Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) will distribute profit sharing checks for the fifth year in a row to its 51,500 employees on Monday, Feb. 14. These checks represent approximately 4.3 percent of employees’ eligible annual wages. Since 1996, Continental has paid more than $447 million in profit sharing.

“Profit Sharing has become a tradition at Continental,” said Continental’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune. “I think we’ve proven to ourselves and the rest of the world that when we work together to deliver the best service in the industry, we all share in the rewards.”

Continental recently announced its fifth straight year of profits, with 1999 net income of $359 million (excluding special gains and charges).

Continental’s profit-sharing plan pays 15 percent of pre-tax net income (excluding special gains and charges) and is divided among eligible employees based on their eligible wages.

Additionally, Continental has paid more than $118 million in on-time bonuses to its employees over the last five years. In 1999, employees received $26 million in on-time bonuses. On-time bonuses are paid every month the company finishes in the top three of the Department of Transportation rankings, or achieves an 80 percent on-time performance.

“This company is successful because of the hard work and dedication of its employees,” said Greg Brenneman, president and chief operating officer. “Our employees can look at their profit sharing check as a gigantic pat on the back.”

On Monday, Bethune will congratulate employees with their share of the profits in Continental hubs at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Newark International Airport. Brenneman will hand out profit sharing checks at the airline’s headquarters in downtown Houston and at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 136 domestic and 87 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland, Continental (www.continental.com) has extensive service throughout the Americas, and to Europe and Asia.

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