star Alliance in order to cooperate more extensively with United Airlines and other Star Alliance airlines. Continental notes that its SkyTeam affiliation would, however, be business-as-usual until further notice.[2] Continental had been in discussions with United Airlines earlier in 2008 which might have resulted in a merger of the two carriers, but Continental withdrew from these discussions stating that it intended to continue to operate as presently constituted.
On August 19, 2008 The USA Today reported that Continental would furlough between 140 to 180 pilots. The article also mentioned that more than 2,500 jobs have already been eliminated, mostly by voluntary early out programs. Continental said in June that it would reduce U.S. capacity by 11% after the end of the peak summer travel season. [20]
[edit] Recent awards and recognition
- No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline; FORTUNE magazine (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008)[21]
- No. 1 Most Admired U.S. Airline; FORTUNE magazine (2006)[22]
- "Airline of the Year" by OAG (2004, 2005)[23]
- 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; Condé 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 (2006)
- Continental was also named "World's Most Admired Airline." by Yahoo!
- Award for Highest-Ranked Network Airline by J.D. Power and Associates (2007)[24]
- Best Large Domestic Airline (Premium class)by Zagat (2008) [25]
- Continental was named the Best Value for the Money (International) among all airlines. by Zagat (2008) [26]
- Best Airline for North American Travel by Business Traveler Magazine (2008) [27]
Main Article: Continental Airlines destinations
Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, offers more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The summer 2008 schedule saw Continental serving 145 domestic and 138 international destinations with more than 550 additional points served via SkyTeam alliance partner airlines. [28]
Continental Airlines operates primarily a hub-and-spoke route network with North American hubs in Cleveland, Houston, and Newark, and a west Pacific hub in Guam. Most flights are operated from its hubs, with a few exceptions (most notably Seattle-Anchorage and Los Angeles-Honolulu). Some affiliated airlines using the Continental Connection name also operate flights not involving hubs, such as Gulfstream International Airlines, which operates intra-Florida and Florida-Bahamas services.
For almost 40 years, Continental operated a very large hub in Denver, CO, but closed that hub in 1995 immediately after the opening of Denver International Airport, which represented a significantly higher-cost terminal operation than the former Stapleton Airport, which D.I.A. replaced. The abrupt nature of this change came as a shock to Denver, which was experiencing dramatic growth. The void left by Continental's departure allowed the establishment of the "new" Frontier Airlines (a startup, rather than successor to the original carrier of that name). Frontier has expanded quickly to fill the vacuum created by Continental's closing of its Denver hub.
For the first forty years of its existence, Continental was a domestic airline; however, especially since the incorporation of Texas International routes, it has served more Mexican destinations than any other U.S. carrier since the mid-1980s.
Continental first entered the transatlantic market in April, 1985, with the introduction of a Houston-London Gatwick service. Long prevented from serving London-Heathrow because of the provisions of the Bermuda II agreement, Continental has maintained its London services at London-Gatwick, where in 2007 as many as six flights a day were offered to Newark, Houston, and Cleveland.
In March 2008, an Open Skies Agreement between the U.S. and the European Union became effective, invalidating Bermuda II restrictions that had limited the number of carriers and cities in the U.S. that could serve London-Heathrow. In November 2007 Continental announced that new, nonstop, twice-daily service from its hubs at Houston-George Bush Intercontinental and Newark-Liberty to London-Heathrow would be offered; and this service was inaugurated on March 29, 2008. The service replaced existing frequencies to London-Gatwick and are offered with a combination of Boeing 777-200ER and 767-200 equipment.[29]
During the Vietnam War, Continental's extensive military charter operations established a presence in the Pacific region that formed the basis for the Air Micronesia operation. Service to Japan was initiated in the 1970s from Guam and Saipan, and by the late 1980s, nonstop service between Seattle and Tokyo was briefly offered with 747 equipment, soon to be replaced with a direct Honolulu-Tokyo (Narita) flight. Through the 1990s, Continental maintained a minimal presence in the long-haul transpacific market, until the delivery of 777s in 1998 which saw the addition of nonstop Tokyo service from Houston and Newark. By 2007, Hong Kong and Beijing were added to the network, with Shanghai to follow in 2009, all from the Newark hub. Continental has served Australia in the past with Douglas DC-10[30] and Boeing 747 service from Hawaii; Continental withdrew from much of the Australian market, but continues Air Micronesia Boeing 737-800 services between Cairns and Guam.
Continental offers the most scheduled frequencies of any of the U.S. carrier to India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, and is the only U.S. airline to fly to Norway, the Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau. Continental began service from Newark to Mumbai, India on October 1, 2007 making that city Continental's second Indian destination.
