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Filed by
Continental Airlines, Inc.
Pursuant
to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
and
deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12
under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject
Company: Continental Airlines, Inc.
Commission
File No.: 1-10323
Important
Information For Investors And Stockholders
This
communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. The
proposed merger of equals transaction between UAL Corporation (“UAL”) and
Continental Airlines, Inc. (“Continental”) will be submitted to the respective
stockholders of UAL and Continental for their consideration. UAL will
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a registration
statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of Continental
and UAL that also constitutes a prospectus of UAL. UAL and
Continental also plan to file other documents with the SEC regarding the
proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CONTINENTAL
ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER RELEVANT
DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN
THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE
PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and stockholders will be able to
obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents
containing important information about UAL and Continental, once such documents
are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by UAL will be available free of
charge on UAL’s website at www.united.com under
the tab “Investor Relations” or by contacting UAL’s Investor Relations
Department at (312) 997-8610. Copies of the documents filed with the
SEC by Continental will be available free of charge on Continental’s website at
www.continental.com
under the tab “About Continental” and then under the tab “Investor Relations” or
by contacting Continental’s Investor Relations Department at (713)
324-5152.
UAL,
Continental and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may
be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the
stockholders of Continental in connection with the proposed
transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers
of Continental is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2010 annual meeting
of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 23,
2010. Information about the directors and executive officers of UAL
is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2010 annual meeting of stockholders,
which was filed with the SEC on April 30, 2010. These documents can
be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Other
information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a
description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or
otherwise, will be contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other
relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become
available.
Cautionary
Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that are not limited to historical facts, but reflect Continental’s and UAL’s
current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future
events. Words such as “may,” “will,”
“could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursue,” “target,” “continue,”
and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, Continental’s and UAL’s expectations with respect to the synergies,
costs and other anticipated financial impacts of the proposed transaction;
future financial and operating results of the combined company; the combined
company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future
operations and services; approval of the proposed transaction by stockholders
and by governmental regulatory authorities; the satisfaction of the closing
conditions to the proposed transaction; and the timing of the completion of the
proposed transaction.
All
forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of
Continental and UAL and are difficult to predict. Examples of such
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (1) the possibility
that the proposed transaction is delayed or does not close, including due to the
failure to receive required stockholder or regulatory approvals, the taking of
governmental action (including the passage of legislation) to block the
transaction, or the failure of other closing conditions, and (2) the possibility
that the expected synergies will not be realized, or will not be realized within
the expected time period, because of, among other things, significant volatility
in the cost of aircraft fuel, the high leverage and other significant capital
commitments of Continental and UAL, the ability to obtain financing and to
refinance the combined company’s debt, the ability of Continental and UAL to
maintain and utilize their respective net operating losses, the impact of labor
relations, global economic conditions, fluctuations in exchange rates,
competitive actions taken by other airlines, terrorist attacks, natural
disasters, difficulties in integrating the two airlines, the willingness of
customers to travel by air, actions taken or conditions imposed by the U.S. and
foreign governments or other regulatory matters, excessive taxation, further
industry consolidation and changes in airlines alliances, the availability and
cost of insurance and public health threats.
UAL and
Continental caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive.
Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in
Continental’s and UAL’s most recently filed Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K,
and other SEC filings. All subsequent written and oral
forward-looking statements concerning Continental, UAL, the proposed transaction
or other matters and attributable to Continental or UAL or any person acting on
their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements above. Neither Continental nor UAL undertakes any
obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof.
2
Below is
a transcript of a joint press conference held in Chicago on May 4,
2010.
United-Continental
Airlines Merger
Press
Conference May 4, 2010
Jerry
Roper
Well,
good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Jerry Roper, the President
and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. And if I were Vice
President Joe Biden, you know what my next line would be. This is a
big, big day for Chicago, for, I think, the Midwest, for the United States of
America.
I'm
delighted to be here today with Governor Quinn, Mayor Daley, Glenn Tilton, Jeff
Smisek, and to mark this historic event for the city and welcome you to Willis
Tower. Willis Tower, this global business icon, is known for its
sky-high views, which takes in a whole new meaning here today.
