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Continental
Airlines is a name well known to
all US air travellers. The
dynamic company led by Chief
Executive Gordon Bethune is highly
regarded for good service and
reasonable prices.
Continental Airlines
Operating a
large fleet of planes, Continental
can offer long haul flights via
its massive Boeing 777s, or short
express journeys through
Continental Express Embraer 135s
and 145s.
Thanks to
quick action after September 11th,
Continental Airlines have been
able to ride the shock wave that
hit the airline industry better
than most. Continental
realised that to survive, they had
to trim back, so they quickly took
the decision to lay off some
workers, in the hope of protecting
the company and its remaining
employees from
closure.
Even now, over a
year later, the company report
that Continental bookings are down
by 17%, though that's much better
than the effect experienced by
some of their
competitors.
Continental's
prospects were considerably
enhanced by their part in the
$750m refurbishment of Newark
Airport. This, combined with
a new rail link into New York City
is giving the company a chance to
persuade New Yorkers that flying
from Newark is more desirable than
the popular JFK airport. On
the back of this, Continental have
been able to take many of their
laid off workers back on, though
employee numbers are still down
2,000 on the high of 50,000 in
early 2001.
Continental Express Airlines
To continue to
get the industry back on track, Chief
Executive Gordon Bethune is calling on the US government to
help Airlines through tax
breaks. Without these,
Bethune predicts that numerous
carriers will go bust, with
disastrous consequences for Air
Travel in the US.
Bethune is also
warning that another war in the
middle east could further hit the
industry, setting back its chances
of recovery for years to
come. The inevitable rise in
Aviation fuel prices that this
would cause, would certainly be
very bad news for Continental and
the rest of the industry.
For the many
travellers who enjoy travelling
with this popular airline, its to
be hoped that Bethune and his team
can pilot the company through
these difficult times. Cheap
Air Fares will only exist as long
as companies like Continental
Airlines are able to operate in a
competitive and unrestricted
market.
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