My dad worked for Continental in the uk. Had great memories and much admiration for this airline which took us to American many times throughout ny childhood.
My grandpa was a captain at Continental in the 80’s and 90’s and eventually became top pilot at Micronesia. His name is Chuck Bryans. He was also a cargo pilot in Vietnam he flew on the Kitty Hawk.
That was an unfortunate choice by management. I loved Continental as an airline, but I'd very much prefer the UAL tulip to the boring Continental livery.
It was a Great carrier. To stay in business and compete, the only choice was to merge with another carrier, but it was a much Superior Level of Service than the current one. Marketing was running The President's Clubs, and they were handled as a VIP Jewel, very exclusive. Had dedicated Concierge staff for High Yield, frequent fliers. It was something else!
Yay You are back My dad flo on contineltal Airlines In 1989 From mcallen to houston in 727 And then from Houston to Orlando In a Dc 10 I Miss this airline
It's downfall, was thanks to a man named Frank Lorenzo.😮 When he merged Continental, (the old )Frontier, Eastern, Texas International and PeoplExpress it was the end of a really great time in aviation. Lorenzo, Carl Icahn of TWA, Ed Acker of Pan Am and Alfred Checci of Northwest, totally destroyed the airline industry.😢😢
Yes. I flew out of Stapleton airport a day before the snowstorm that took down CO1713. They used the small version of the DC-9 for flights to a few smaller places like Boise.
@@stuartlee6622 Some kind of court mafia looks the other way as if nothing happened. Go figure. I did find out that Robert F. Six, his 1st wife was the daughter of the Pfizer CEO. They apparently financed the company purchase for him.
Demise? CO was the surviving carrier (on paper) with United - theirs was the surviving operating certificate and the surviving leadership team. CO still lives, they're just known by another name.
@@sosaix3545 True. But what if I were to put a question mark next to the second fall that would sort of connect with the thumbnail's title "Downfall or not?"
@@Sideshowbob24 you are ultimately able to do what you want with your videos, of course, but from my position it would at least validate that they did not "fall," as they were truly the surviving entity of the CO/UA merger.
Since the Munoz takeover in 2015, UA has been trying to make a new identity that has nothing to do with Tulip UA or CO. The only remnants of the past are the Globe logo from CO and Rhapsody in Blue from UA, but everything else is all new. United’s current leadership such as Scott Kirby was not from Continental. Munoz also wanted to distance United from CO, so much so that he said he did not want Bethune on the board if Bethune wanted to come back. the latest cabin design is very different than CO’s cabin for example, and CO used to have touches of gold in their livery, which UA is retiring.
Flew Continental multiple times from LAX to HNL in the early 2000s. 767-400ER.. It was a hidden gem. It was always wide open and only wide body at the time to Hawaii that had tvs on every seat. Most up to date ife! Before delta rolled out with their IFE on every seat, Continental was already on the road to that. Worked for United for 9 years starting back in 2011 in SFO (United dominate hub) .. You can tell the difference of work styles of employees with UA and CO because EX- CO would ALWAYS go above and beyond to help the passengers vs SUB- UA’s strict policies. Everything UA today that’s good is branched from CO as their culture did eventually bleed into UAs over time. Also UA aircrafts were way dated compared to CO and passengers would complain all the time of how one has TV and chargers and one doesn’t. From UAs Airbus 320 family to their 747s it was very out dated, compared to CO’s Boeing planes that had tvs and more modern. Loyal CO passengers would connect from EWR and IAH and go to Asia/pacific on UA - Metal, would complain all the time. Lol Also UA was a perfect Merger with CO as their routes in the South Pacific/Asia was strong as well. Now they have the strongest international network out here of any airline in the USA and probably around the world! With new aircrafts in the process and new livery. It’s was a game changer in the waiting for sure.
I like your opinions about Continental, but I will likely never fly United again. I also quit flying domestically, but continue to fly internationally. My favorite airline is Singapore Air. It’s as good as it gets these days especially in Business Class, but also Economy Plus.
Downfall? Continental bought United. Similarly, America West saw no downfall... it acquired US Airways, which itself merged with American. I kid you not, it is the management team from America West that oversaw much of the US-AA merger...