I'd like
to thank our hosts in representing his fellow owners, John Huston
– John, would you mind standing up? – who climbed 67 stairs of the
Willis Tower today. So any of you news people, you want to get up a
little early and climb the Tower. They're from the Skokie-based
American Landmark Properties, and from our building management, U.S. Equities,
Bob Winslow. Bob, would you stand up? Bob was former
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. And Katie
Scott. Katie?
On behalf
of the local business community, I applaud the leadership and vision of United
and Continental Airlines to persevere in the face of strong economic headwinds
and thank them for their commitment to building a stronger future here in
Chicago.
And also
joining us this morning, who is a big part of making this city and this region
strong is Rose Andolino, our Commissioner of the Airports; Rita Athas, our
partner at World Business Chicago, and Eden Martin of the Commercial Club and
the Civic Committee. Thank you for your continued
partnership. And Mr. Crown, thank you, sir, for being
here.
I want to
especially thank and welcome Jeff Smisek to Chicago. And I know
you'll find the people here very warm. At times, we have a little bit
of a wind that kicks up, that really helps our planes fly
faster. Some might think it's a little colder. We don't,
because when you think about it inside, it's 78 degrees each and every
day.
3
We're
excited to have the opportunity to build a strong and long-lasting relationship
with you in this city. United and Continental are two proud companies
with storied histories. United has long been an economic engine for
Chicago and Illinois. The announcement that Chicago will be home to
the new United represents a great investment in our city and our state in an
investment that will benefit all Chicagoans, and by keeping the momentum going
for economic growth.
And our
colleagues in Houston will also continue to grow with the expanded hub
operations at Bush Intercontinental, and we look forward to working with my
counterpart, Jeff Moseley, of the Greater Houston Partnership. These
two are two business organizations. These two fantastic hubs really
mean a lot, I think, for the warriors who fly each and every day in and around
this country, around the world, and now, especially, to South America, which we
will have a bigger lift.
For our
world-class O'Hare International Airport and for the millions of people who
depend on O'Hare every day, this announcement ensures that Chicago will remain a
thriving international center for business and tourism, and give us a real,
competitive edge.
And now
I'd like to welcome Glenn Tilton to the podium. As United's CEO he's
been a great friend, a supporter of Chicago, the Chicagoland Chamber of
Commerce, and the business and civic community here. Glenn, we can't
say enough about you. Every day, your focus on doing what you finally
accomplished, we can't thank you enough. It's all over to you,
sir.
Glenn
Tilton
Thanks
very much, Jerry. Very kind of you. [Applause.]
Thank
you, Jerry. You know, we were thinking, as we were preparing for this
morning, who really would serve best as moderator for this morning's press
conference, and really, it took us about twenty seconds to realize that we had
the perfect person in Jerry Roper, who really is Mr. Chicago in so many
ways.
Thanks to
all of you for joining us today. It is a tremendous day for our new
company – Jeff's company and mine – that is going to be so good, not only for
Chicago – certainly for
Chicago – but for all of those other communities, including Houston, that we
serve all of our employees, all of our customers, and as Jeff and I certainly
know, a much, much better day for our investors.
Yesterday
morning was an extraordinary day. We announced our merger agreement
with Continental. With this announcement, we are the new home here in
Chicago to the world's leading, number one, best airline. United has
a long history with Chicago, and together, we've been on a really exciting
journey.
4
Through
all of the ups and downs, all of our time together, Governor Quinn, Mayor Daley,
you've supported our company, and we are deeply in your debt for your having
done so. As Mayor Daley knows very, very well, and very often says,
cities across this country and across the globe compete just as airlines
compete. Mayor Daley, Chicago just got a whole lot more
competitive.
We thank
the Mayor for his leadership and his commitment to creating a world-class
airport, and ensuring that Chicago has the best possible air
infrastructure. Mayor Daley understands the economic effect that a
well-functioning airport and unmatched network service has on the entire economy
of Chicagoland.
