Continental Airlines is one of the leading carriers in the United States. Its history started in 1934 with Mr. Walter Varney establishing the airlines called after him Varney Speed Lines at El Paso International Airport. A couple of years later Mr. Robert Six took over the company and moved headquarters to Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado. Six ran the company for forty years. In its sixty eight year history the company went through two bankruptcies, in 1983 and 1991.

On February 29, 1996, the Wall Street Journal reported that Continental gave its shareholders the fifth best return of any public company during 1995 and ranked it number one among eight other airlines with a return that was 213.9% above the peer average. Continental’s stock was trading near its 52-week high point. Continental was growing, serving more and more cities all over the world. On July 17, 1996 the company split its stock 2 for 1. A number of times Continental was named one of the “100 best companies to work for”. Everything was going just fine until September 11, 2001. Along with World Trade Center buildings the airline business collapsed. When in 2000 Continental generated $342 million of net income then in 2001 it was $95 million loss and in 2002 company experienced net loss of $451. It seemed that the second quarter of the present year went well for the company; finally one can see positive numbers on the financial reports of the company ($100 million dollars of net income for the 2nd quarter).