United Airlines had put their entire spare parts inventory up for hock to Chase Bank. Continental was happy to stay on the sidelines and watch United fail. Buying up only the pieces that made sense. Chase bank (also Continental’s bank) did not want to be left holding a bunch of airplane parts so a merger was ordered. At the time of the merger Continental pilots were being paid considerably higher hourly wages than United pilots - FACT !
For those that say Continental was the bad airline just because Smisek messed up the merger, let’s make an analogy. When Dennis Muilenberg was at Boeing, he maintained the culture that Boeing inherited from MD. But that does not mean he came from MD since he has been at Boeing since before the MD merger. MD is to United as Boeing is to Continental as Smisek is to Muilenberg.
left out a big chunk of history. shutting down Texas International, taking their jets and bringing them to NYC and forming NYAir. NYAir went head to head with Eastern on the BOS/DC shuttle and dominated it. NYAir was already part of Texas Air Corp and was folded into the merger of CAL, PE, Frontier.
Air mail was the root of the airlines in the late 20s, 30s and early 40s. At one point, three airlines were awarded serious east-west routes. United was north, TWA central and American south. This is reflected in their hub structure into the 90's - United and Chicago; TWA and St Louis; AA and Dallas. If there wasn't anyone that was going to fly from point A to point B, then the station manager at point A would write a letter to the station manager at point B so they could get the BIG BUCKS that the mail paid vs what the few passengers of the day paid. The proud bird with the golden tail. Or as we reworded it, the rotten bird with the golden tail or the proud bird with the rotten tail.
@@Blank00 True. We were too young to understand the airline business - it was just us mocking the slogan. Come to think of it, after spending 26 years in the industry, I'm not sure how much of it I understand now!
It's International Association of MACHINISTS and Aerospace Workers, not Mechanics. The mechanics were represented by the IAM, but it's the machinists' union, not mechanics.
Employees were hit or miss. Had some great pre merger UA employees both before and after the merger. Airplanes themselves were very dated. After the merger I flew on two UA 757s still wearing the Tulip scheme, and the interiors were stuck in the early 1990s with tube TV’s over the aisles, dark wallpaper lavatories, and even airfones. They (N530UA and N523UA) were built in 1991 and 1990, respectively. Flew nicely as they were 757s, but bad interiors. Ex-Continental airplanes on the other hand, including the 757s, were a lot more modern than the pre merger United units.
Losing the Continental name kinda sucked, but at least the globe stayed and they went out on a more positive note. Cant say the same about so many others. Many memories in Houston, and going transatlantic EWR to Barcelona in a 757 was quite a way to get into Europe.
@@Blank00I’ll never forget my flight on a Colgan Air Saab 340 prop plane from Dulles to Allentown. It was operated for United Express. Total trip back in time. Felt like a movie from the 1960s.
@jose.luis.ayala. Hey, spelling genius ... He spelled it "epilouge", which is wrong. Look it up. The way I spelled it in my original post is the British spelling. "Epilog" would be the American spelling. You need to pay better attention in English class.
they took away their international first class cabin. and thats when the downfall came. just like on TWA. Both bankrupt. An international FIRST CLASS CABIN IS NECESSARY NOT ONLY BUSINESSCLASS. Air France LA PREMIERE, Swiss FIRST, BA FIRST, LH FIRST ALEGRIS. Not to mention SQ, CX, Japan airlines brand new FIRST CLASS. I felt so ashamed when we at TWA did discontinue our First class cabin
They do not have an INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS CABIN anymore. They are nothing compared to other FIRST CLASS carriers. Mean staff, below standard food, NO LUXURY, No nothing oh yeah and cheap champagne. No vintage champagne. The U.S. carrier do not count anymore. Wish you would have had the opportunity to fly T.W.A. Royal Ambassador First class..I was a part of the fame.@@Blank00
Have you watched the whole video? In the epilogue I clearly state that their merger with United was a more proactive response to the challenges and opportunities in the airline industry during that time, not because they were doing so bad and needed a way out.
Don’t ever say United “bought” Continental !…………That’s like saying a homeless guy bought a Cadillac ! Let me tell you what you can do with your two lips 👄!!!!!