Mayor
Daley, Governor Quinn, Jeff and I look forward to continuing to make our airline
better for our customers, our people, and our great city. In a
moment, you're going to hear from our new partner, Jeff, about the strategic and
operational benefits of United Airlines. With that, I'd like to step
back and yield the podium to the best mayor in the United States of America,
Mayor Daley. [Applause.]
Mayor
Richard J. Daley, Jr.
Good
morning. Thank you very much, Glenn Tilton and Jeff
Smisek. Welcome to our great city. I want to thank United
Airlines, Board of Director Jim O'Connor and the entire Board of Directors and
the team, as well as Continental, for this great merger. This is a
great commitment with vision, with guts and decision-making to provide better
service for all those who will be flying United throughout this
country.
To
Governor Quinn, to Jerry Roper, to Eden [Martin] and Lester Crown, all working
together on behalf and improvement of the quality of life of our city and our
state. Rosie Andolino, our Commissioner, Department of Aviation, I
thank you for your great commitment.
In the
1950s, Pat Patterson ran United Airlines. My father, Richard J.
Daley, was Mayor. Midway Airport was the busiest airport in the
country. But they had vision – and they knew that aviation would
change, and the country was changing – to build O'Hare International
Airport.
It shows
you that you need vision, determination, and decision-making in regards to the
future. You cannot live in the past. And that's what this
merger is all about. You respect the past, understand the present,
but always look in the future.
5
Congratulations
to Glenn and Jeff and the entire Board of Directors for this wonderful
merger. Chicago's home to the world's largest airline, United, the
world's largest aircraft manufacturer in Boeing, and I firmly believe the
world's finest airport in a modernized O'Hare. O'Hare, in the city,
metropolitan area, state, and the region, is the biggest economic
engine. There are more jobs related to this industry directly and
indirectly, than any other industry here in the metropolitan area.
And there
have been arguments and decisions as to how you modernize O'Hare. And
the key is the modernization. That will be the future of O'Hare
International Airport. Any slowdown, any stalling of the
modernization, affects the future. This merger affects customers and
the future of the airline industry. And to me, this is a great
commitment of the business community. It reinforces our commitment
here in the city of Chicago to make this the best city in the
world.
Thank you
very much. [Applause.]
Glenn
Tilton
And now
our newest partner and soon-to-be, hopefully in the next several years, a
resident of Chicago, Jeff Smisek, President and CEO of Continental
Airlines.
Jeff
Smisek
I'll be
here a lot sooner than seven years.
Look, I
am so pleased to be here with my good partner, Glenn. Glenn had the
vision for this merger for a long time. We looked at it two years
ago. The stars weren't aligned. The stars were aligned
today. We move forward. This is so great, not only for the
city of Chicago but for all customers. We are bringing together these
two great brands, bringing together the best of both companies.
We, at
Continental, are very strong in New York, with a huge Latin American presence,
whereas United is strong with a great mid-continent hub – Chicago; strong on the
West Coast; a great Pacific presence. In short, we are strong where
United is weak. United is strong where we are weak. Bring
us together and we create the world's greatest airline with an unparalleled
network. Single-carrier service anywhere in the world.
And we
also bring together the best of each carrier's culture, service levels, and
operational integrity. Continental is known for extraordinary
service; for its culture – its culture of working together, and treating each
other and treating our customers with dignity and respect; open, honest and
direct communication.
6
Excellent
customer service – we are world-renowned for our customer
service. United has made great strides in operational
integrity. In fact, United's on-time performance is better than
Continental's. United has also done a great job in controlling its
costs, and is now a very competitive airline on its way up, just as Continental
is a competitive airline on its way up. By bringing these together,
we bring together the very finest of both. So for our customers,
great benefits.
For the
communities we serve, enhanced air service. We can optimize our
fleets and bring better, greater service, more destinations, larger aircraft,
better types of equipment to cities; for our coworkers, because this carrier can
finally break the cycle of instability and fragility in our industry; and can
give our coworkers not just jobs, but careers; and can generate the kind of
financial return so we can not only invest in our coworkers, but we can invest
in our product and continue to improve our on-board product.
