Cleveland, October 8, 2004, -- Mayor Jane L. Campbell, Continental Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune, President and Chief Operating Officer Larry Kellner, and Executive Vice President Jeffery Smisek announced today the City of Cleveland and the airline have signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging continuation of hub activities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport through 2015. The ten-year lease extension is significant, coming at a time when many carriers are willing to commit only to shorter terms of three to five years.
"Continental came to the table with their wish-list and we brought ours," stated Mayor Campbell. "Ultimately we both came with the same goal -- to make the Cleveland hub a viable and vital component of the air trade industry. Both parties sought terms that would encourage growth at the Airport. What we have achieved is a true win-win for everyone."
The agreement encourages carriers to increase passenger traffic from and through Cleveland, provides for the creation of an Airport Development Fund to be used for a variety of development projects, and preserves the role the airport's signatory carriers play in the approval of airport capital improvement projects. Along with the ten-year extension, Continental has pledged support for $141 Million of key capital improvements to be undertaken by the Airport including the extension of runway 6R/24L to 11,250 feet to accommodate unrestricted international flights.
"The terms of this agreement will enable Continental Airlines to operate in Cleveland with a cost structure that is competitive with other hub airports," Bethune said. "The business community here needs frequent, quality air service to compete. This agreement enables Continental to offer Cleveland the level of service it wants to use at a reasonable cost to the airline."
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed Friday, October 1, 2004 at Continental's Houston headquarters. Kellner, who will assume the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer upon Bethune's retirement at the end of the year, and Jeffery Smisek, who will serve as Continental president, joined Mayor Campbell in Houston for the signing of the MOU. Accompanying Mayor Campbell to Houston were John C. Mok, Director of Airports for the City of Cleveland, A. Malachi Mixon, CEO of Invacare, Ernest Novak, Chairman of the Board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, Dennis Roche, President of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, and Daniel Berry, Senior Vice President of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. The participation of the Cleveland business community signifies the value Cleveland places on air service and the strong partnership between Continental and the City of Cleveland.
Legislation for the MOU will be introduced at the Cleveland City Council meeting on Monday, October 11th passage is anticipated in November. Continental's Board of Directors will consider similar action at their November board meeting.
Continental Airlines, with more than 250 daily departures from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to nearly 80 destinations worldwide, offers more nonstop service to more cities from Northeast Ohio than any other airline. Continental is the world's sixth-largest airline with more than 2,900 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Continental serves 149 domestic and 119 international destinations -- more than any other airline in the world -- and nearly 200 additional points are served via SkyTeam alliance airlines. With 42,000 employees, the airline has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and carries approximately 51 million passengers per year. For more company information, visit continental.com.
To receive these alerts via e-mail visit the Corporate Information Center at www.continental.com/cic.