Continental Airlines said it was eliminating 600 jobs, cutting 133 daily flights and taking 22 planes out of service as it re-evaluates its business.
"I think there's going to be even more future cuts as we continue to examine the operation," said Dave Messing, a spokesman for the Houston-based carrier that has been in bankruptcy court since December.The carrier also was closing its operations at Houston's Hobby Airport, the city's older, smaller airport. Continental will transfer the six flights that depart from Hobby - four to Denver and two to San Antonio - to Houston's Intercontinental Airport, where most of Continental's operations are based.
Service by Continental Express to five cities will be suspended. The cities include Flint, Mich; Farmington, N.M.; San Angelo, Texas; and Bar Harbor and Rockland, Maine. Service to Hyannis, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts also was being suspended for the fall season.
"The changes help us reduce expenses in areas that are not making an immediate positive contribution to the company's finances or are duplicative in nature," Continental Chairman Hollis Harris said.
Meanwhile, a federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday granted Continental an extension to file a reorganization plan aimed at restoring its health and satisfying creditor claims.
The decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Helen Balick in Wilmington, Del., gives Continental until Nov. 28 to file the plan. The judge rejected arguments from creditors who wanted to file their own plan because they believe Continental is not making sufficient progress toward getting out of Chapter 11.