We also
will be so attractive to business customers who are higher-yielding and
higher-demanding customers, and they deserve the product that we will give them,
and we will be able to attract them and increase the business mix, which, of
course, will give us higher yields and higher revenue. This is a
merger built on revenue, not on cost savings. There are some cost
savings, but it's principally a revenue-driven merger.
And most
importantly, at the very end, recognize that we've done a very poor job for our
shareholders. The entire airline industry has. Glenn and I
have worked so hard to get a decent return to our shareholders, but
structurally, it's been almost impossible. With this merger, we
finally can get in a position to have a profitable, sustainable
business.
So we are
delighted at Continental to join in a merger of equals with our good partners at
United. We've grown to know them over the years as we've transitioned
from our former alliance, whose name I will not mention, to Star Alliance, and
we've gotten to know and respect each other, know and respect each other's
management teams.
We will
be building, together, the best management team in the industry, with the best
product in the industry, with the best network in the industry, with the best
coworkers in the industry. And this is going to result in the world's
finest, best, largest, most comprehensive network, and a great success for all
the communities we serve, including the great city of Chicago.
And let
me close by thanking all of you. I've gotten such a great, warm
welcome to Chicago, and I appreciate it so much. I look forward to
being here, and I look forward to working with my good partner to build the
world's greatest airline. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Jerry
Roper
7
And Jeff,
75 degrees today in Chicago. Just wanted to let you know
that.
So how
would you like to be Governor of the State of the Illinois
today? This Governor, Governor Quinn, has been getting used to
cutting ribbons on new companies, new mergers. Most recently, the
enhancement of the Ford Motor Plant on the South Side. This is what
we, as the business community, embrace in a governor: someone who is willing to
go out there and fight for jobs in Illinois. Please welcome Governor
Pat Quinn, the State of Illinois. [Applause.]
Governor
Pat Quinn
Thank
you. Well, this is a special day for Illinois. I think
it's a special day for America, that two great airlines, service-oriented
airlines, have come together to make an airline that I think will serve our
whole country and, indeed, our whole world. And it's very important
that we here in Illinois understand that transportation is a key to economic
growth and jobs today and in the future.
We want
to be able to reach any part of the world in our global economy. And
the coming together of Continental and United, two historic airlines with very
dedicated employees. The heart and soul of each airline is the
tremendous commitment that the employees bring to their jobs every
day. And we honor their work, and we want to see them have more
opportunity – more growth, more jobs.
So this
merger today, I think, leads in that direction. It's very important,
I think, to recognize that the fleet that United and Continental will bring to
transportation will be the most fuel-efficient fleet anywhere in the world, and
we have to understand the imperative that we have green airlines, that we have
sustainability, and that we have fuel efficiency, as the best way to have
prosperity in the 21st century.
So I
think the workers of United and Continental, hardworking men and women who are
committed to a good future for our country, for all of our states, and for their
families, I know this is a good day for them. It's a good day, I
think, for all of us who live in Illinois or any part of our
country. We have a strong airline that can reach any part of the
world and do it in a first-class way.
So I look
forward to working with Glenn and Jeff; with Mayor Daley, who is committed to
O'Hare Field, the modernization for the 21st century, second to none; and with
our business community. Jim O'Connor, Lester Crown, Eden Martin, and
Jerry Roper – we have great businessmen in Illinois across our
State. They're committed to the future, sacrificing, sometimes, our
present in order to build a better future.
8
We have
to be custodians of the future. This merger today is a good future
for Illinois and good for our country. Thank you very
much. [Applause.]
Jerry
Roper
So ladies
and gentlemen, look at this new brand. So let us open up to the press
for questions.
Question
Did you
ever feel as though Wall Street was betting against you? This company
was basically left for dead. Now you have enough money to buy another
airline and become the number one. How did you do
this? What was on that road to recovery for you?
Glenn
Tilton
Well,
actually, this is a merger of equals and simply a stock transaction rather than
the money to buy Continental Airlines. So we came together as a
merger of equals, and it really is symbolic of everything that everybody up here
as said.
With
respect to United, Jeff mentioned it in his remarks: Every airline in this
country, every network airline in this country, has gone through a period rather
similar to our own at one time or another. They've gone through a
wrenching, difficult restructuring to put them back on the path to some
profitability.