My dad worked for Continental in the uk. Had great memories and much admiration for this airline which took us to American many times throughout ny childhood.
My grandpa was a captain at Continental in the 80’s and 90’s and eventually became top pilot at Micronesia. His name is Chuck Bryans. He was also a cargo pilot in Vietnam he flew on the Kitty Hawk.
Yes. Bethune was a great CEO. I was flying CO regularly in those days and loved it. Customer Service was great!
I hope he comes back to United after stepping down from Boeing
I think it’s safe to say that Continental lives on considering most of United’s planes bear their livery.
That was an unfortunate choice by management. I loved Continental as an airline, but I'd very much prefer the UAL tulip to the boring Continental livery.
United bears the livery, but not the quality of Continental.
Wow, nice! Welcome back man! 😊
Thanks Deathanoide. It’s good to be back
It was a Great carrier. To stay in business and compete, the only choice was to merge with another carrier, but it was a much Superior Level of Service than the current one. Marketing was running The President's Clubs, and they were handled as a VIP Jewel, very exclusive. Had dedicated Concierge staff for High Yield, frequent fliers. It was something else!
Yay You are back My dad flo on contineltal Airlines In 1989 From mcallen to houston in 727 And then from Houston to Orlando In a Dc 10
I Miss this airline
well, some of them still lived on in united. Including their parent company
ORALE R G V
ORALE 9 5 6
It's downfall, was thanks to a man named Frank Lorenzo.😮 When he merged Continental, (the old )Frontier, Eastern, Texas International and PeoplExpress it was the end of a really great time in aviation. Lorenzo, Carl Icahn of TWA, Ed Acker of Pan Am and Alfred Checci of Northwest, totally destroyed the airline industry.😢😢
I could not agree more! The "Airline Builder" certainly did a number on Eastern and Continental, and you are correct about the others you mentioned.
100 💯💯
Was coming to comment that. My Grandad was on the ALPA MEC during the pilots union strike of 83.
Very well made video man! New sub👍
nice that you're getting better with these videos. Think I should consider myself using a new editor like yours.
I think you should. Davinci Resolve has way more features than WMM but it's quite an adjustment.
Continental had DC-9s in the '80s. Flight 1713 Denver Colorado crash was on 11/15/87.
Yes. I flew out of Stapleton airport a day before the snowstorm that took down CO1713. They used the small version of the DC-9 for flights to a few smaller places like Boise.
Al Feldman didn't auger in. His passing was ruled a suicide, but that's not what happened. Right Frank?
EXACTLY!!!!
@@stuartlee6622 Some kind of court mafia looks the other way as if nothing happened. Go figure. I did find out that Robert F. Six, his 1st wife was the daughter of the Pfizer CEO. They apparently financed the company purchase for him.
He was s**cided
I like your video, I also wanted to look up their routes from Los Angeles to Taipei but couldn't find any sadly.
They had great customer service in the 90s. Long gone now.
In 1987 New York Air was also merged with Continental.
Good video
Thank you
Demise? CO was the surviving carrier (on paper) with United - theirs was the surviving operating certificate and the surviving leadership team. CO still lives, they're just known by another name.
Listen to what I said at the end
@@Sideshowbob24 and yet your title says "...and fall of Continental.."
@@sosaix3545 True. But what if I were to put a question mark next to the second fall that would sort of connect with the thumbnail's title "Downfall or not?"
@@Sideshowbob24 you are ultimately able to do what you want with your videos, of course, but from my position it would at least validate that they did not "fall," as they were truly the surviving entity of the CO/UA merger.
Since the Munoz takeover in 2015, UA has been trying to make a new identity that has nothing to do with Tulip UA or CO. The only remnants of the past are the Globe logo from CO and Rhapsody in Blue from UA, but everything else is all new. United’s current leadership such as Scott Kirby was not from Continental. Munoz also wanted to distance United from CO, so much so that he said he did not want Bethune on the board if Bethune wanted to come back. the latest cabin design is very different than CO’s cabin for example, and CO used to have touches of gold in their livery, which UA is retiring.
good job 👍👍
Flew Continental multiple times from LAX to HNL in the early 2000s. 767-400ER.. It was a hidden gem. It was always wide open and only wide body at the time to Hawaii that had tvs on every seat. Most up to date ife!
