Airline employment in 1999 stands at 200.
As a result of the closure of the airport runway at Pohnpei, Guam, for repairs on February 17, Continental Micronesia must halt service to and from that destination until March 1.
During the week of March 1, the company retires its last Jumbojets.
Customer bookings plunge 18.9% to 1,872,000, while freight falls 14.9% to 125.08 million FTKs. Revenues drop 17.2% to $509.56 million, while expenses also take a welcome plunge, dropping 26.7% to $314.36 million. Operating profit climbs out of the red and into the black at $30.76 million, while the large net loss is turned into an $8.69-million net gain.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 4,940, a dip of 0.2% over the previous 12 months.
Twice-weekly B-737-824 roundtrips commence on July 16 from Guam to Seoul. Beginning in the fall, the carrier retires its last 4 B-737-224As, replacing them with Dash-824s, and by October 1, has returned all of its B-757-224s to its parent. The fleet of 8 B-737-824s is now transparent, wearing full Continental colors and titles. Additional DC-10-30s will be brought in from Continental as needed.
CONTINENTAL WEST AIRLINES: United States (1984-1986). In October 1984, Texas Air Corporation (TAC), parent of Continental Airlines, announces the purchase of 24 Boeing 737-3T0s, half of which are destined for lease by the bankrupt major in 1985. Creditors, seeking payment before expansion, petition the U. S. Bankruptcy Court to block the acquisition. The court rules that it will allow delivery of the first four aircraft on schedule, but that the others must be held back until Continental’s financial results for the first half-year can be examined along with its reorganization plan, promised for June.
Within days, TAC announces the formation of a joint-venture subsidiary, ownership of which will be shared with Continental Airlines. The carrier, to be based at Los Angeles, is, in fact, a low-fare entrant designed to employ the embargoed aircraft until such time as they can be amalgamated.
In June 1985,6 B-737-3T0s in CWA colors inaugurate scheduled services “complimenting” those of the major’s from LAX to Las Vegas and Reno. The result of this start-up is a hurtful California fare war. The total number of enplanements is buried in the annual figures of the parent organization.
In 1986, Continental Airlines, which has delayed its reorganization plan, presents it to the bankruptcy court, which, together with creditors, receives it favorably. The block on further B-737-3T0 deliveries is lifted and quickly leads to CWA’s absorption into the major. The entire ploy has an ironic ending: the B-737-3T0s received for the routes of the “complementary” carrier are immediately shifted elsewhere, being replaced by older DC-9-32s.
CONTRACT AIR CARGO: ILF Group, 6860 South Service Dr., Waterford, Michigan 48327, United States; Phone (248) 666-9630; Fax (248) 666-9614; Code 3C; Year Founded 1983. CAC is established at Waterford, Michigan, in the spring of 1983 to offer ad hoc allcargo services throughout the Midwest. Part 125 charter operations commence with a single Douglas DC-4.
Nonscheduled flights continue over the decade, prior to the establishment of the affiliated Corporate Express.
By 2000, President Anders Hurtig oversees a workforce of 60 and a fleet of 2 Convair CV-340s, 4 CV-580s, and the DC-4.
Destinations visited include Atlanta, Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, Norfolk, Raleigh/Durham, Savannah, Tri-Cities Regional Airport, and Wilmington.
World History