But Jeff
and I have always known that that alone wasn't going to be enough. We
were still subject to all of those extraordinary external shocks – as Jeff said
here a little while ago – from volcanoes all the way back to 9/11. We
need to create stable businesses so that we can be, as the Governor said, stable
employers.
That was
the vision. The question for United Airlines in 2001, 2002, was, what
way forward. As the Mayor said, we had a vision, and that vision
looked like today. But it was a lot of hard work to get from that day
that we filed for the protection of the court here in this city to get to this
day.
Question
You are
also employee-owned, which is different than most companies.
9
Glenn
Tilton
We were
before we filed. That's exactly right. We were 55%
owned by an ESOP structure. That's exactly
right.
Question
How are
the unions likely to feel about this merger, then? Do you think there
are going to be any stumbling blocks?
Glenn
Tilton
We have
heard, so far, public statements of support, and, of course, as you'll know, we
still have the unions represented on our Board. ALPA and the IM are
represented on our Board, and our Board voted unanimously in support of this
merger.
Question
I'd like
to ask a question, Mr. Smisek, and I'd like to ask this question for people like
me, who ride in the back of the airplane, not for the platinum elites or for the
folks that are up front. The prevailing wisdom on the part of the
analysts who all talked yesterday is that fewer airlines mean less competition,
mean poorer customer service, and higher fares for the traveling public, and
especially the folks that ride coach. Would you please address that
and speak directly to them? What will this merger mean for the people
that are actually buying tickets for their kids to go to Disney
World?
Jeff
Smisek
I'd be
happy to. Sure. I think this will be good, and let me tell
you why it will be good. This is a merger of complementary route
networks. This is not a merger built on capacity reductions, nor is
this a merger built on airfare increases.
We have
almost no overlap. I like to tell Glenn, when I lay awake at night
worrying about my competitors, I never think about United because they're not a
competitor. We have no route overlap internationally. We
have very little route overlap domestically, and in the few cases where we have
route overlap, we have substantial competition.
The
synergies that we talked about in our press conference yesterday, those are
built on additive revenue – increases in business mix, increases in schedule
utility, taking in an optimally sized aircraft and moving it into a market that
will support that bigger aircraft.
10
There's
not a single airfare increase built into our synergy
models. Absolutely not. What we're going to bring to
consumers, whether they're business customers or whether they're flying in
coach, the world's best frequent flyer program. There are
opportunities to earn and redeem miles in lots of new ways. New
benefits, enhanced benefits.
This is
not all about increasing airfares. It is about increasing business
mix on board our aircraft – having more business customers and being more
attractive to business customers because they're higher-yielding customers, but
that does not mean that we're going to ignore or denigrate our coach
customers. They're very important to us. And we are a very
high-service airline. We will bring that high service level to the
combined carrier.
Now, we
will always be responsive to changes in market demand. Obviously, if
demand goes up or fuel goes up, prices tend to go up. You would
expect that. And when fuel goes down and demand goes down, prices
tend to go down. But we don't set airfares. Glenn doesn't
set airfares; I don't set airfares. Together we don't set
airfares. The market sets the fares.
Question
Isn't it
reasonable to assume, though, with less competition on those routes between the
combined airlines' now hubs, where you have one-way fares, isn't it reasonable
to assume that those fares will go up?
Jeff
Smisek
No, it's
not, because on those routes, there continues to be competition other than the
competition that is with Continental-United. So it's absolutely not
the case to assume that, and I think you won't see it. And the proof
will be in the pudding but watch.
You'll
also have to differentiate it from changes in demand. As the economy
recovers and more people want to fly, one would expect airfares to go
up. If the economy doesn't recover, I think you'll see airfares stay
where they are or come down.
Question
[Inaudible] 16,000
employees?
Jeff
Smisek
17,000.
11
Question
How many
of those jobs do you expect will either be transferred out or eliminated as a
result of this merger?
Jeff
Smisek
I don't
know the answer to your question. Glenn and I are chairing an
Integration Committee. We will work through that. There
are jobs that are in Houston. You're talking about headquarters jobs,
by the way, because the frontline jobs are largely unaffected because there's so
little overlap to this merger.