Before delta rolled out with their IFE on every seat, Continental was already on the road to that.
Worked for United for 9 years starting back in 2011 in SFO (United dominate hub) .. You can tell the difference of work styles of employees with UA and CO because EX- CO would ALWAYS go above and beyond to help the passengers vs SUB- UA’s strict policies. Everything UA today that’s good is branched from CO as their culture did eventually bleed into UAs over time. Also UA aircrafts were way dated compared to CO and passengers would complain all the time of how one has TV and chargers and one doesn’t. From UAs Airbus 320 family to their 747s it was very out dated, compared to CO’s Boeing planes that had tvs and more modern. Loyal CO passengers would connect from EWR and IAH and go to Asia/pacific on UA - Metal, would complain all the time. Lol
Also UA was a perfect Merger with CO as their routes in the South Pacific/Asia was strong as well. Now they have the strongest international network out here of any airline in the USA and probably around the world! With new aircrafts in the process and new livery. It’s was a game changer in the waiting for sure.
Yup
I like your opinions about Continental, but I will likely never fly United again. I also quit flying domestically, but continue to fly internationally. My favorite airline is Singapore Air. It’s as good as it gets these days especially in Business Class, but also Economy Plus.
Why did the dc 10 have winglets
found this interesting even though im not really into planes
well, there will definitely be more so stick around :D!
Downfall? Continental bought United. Similarly, America West saw no downfall... it acquired US Airways, which itself merged with American. I kid you not, it is the management team from America West that oversaw much of the US-AA merger...
United Airlines had put their entire spare parts inventory up for hock to Chase Bank. Continental was happy to stay on the sidelines and watch United fail. Buying up only the pieces that made sense. Chase bank (also Continental’s bank) did not want to be left holding a bunch of airplane parts so a merger was ordered. At the time of the merger Continental pilots were being paid considerably higher hourly wages than United pilots - FACT !
What’s up Gavin? How’ve you been doing?
not bad man. It's been some time
Do continental’s retired fleet
will you do any rise of falls of any defunct international airlines, low cost carriers and etc?
Yes that’s what I’m doing currently
@@Sideshowbob24Oh ok.
@@Sideshowbob24When you are done uploading the rise and fall of jas video, can you do a rise and fall of any european airline like sabena or malev?
@@prussiandudeidk I have an entire list of airlines I want to do videos just like this one on. All I'll say is Sabena and Malev are in there ;)
@@Sideshowbob24cool!
Should have just put the People Express name on the planes with the he United flying ducks on them 🕊️🕊️
For those that say Continental was the bad airline just because Smisek messed up the merger, let’s make an analogy. When Dennis Muilenberg was at Boeing, he maintained the culture that Boeing inherited from MD. But that does not mean he came from MD since he has been at Boeing since before the MD merger. MD is to United as Boeing is to Continental as Smisek is to Muilenberg.
Ty
Didn't Feldman start frontier
he was President of the airline from 1971-1980. He became CEO of Continental in 1980 until he k!lled himself.
Im miss my Continental. Which technically lives on today....
left out a big chunk of history. shutting down Texas International, taking their jets and bringing them to NYC and forming NYAir. NYAir went head to head with Eastern on the BOS/DC shuttle and dominated it. NYAir was already part of Texas Air Corp and was folded into the merger of CAL, PE, Frontier.
Miss continental airlines still. Was such a great airline to fly on
DAMN STRAIGHT.
THANK YOU.
Air mail was the root of the airlines in the late 20s, 30s and early 40s. At one point, three airlines were awarded serious east-west routes. United was north, TWA central and American south. This is reflected in their hub structure into the 90's - United and Chicago; TWA and St Louis; AA and Dallas. If there wasn't anyone that was going to fly from point A to point B, then the station manager at point A would write a letter to the station manager at point B so they could get the BIG BUCKS that the mail paid vs what the few passengers of the day paid.
The proud bird with the golden tail. Or as we reworded it, the rotten bird with the golden tail or the proud bird with the rotten tail.
