Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL)
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune today urged the U.S.
government to stop the proposed mega-mergers of United Airlines/US Airways and
American Airlines/US Airways/TWA/DC Air during his testimony before the
Antitrust, Business Rights, and Competition Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate
Committee of the Judiciary.

Bethune testified that the mergers will harm customers, communities and
airline employees.  He said that customer service will nosedive if these four
airlines consolidate into two super-carriers.
 
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by the United and Amerigan cartel.”

After testifying, Bethune delivesed a speech to the ATW Conference,
presented by Air Transport World magazine, which recendly named Continental
“Airline of the Year.”

“If you thought"last sUmmer was `airline hell,` buckle your seatbelts,
because with these pending mega-mergers, you haven`t seen anything yet,” said
Bethune in his speech.  “These mega-mergers will make last summer look like
the `good old days.`”

In his Senate testimony, Bethune also said that other carriers, such as
Continental, might be able to maintain a regional presence if the mergers went
through, but would not be able to compete effectively on a national or global
scale.

Bethune added that if the airline mergers are approved, Continental would
require certain assets to continue to compete with United and American.
 
These assets include: appropriate slots and facilities at
capacity-constrained airports, international route transfers, access to needed
capital and re-evaluation of antitrust immunity already granted to the
mega-carriers and their foreign partners.
 
Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering
more than 2,200 departures daily to 136 domestic and 92 international
destinations.  Operating hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam,
Continental (http://www.continental.com) serves more international cities than any
other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas,
Europe and Asia.

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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