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Nose-to-tail improvements at Continental

by Mindy Aguon

Continental Airlines' executives shared the company's plans for its hub here on the island and in the region and some big changes you may notice the next time you board a Continental aircraft.  "Guam remains an important hub for Continental," detailed Continental's Jeff Smisek.  "Our subsidiary operates in Guam and the islands and we also have significant service between Guam and Japan."

Founded locally in 1968 as Air Micronesia, the airline began as a small operation flying to the islands in the region and eventually became Continental Micronesia.  Today it is a thriving airline that has placed a major hub for its Asia-Pacific routes, also linking Asia to the United States, right here on Guam.  With the federalization of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands occurring just last week and the implementation of the Guam./CNMI Visa Waiver Program, Smisek, the company's President, Chief Operating Officer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer-elect, says the airline remains committed to keeping Guam a major hub.

"Our Guam and CNMI operations continue to perform well and we're very committed to it.  In terms of the visa waiver program, we are keenly interested in the visa waiver program. We think it's very valuable not only to the Guam economy, but clearly to continental as well. We are in regular discussions with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State, anybody who will listen to us we'll talk to them about the visa waiver program because we think that's very important for free flows of traffic, free flows of goods, free flows of information. It's good for the economy and we support it greatly," he said.

Airline officials wouldn't disclose whether they'll be reopening the Guam-Hong Kong flights that were cut recently due to increasing fuel prices.  But Continental Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner, says the airline is keeping a close eye on the impending military buildup that is estimated to increase the island's population by as many as 80,000 people by 2014. 

Kellner says additional routes will be driven by what happens on the island in the coming years, noting, "I think clearly as you see the military buildup that'll lead to more traffic between the mainland and guam and we'll be ready to serve it if it occurs, but we're pretty traffic driven as well and so as we look there's the customers that are out there flying how can we best serve them with star and to the extent that we're in a position where we see an opportunity to grow we'll sure take advantage of that."

Kellner says the airline will look at the demands and remain flexible.  "We'll continue to look at how we can grow Guam in a smart way there is a significant military buildup in Guam in the next five years, and I think that will provide a lot of opportunities for us.  What's really huge for Guam here is that the alliance has All Nippon and United and their strong networks in Asia, and there's a number of other Asian carriers in the alliance as well.  So I think in Asia we are in a dramatically better position today then we were a week ago and I think that will be good for Guam and good for Guam's growth," he continued.

With the recent joining with the Star Alliance, the airline is expanding its presence throughout the world all while sticking to its motto of "Work Hard, Fly Right".  Said Kellner, "I cannot tell you how proud we are at continental to now be a very, very proud member of the world's greatest alliance, the Star Alliance."

Continental Micronesia Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Alliances Mark Erwin added about the changes, "It provides so many opportunities from Guam and Micronesia for so many of our customers, so there's good value for our employees, customers and ultimately our shareholders. And there's so many options as we connect from guam, Honolulu and throughout the world, so it's very prestigious."

The airline continues to receive accolades and critical acclaim for its operation, customer service, corporate culture and for the sixth year in a row, was named Fortune's Most Admired Airline. 

Senior Vice-president of Marketing Programs and Distribution Mark Bergsrud says the rave reviews, accolades and awards can all be attributed to the airline's philosophy - looking at the entire product and focusing on its business travel market.  "Anybody can buy a seat," he shared.  "Anybody can buy an entertainment system, but what you can't buy is the employee. Our employees are fabulous at Continental we have a great culture of working together, dignity, and respect. Our employees are proud to put their uniforms on every day and that pride in the company and that satisfaction with their work life turns into great customer service for our customers and that's really, really important."

And when you buy a seat, you may just have the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of the new flatbed seats.  Continental first rolled out its Business First services in the early 1990's, setting the bar and industry standard for catering to business travelers with great food, great service and now with even better seats.  "It's a very, very wide seat. It's 180 degrees flat," he said.  "I'm not saying nearly flat. It's flat like a bed. You're going to love it.  It's got great entertainment capabilities as well, and you'll be comfortable whether you're working or sleeping. All the seats are facing forward it's a more traditional approach where we've got pairs of seats next to each other so if you're traveling with a spouse, partner, or business colleague you can have a conversation if you desire or you can have privacy as you wish."

The company's fleet of 777s and 767s will boast the new flatbed seats, adding a whole new level of comfort for business passengers.  And then there's the upgrades to in-flight entertainment.  Bergsrud said, "On our long haul fleet, we're installing advanced video on demand, so all of our 777 fleet have on VOD systems with 250 movies and many, many CDs and games - that's nose to tail - with an individual seat back screen for everybody. We've the same system with a few less movies on our 757s nose to tail and we've got seatback systems on our 767s, which will move to a VOD when we put the flat seat on."

The airline is also working to install live television on domestic flights, allowing passengers to watch a baseball game, keep up with the news, or catch their favorite programs while in mid-air.  77 direct TV channels will be installed on the company's 737s and 757s.  They're also making their web site easy to do business as well, with full service functionality, speed, information and even your own personal avatar to answer any of your questions.