Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today
announced it expects to prevent approximately 3,500 furloughs due to the
continued success of the company`s voluntary employee leave and early
retirement programs.  The number of employees who have opted for the Company
Offered Leave of Absence (COLA) and early retirement programs is equal to
approximately 30 percent of the estimated 12,000 furloughs originally
announced by Continental in September.

Continental introduced its COLA program in an effort to avert as many
employee furloughs as possible after announcing that the company would reduce
systemwide capacity by 20 percent and would furlough employees due to the
schedule reduction.

“It is rewarding to see so many employees participate in programs that
preserve the jobs of co-workers and support Continental through a period of
industry crisis and recovery,” said Gordon Bethune, Continental`s chairman and
chief executive officer.  “While these programs do not make our remaining
furloughs any less painful, they have substantially reduced their number.”
 
COLA volunteers may accept full-time work elsewhere while continuing to
receive benefits during an unpaid leave of up to one year.  Benefits include
the option to continue insurance benefits at company rates, continuing travel
privileges and credit for time on COLA toward company seniority and the
employee retirement program.

In addition to COLA participants, a smaller number of eligible employees
elected to take retirement packages.

Continental also said a series of outplacement seminars/workshops
sponsored by the company drew a total of more than 2,500 employees in cities
including Houston, Cleveland, Newark, Denver and Los Angeles.  The company is
continuing to work closely with state agencies, outplacement firms and hiring
authorities from more than 250 companies to assist with placement of
furloughed employees.

Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering
more than 1,900 departures daily to 122 domestic and 89 international
destinations.  Operating hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam,
Continental serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier,
including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.  For
more information, visit continental.com.
 
Continental was named the 2001 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World,
as well as the 1996 Airline of the Year, making it the only carrier to receive
this honor twice in five years.  Continental is in the top quarter of Fortune
magazine`s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” and is ranked the
nation`s No. 1 airline in customer satisfaction for long and short-haul
flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power and Associates.  Continental
has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Conde Nast
Traveler, OAG, Entrepreneur and SmartMoney magazines), OnePass frequent flyer
program (InsideFlyer`s Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management
(Fortune magazine).

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