For the sixth consecutive year, Continental Airlines today was named one
of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE magazine in a study
conducted in conjunction with the Great Place to Work Institute of San
Francisco. Continental ranked No. 62, the only passenger airline on the
list.
“This recognition once again underscores our belief in the value of
treating each other with dignity and respect,” said Gordon Bethune,
Continental`s chairman and chief executive officer. “In spite of the very
difficult past two years, our culture has enabled us to withstand the many
pressures of our marketplace. We are probably stronger now than ever
before.”
The rankings, based on a study that selects the nation`s best companies to
work for by evaluating work environment and company culture, compensation
and benefits, and other measures of job satisfaction, will appear in the
Jan. 12, 2004 issue of FORTUNE magazine.

Continental`s entry consisted of company-provided information and a survey
developed by FORTUNE and the Great Place to Work Institute. The survey was
sent to randomly selected employees asking them to evaluate trust in
management, pride in work and relationships with co-workers.

“The most important factor in selecting companies for this list is what
employees themselves have to say about their workplaces,” wrote Robert
Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute in a
FORTUNE press release.

Continental`s employees created the company`s 2004 entry. They told the
Great Place to Work Institute to “Picture This: A Great Place to Work” by
sending photos that each captured a different reason the carrier is a
great place to work. Newark Cargo Sales Agent Leighton Ford, who helped
deliver the entry, said that he was impressed by the number of employees
that submitted photos to the Great Place to Work Institute.

“I couldn`t believe how many pictures we delivered to the Great Place to
Work Institute,” Ford said. “I have always thought that Continental is a
great place to work, and I was proud to see how many of my co-workers from
around the world thought the same.”

Despite the financial challenges faced by the entire airline industry in
2003, Continental maintained the company culture and employee benefits
that have distinguished the carrier from many other companies.

—The carrier contributed $372 million to the Continental pension plan in
2003, significantly exceeding the company`s minimum contribution
requirements for the year.—While the airline industry faced severe
financial struggles in 2003, Continental found ways to cut costs and
generate additional revenue without asking its work groups for wage
concessions.—Continental enhanced its On-Time Bonus program to include
an opportunity to earn a $100 bonus on a quarterly basis if on-time
performance averages 80 percent or higher.—Continental recalled many of
its furloughed co-workers in 2003 and has made a commitment to fill
vacancies with current or displaced employees.—The Continental
Scholarship Fund awarded 71 scholarships to Continental employees or their
dependents in 2003. Scholarships are applied towards tuition and fees at
accredited, post high-school educational institutions.

Continental Airlines is the world`s seventh-largest airline with more than
2,200 daily departures to 127 domestic and 96 international destinations
throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. With 42,000 mainline employees,
the airline has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and
carries approximately 41 million passengers per year. Fortune ranks
Continental one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, highest
among major U.S. carriers in the quality of its service and products, and
No. 2 on its list of Most Admired Global Airlines. For more company
information, visit continental.com.

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