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Continental transitions to Star Alliance

by Mindy Aguon

One month ago, Continental Airlines took the historic leap to join the world's largest airline alliance.  It took eighteen months for the airline to transition from one alliance to another, making for a strategic partnership and an expansion of services for millions of customers even on Guam.

The airline recently sent KUAM to New York City to watch this historic and significant joining ceremony.

The world's fifth largest airline, Continental Airlines, has joined forces with the world's largest and most comprehensive airline group, The Star Alliance, expanding their world class network for the more than 63 million passengers they service each year.  The airline recently held a joining ceremony at the Newark Liberty International Airport.

Jeff Smisek is president and chief operating officer of Continental Airlines, and in January he will assume the duties of chairman and CEO.  "The Star Alliance is the largest, the oldest, the most comprehensive, the most technologically advanced global airline alliance today and as you saw earlier slides with us in the star alliance we'll be offering our customers almost 19,000 flights a day to almost 1,000 destinations in 169 countries that's an extraordinary scope and scale or a product offering," he announced.

Smisek says Continental's partnership with the 24 members of the Star Alliance provides a wealth of new destinations and travel opportunities for their customers, adding the partnership is a complimentary fit.  "They are weak where we are strong, and we are weak where they are strong," he stated.  "Let me tell you how that is: Star Alliance was missing a presence in the largest business market in the world.  New York.  We are the only airline that operates a true international global hub in NYC and we dominate the New York market.

"Star Alliance had no presence of any substance in Latin America. We have a huge hub in Houston and we have extensive service not only to Mexico and Central America, but to deep South America."

The Star Alliance provides Continental with significant presence up and down the west coast, something the airline currently lacks.  The partnership also provides a broader breadth of service for customers' needs as the Star Network flies to 160 countries, 900 airports and has more than 19 thousand daily departures not to mention the 800 lounges that customers will be able to enjoy.  

The Star Alliance members include United Airlines, Asiana, Air China, Lufthansa, U.S. Airways, Thai, ANA, Air New Zealand, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and South African Airways.  Executive Vice-President of Marketing Jim Compton says Continental Airlines' world class network is built on three principals, saying, "We build on our strengths and our hubs in the New York area, at Newark Liberty Airport, Houston, in Cleveland, in Guam and Micronesia.  The second piece is we actually fly where people want to fly.  We like to call it 'matching supply and demand'.  And the third piece is we needed to be global."

Compton says the company's success also comes from having a well-balanced network.  The airline currently has 25% in the trans-Atlantic, 15% in Latin America and 10% capacity in the Pacific.  "We currently serve 23 destinations throughout Asia and South Pacific and we'll actually start new service to Fiji beginning in December of this year," he said.

Compton says the airline is also proud to boast having the youngest fleet of us legacy carriers.  With oil prices being volatile, he says the best hedges to have are the fleet as the airline realizes significant cost savings by driving younger fleets.  "Not only do you get the newer technology with that fleet the younger fleet, but it's also more fuel efficient and fuel efficiency in this business not only is good for the environment, but it also makes good business sense and what we've been able to do since 1997 is our young fleets and our investment in fuel saving technologies such as winglets are driving fuel efficiencies at about 38% more fuel efficient than just 10 years ago," he explained.

The airlines' flights can now be used to create itineraries for the Star Alliance round the world fare as well as for the North American airpass.  Additionally the membership also allows Continental One-Pass members the ability to earn and redeem miles on all other Star Alliance member carriers.