On
headquarters jobs, of course, in any merger, there are redundancies in
headquarters jobs. And as for the total number of jobs, we don't know
that yet; I don't know that yet. As soon as I know it, the first
people I'll tell are my own employees; I won't tell the press. And
after I've told my employees, I'll be happy to tell the press.
Question
I have
two questions for Mr. Tilton and Mr. Smisek. The first is that the
pilots union said yesterday they would be on board with this if it's modeled
after the Delta-Northwest merger. Is it going to be modeled after
that? And my second question is, in front of Mayor Daley here and
Rose Andolino, are you prepared to commit to paying whatever it takes for the
second phase of the O'Hare modernization program?
Glenn
Tilton
So
neither Jeff nor I will ever commit publicly to paying whatever it takes to
anything, which might actually have a little something to do with your
question. So we'll model our discussions with our employees on what's
best for the new company, rather than modeling them on what was best for any
other company.
Question
Mr.
Smisek, could I ask you about O'Hare modernization? Now that the deal
is done, do you want to move ahead with runways and a new terminal?
Jeff
Smisek
12
You have
to understand that to be candid with you, I haven't paid a lot of attention to
O'Hare modernization because O'Hare wasn't particularly important to me until
today. So give me a little time to study the issue.
Question
Jeff, you
have paid attention to potential Bush expansion. How does that play
into this role, too? Because there are master plans to expand Bush as
well.
Jeff
Smisek
Sure,
there are, and those master plans go out for decades. I have a great
deal of difficulty seeing what's going to happen in my business
tomorrow. I will tell you, we have a very sophisticated risk
management group at Continental. We go through our audit committee;
we go through our full board. I will tell you, I study it
carefully. I fill out the questionnaires. I work very hard
on risk management.
I missed
a risk – a volcano. Right? So one never knows what will
happen, so it's very hard for me to answer that question.
Question
Mr.
Tilton, I'm wondering if United will proceed with its plans to place an order
for narrow-body planes this year, or has that been scrapped?
Glenn
Tilton
No, we'll
continue to look at the narrow-body requirements, but of course, we're going to
be able to do so now with an eye to the integration process that Jeff described
to you. So as he and I chair the integration process, we'll be
looking at all the considerations of the new company, and where we have
flexibility in decision-making, we'll apply that flexibility to our
thinking.
Question
13
This is
for Mr. Smisek. You mentioned before that you’re bringing great
service to this new alliance. A good portion of the flying public
does not enjoy flying. In fact, they find it increasingly more
frustrating. Can you give us some bullet points on what your service
will mean to the average flyer?
Jeff
Smisek
Well, I
think those customers need to fly Continental Airlines to see the service level
that you're going to see in the combined United Airlines. Service
improvements take time. Cultural changes take time. But
I'm committed to both.
Question
But can
you give us examples? Some people can't afford to fly three or four
times to sample an airline, so can you give us some bullet points?
Jeff
Smisek
Well, let
me tell you, I would disagree with that. One of the issues in our
entire industry, of course, has been that airfares have been a remarkable
bargain. We've had airfares from New York to Florida for
$69.00. Sometimes you can't take a cab from Manhattan to Newark for
$69.00. So I think there's plenty of opportunity for the
consumer.
I think
airfares are a great value today, and I suspect they'll continue to be a great
value.
Question
Can you
give an idea, please, of the number of jobs that might be created in Chicago, or
would these jobs simply be people who transfer in from Houston and there won't
actually be new employment created here?
Glenn
Tilton
I think
Jeff has said many times, and I certainly agree with him, both of us have agreed
that we're creating a company that has the stability financially to be a
foundation for job growth. It is very difficult for our respective
companies now to envision a future in which we are platforms or foundations for
job growth.
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This
company, with the benefits that will come to the company, will create the
opportunity not only for sustained employment, which, in this industry has been
the equivalent of growth, to actually to begin to create jobs.
Thank you
very much. Appreciate it, everybody.
[Applause.]
[End of press
conference.]
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