News Release
Continental Airlines' Newark Global Gateway Project Ahead of Schedule; New Presidents Club Opens
NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2000 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) today announced that the Global Gateway Project is four months ahead of schedule. Today’s official opening of Continental’s 19,000-square foot Presidents Club at Newark International Airport marks the third major milestone toward the completion of the $1.2 billion expansion project. A new international baggage system and Boeing 777 Hold Room/Continental Express Concourse have already been completed ahead of schedule.
“Making Newark a world-class airport is a priority for Continental, and being ahead of schedule on this project is symbolic of our commitment,” said Greg Brenneman, Continental’s president and chief operating officer. “But this incredible feat was only made possible by Port Authority and Continental employees working side by side to make it happen.”
Almost half of the 11 projects associated with the Global Gateway Project are ahead of schedule. Below are the projects still underway at Newark:
| Component | Planned Completion | Projected Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| New Baggage Claims Arrivals Level | Dec-00 | Dec-00 |
| Cargo Building | Apr-01 | Feb-01 |
| New Baggage System | Jul-01 | Jul-01 |
| C-3 Concourse Opening | Dec-01 | Jul-01 |
| New Customs Hall | Dec-01 | Oct-01 |
| New Garage and Roads (P.A.-financed) | Feb-02 | Dec-01 |
| All Terminal Enhancements | Jun-02 | Jan-02 |
| Hangar and Maintenance Facilities | Jun-02 | Jun-02 |
The new Presidents Club is located on the C-3 concourse near gates 120 to 139, and features four conference rooms, a family room, television room, shower facilities and 60 workstations. When the Global Gateway Project is complete in 2002, Newark airport will have a new 250,000 square foot concourse, 12 additional wide body gates, state-of-the-art baggage system, an improved Terminal A and new International Arrivals Hall.
In the last five years, Continental has transformed itself from a struggling, bankrupt airline to having year-over-year of profitable growth and increased expansion in its hubs. Newark has been the airline’s fastest growing hub, with the addition of 38 destinations since 1995, including 10 to Latin America, 10 to Europe and recently announced service to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong flight, which will begin in March 2001, will be the airline’s longest flight out of New York.
Continental Airline is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,300 departures daily to 138 domestic and 94 international destinations. Operating major hubs in New York, Houston and Cleveland, Continental (www.continental.com) has extensive service throughout the Americas and to Europe and Asia.
Continental is in the top quarter of FORTUNE magazine’s "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and is ranked the nation’s No. 1 airline in customer satisfaction for long and short-haul flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power and Associates. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Condé Nast Traveler, OAG, Entrepreneur and SmartMoney magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer’s Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Air Transport World’s 1996 Airline of the Year).