To be fair, it wasn’t rotten during the 1990s and 2000s. They were one of the better US carriers during those decades
@@Blank00 True. We were too young to understand the airline business - it was just us mocking the slogan. Come to think of it, after spending 26 years in the industry, I'm not sure how much of it I understand now!
PUT THE PIPE DOWN. STOP DRINKING. NO MORE NEEDLES.
NO MORE PILLS.
It's International Association of MACHINISTS and Aerospace Workers, not Mechanics. The mechanics were represented by the IAM, but it's the machinists' union, not mechanics.
Proud to be an Ex-Con.
United was trapped in the 1970's there interiors were. So out
dated. United had the rudest employees.
Employees were hit or miss. Had some great pre merger UA employees both before and after the merger. Airplanes themselves were very dated. After the merger I flew on two UA 757s still wearing the Tulip scheme, and the interiors were stuck in the early 1990s with tube TV’s over the aisles, dark wallpaper lavatories, and even airfones. They (N530UA and N523UA) were built in 1991 and 1990, respectively. Flew nicely as they were 757s, but bad interiors.
Ex-Continental airplanes on the other hand, including the 757s, were a lot more modern than the pre merger United units.
I miss express jet. Continental has been " Unitedised" , very sad.
Losing the Continental name kinda sucked, but at least the globe stayed and they went out on a more positive note. Cant say the same about so many others.
Many memories in Houston, and going transatlantic EWR to Barcelona in a 757 was quite a way to get into Europe.
after that Colgan Air crash, I'm glad they're gone
@@GiordanDiodato Thats a whole seprate Compnay
The globe is awful. Bring back the Tulip
@@GiordanDiodatothis crash was not the fault of Continental. It was the fault of Colgan Air, who also operated flights for UA and US Airways
@@Blank00I’ll never forget my flight on a Colgan Air Saab 340 prop plane from Dulles to Allentown. It was operated for United Express. Total trip back in time. Felt like a movie from the 1960s.
Enjoyed the video, but you spelled "Epilogue" wrong.
@jose.luis.ayala. Hey, spelling genius ... He spelled it "epilouge", which is wrong. Look it up.
The way I spelled it in my original post is the British spelling. "Epilog" would be the American spelling.
You need to pay better attention in English class.
A few erroneous comments in this video - clearly you did not research your topic very well
What were these erroneous comments?
they took away their international first class cabin. and thats when the downfall came. just like on TWA. Both bankrupt.
An international FIRST CLASS CABIN IS NECESSARY NOT ONLY BUSINESSCLASS. Air France LA PREMIERE, Swiss FIRST, BA FIRST, LH FIRST ALEGRIS. Not to mention SQ, CX, Japan airlines brand new FIRST CLASS. I felt so ashamed when we at TWA did discontinue our First class cabin
What do you have to say about Delta, which is nowadays America’s most reputable airline?
They do not have an INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS CABIN anymore. They are nothing compared to other FIRST CLASS carriers. Mean staff, below standard food, NO LUXURY, No nothing oh yeah and cheap champagne. No vintage champagne. The U.S. carrier do not count anymore. Wish you would have had the opportunity to fly T.W.A. Royal Ambassador First class..I was a part of the fame.@@Blank00
How many times can you say "however"? LOL
you'd be surprised
United ruined a good thing.
DEMISE…..YOU PRETEND TO SAY CONTINENTAL WAS ON A DOWNFALL? YOU ARE WRONG. DO A BETTER RESEARCH AND YOU WILL FIND THE TRUTH
Have you watched the whole video? In the epilogue I clearly state that their merger with United was a more proactive response to the challenges and opportunities in the airline industry during that time, not because they were doing so bad and needed a way out.
Bethune wanted more from his employees and reduced their benefits. Fuck that.
No business can be conducted on Continental Flights, least pay heavy consequences
continental ruined United. Bring back the Tulip
Scratch that, reverse it. And the tulip needs to stay dead.
@@sosaix3545 continental needs to stay dead and their turd ball. Long live the Tulip! Death to continental
United destroyed Continental.
Don’t ever say United “bought” Continental !…………That’s like saying a homeless guy bought a Cadillac ! Let me tell you what you can do with your two lips 👄!!!!!
@@savagecub United bought continental. Cope