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Fly with Continental Airlines

Many people have been listening to Continental's slogan "Work Hard, Fly Right": Continental Airlines are one of the most relied on airlines in the US. Business Traveler Magazine named them Best Airline for North American Travel in 2008 and Fortune Magazine named them No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline in 2004-9.


History

The company that had started out as Varney Speed Lines in 1934 soon became Continental airlines, which is one of the biggest US airlines today.

Walter T. Varney and Louis Mueller, the owners, used a 6-seat single engine plane to transport mail from Pueblo in Colorado to El Paso in Texas. They made their first flight in 1934 and had stops along the way at Las Vegas, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque in New Mexico.

Louis Mueller took over control of the mail company from Walter T. Varney in 1934 but sold 40% of the company to Robert F. Six in 1936. Six changed the name to Continental Airlines in 1937 and moved the headquarters to Denver in the same year. He revamped the company's image in the 1960s by changing the colours; they did the same thing in the 1990s.

World War II had had a big impact on Continental Airlines: they modified B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-29 Super Fortresses.


Six called his airline "the Airline that needs to grow" and expanded the company's routes aggressively during the 1950s and 1960s. One of the first examples of this is that he merged his company with Pioneer Airlines in 1953 and this brought 16 new routes in Texas and New Mexico.

Bob Six negotiated with Boeing and managed to operate the 707 in 1959 when Boeing released it. He was the industry's advocate for lower airfare as opposed to higher airfare prices; therefore, he launched the concept of economy class on the Chicago-Los Angeles route in 1962.


Interesting facts

The company has a long history of innovation, most of which had occurred during the 1960s.

  • They were one of the very first companies that introduced discounted coach fares in 1949 they called this
  • They introduced Gold Carpet Service on their first major route in 1957 by rolling out a gold carpet literally and figuratively for their customers
  • Flight attendants had to accessorise their black dresses with a string of pearls in 1963 to promote the airline's glamorous image.
  • Continental started showing movies on their Chicago-Los Angeles route in 1964
  • The company introduces a computerised reservation system in 1965.
  • They hired Marlon D. Green, the first African-American pilot in the US, who paved the way for other African-American pilots at other airlines.
  • Continental airlines did the first ever US flight that used a biofuel blend. It was also the first ever use of algae as a biojet fuel.


Destinations

Continental airlines were not content to be a mere mail carrier; they wanted to become one of the world's leading airlines. Today they fly between cities in the US as well as international cities. Their international routes include cities in East Asia, South Asia, and Europe.