On September 24, 2007 the Department of Transportation tentatively awarded Continental permission to begin daily direct service between Newark and Shanghai, beginning in March 2009. The transpacific segment of the route is planned to be operated with a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, while the flight will originate and terminate in Cleveland with a change of equipment at Newark.[31]
Continental is considering routes from its hub in Houston to Dubai, Rome, Milan, and Madrid which are planned to commence when it takes delivery of 787 aircraft in 2011. [32]
Continental announced on June 12, 2008 that it plans to end service to fifteen destinations as part of efforts to trim costs due to cost increases and reduced traffic. [33] The airline will close its gates and ticket counters in each of those airports.[33] Service the following cities will be discontinued completely: Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia; Cali, Colombia; Cologne, Germany; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Monclova, Mexico; Santiago, Dominican Republic; Oakland, California; Palm Springs, California; Reno, Nevada; Sarasota, Florida; Tallahassee, Florida; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Toledo, Ohio and Montgomery, Alabama.[33][34]
As worldwide passenger traffic contracts as a result of economic conditions, service to other destinations may also be reduced or eliminated from Continental's hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam. Travelers at Houston and Cleveland are expected to be hardest hit by the planned service reductions. [33]
Continental's all-Boeing fleet consisted of 422 aircraft on December 31, 2008, and had an average age of 10.2 years as of April 2008. The fleet consists of four types (Boeing 737, 757, 767, and 777) in eleven variants, with two variants of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner scheduled to enter service in 2011. Continental has consistently been the most efficient trunkline operator of jets since they came on the aviation scene. The company's daily aircraft utilization is usually at the top of the industry.[7]
The Continental fleet consists of the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (First*/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 25 | 0 | 124 (12/112) | Domestic short-medium haul US, Mexico, Canada |
Will be retired by end of 2009 |
| Boeing 737-500 | 43 | 0 | 114 (8/106) | Domestic short-medium haul | 35 to remain in service Remaining 35 will be retrofitted with winglets |
| Boeing 737-700 | 36 | 37 | 124 (12/112) | Domestic and Caribbean short-medium haul | All configured with winglets Installing DirecTV[35] Installing Wi-Fi service offered by LiveTV |
| Boeing 737-800 | 117 | 1 | 152 (20/132) 157 (16/141) 160 (16/144) |
Domestic and Central America short-medium haul Continental Micronesia US, Mexico, Canada, Caribbean |
All configured with winglets Installing DirecTV[35] Installing Wi-Fi service offered by LiveTV |
| Boeing 737-900 | 12 | 0 | 167 (18/149) 169 (20/149) |
Domestic short-medium haul | All configured with winglets Will install 2 additional First Class seats Installing DirecTV[35] Installing Wi-Fi service offered by LiveTV |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 15 | 27 | 173 (20/153) | Domestic medium-long haul | Installing DirecTV[35] Installing Wi-Fi service offered by LiveTV |
| Boeing 757-200 | 41 | 0 | 175 (16/159) | Domestic/international medium-long haul and Caribbean |
Configured with BusinessFirst seats All equiped with AVOD[36] |
| Boeing 757-300 | 17 | 4 used | 216 (24/192) | Domestic medium-long haul, Caribbean |
Deliveries: 1 in 2009, 3 in 2010 Installing DirecTV[35] Installing Wi-Fi service offered by LiveTV Largest operator of the Boeing 757-300. Will be retrofitted with blended winglets. |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 10 | 0 | 174 (25/149) | International medium-long haul Europe, South America US Domestic (EWR-IAH) |
|
| Boeing 767-400ER | 16 | 0 | 235 (35/200) 256 (20/236) |
International medium-long haul Continental Micronesia, Mainland Hawaii, Europe, South America, Asia |
One of only two operators of the Boeing 767-400ER |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 20 | 8 | 283 (48/235) 285 (50/235) |
International long haul | Deliveries: 2010-2012 Two additional BusinessFirst seats and AVOD being added to fleet through late 2009 |
| Boeing 787-8 | 0 | 8 | ? | International long haul | Entry into service: 2011 |
| Boeing 787-9 | 0 | 17 | ? | International long haul | Entry into service: 2012 |
*First Class is offered on Domestic Flights. BusinessFirst is offered on Transatlantic/Transpacific Flights.
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. 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 and Hamburg, Germany to the New York gateway. Previously, customers originating at these and similar cities needed to connect at European gateways like London, Paris or Frankfurt in order to travel to New York.
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAC/Sud Concorde | 0 | 0 | Three on option |
| Boeing SST | 0 | 0 | Three on option |
| Boeing 707-320 | 13 | 0 | |
| Boeing 720 | 8 | 0 | |
| Boeing 727 | 13 | 0 | |
| Boeing 747-100 | 0 | 4 | |
| Douglas DC-9-10F | 19 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 4 |
Continental Airlines, along with all United States SkyTeam carriers, has a tw