Guam, Saipan, Rota, and Palau may be small islands in the Pacific – barely even registering on a standard world map – but their significance now includes bridging one continent to another.
Connect these "dots" and you get the bigger picture of interlinking highways in the sky, spanning continents and oceans. These islands are part of the transit routes passed by Continental Airlines – the world’s sixth largest airline.
Since other American carriers are more oriented towards local routes and other countries, Continental Airlines has shifted its thrust to more "exotic" destinations in the Asia Pacific, linking one point of the globe to the other and back.
For instance, now one can travel from New York to Hong Kong in 16 hours; New York to Beijing in 14 hours; or Los Angeles to Manila via Honolulu in 17 hours.
Lou Sanchez, marketing and sales manager for Guam and Micronesia, said that Continental offers the most number of international services and routes in the US. Their planes lift off and land on such far-off islands in the middle of the Pacific, such as Rota, Chuuk, Saipan, and Kosrae, to connect one destination to another. On some islands though, Continental assumes the name and service of an affiliate airline, such as CapeAir in the Micronesia.
This service is allowed through the "SkyTeam" – a conglomerate of 10 member airlines which offer 14,615 daily flights to 728 destinations in 149 countries.
"On some flights, your ticket will have Continental flight numbers. At other times, it may be operated by one of our alliance partners. We have combined our services with those of our partners to offer you convenience and seamless travel: a single ticket, one-time check-in, and coordinated connections with minimal waiting, reliable transfers, frequent flyer benefits, and other privileges," Sanchez explained, during a recent familiarization tour in Guam organized by the Guam Visitors Bureau and sponsored by Continental Airlines and Fiesta Resort.
Continental’s four major hubs are located in four destinations: Newark, New York (Newark Liberty International Airport); Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Hopkins International Airport); Houston, Texas (George Bush Intercontinental Airport); and Agana, Guam (Agana Field International).
From these hubs, they launch 3,200 daily departures to America, Europe, Asia. Annually, they transport 61 million passengers from around the world.
Sanchez is based in Guam, where Continental Air Micronesia is the largest employer. Continental Micronesia is a United States certified international air carrier that serves the Western Pacific, specifically five markets from its hub operations based in Guam and Saipan; seven cities in Japan, Asian destinations including Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong, South Korea, Bali, the islands of Micronesia and through its non-stop service to Honolulu, the Mainland United States.
With the thrust for Pacific islands, Continental is boosting tourism to these far-flung destinations.
Another innovation in flight service started by Continental is the "Web check-in" which allows the fastest and easiest way to check in for Continental Airlines flights. This means no more waiting time and long queues at the check-in counter.
Now also offered in other countries and soon in the Philippines, Web check-in involves bringing over your luggage to the airport 24 hours predeparture, and printing your own Boarding pass at home, so that when you arrive at the airport, all you need to do is board the aircraft.
These efforts have garnered several citations for Continental Airlines, among them "Most Admired Global Airline" by Fortune Magazine for its 2006 list of Most Admired Global Companies – the third consecutive year for the airline to be cited as such.
Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication’s 2006 list of Most Admired Airline industry list. Additionally, the same carrier won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Best Airline Based inNorth America" for the third year in a row, and the "Best Executive/ Business Class" for the fourth consecutive year.
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