Continental Express

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Continental Express is the operating name brand of a number of independently owned regional airlines providing jet feeder service in association with Continental Airlines. Currently,

• ExpressJet Holdings Inc. carrier ExpressJet Airlines
• Republic Airways Holdings carrier Chautauqua Airlines

operate under this name. With service to approximately 150 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, ExpressJet and Chautauqua operate all of Continental’s small jet service from its hubs in Houston, Newark and Cleveland, with additional non-hub service. ExpressJet operates a large portion of its fleet of 274 Embraer-145 and -135 aircraft under the Continental Express brand.

ExpressJet was at one time a fully owned subsidiary of the holding corporation in control of Continental Airlines. In this previous incarnation before its divestiture Continental Express flew turbo-prop aircraft such as the EMB-120 Brasilia, ATR-42/72 and Beech 1900, but Continental Airlines now contracts with other airlines such as CommutAir, Gulfstream International, and Colgan Air to operate prop aircraft as Continental Connection on short-haul routes.

Continental Express airlines share the Continental hubs: Cleveland, Ohio's Hopkins International Airport, Houston, Texas's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Newark, New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.

In the past, other airlines, such as Trans-Colorado Airlines had used the Continental Express name. Trans-Colorado Airlines operated in the 1970s and '80s, when Continental had hub operations in Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado.

Incidents and accidents

• Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286: A Fairchild Metroliner III crashed near Bayfield, Colorado on January 19, 1988, operated by Trans-Colorado Airlines. Both crew members and 7 of 15 passengers died. Of the surviving passengers one received major injuries and 6 received minor injuries, and 1 received no injuries.^[1]
• Continental Express Flight 2574, flown by Britt Airways, was a scheduled domestic passenger airline flight from Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On September 11, 1991, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, crashed as it was approaching the runway for landing, killing all 14 people on board. An investigation by the NTSB found that an improperly maintained horizontal stabilizer failed during approach, causing a severe nose-down pitchover and breakup of the plane. ^[2]

• In June 2007, an incident on a Continental Express flight operated ExpressJet Airlines led to a passenger and her 19 month-old son being removed from the plane at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. ^[3] According to eyewitness accounts, Kate Penland and her son Garren were ordered off the flight from Atlanta to Oklahoma City by flight attendant, Erica Sikorski, who felt the child's repeated loud verbalizing of "bye bye plane" raised security issues for the flight. The flight attendant then suggested that the mother administer a sedative to calm the child but the mother was not helpful. During an interview with Atlanta's WSB-TV, Penland said when other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, Sikorski "got angrier and soon announced they were turning around and that she and her son were to be removed from the plane". ^[4] The reason allegedly given to the captain by the flight attendant was that Ms. Penland had threatened the attendant - a claim Ms. Penland denied and also refuted by one of the other passengers. Houston police responding to a report of a disturbance on the plane investigated the incident, which resulted in no charges filed and no arrest made. Kristy Nicholas, a spokesperson for ExpressJet, stated that the airline has received a complaint from Ms. Penland about the incident and is investigating. According to a MySpace blog containing Ms. Penland's first person narrative of the event, the airline's customer relations department later responded that they were "addressing the matter" and "cannot comment due to the situation still being under investigation and possible litigation." Ms. Penland has since retained Georgia Trial Lawyers Association member Steve Goldman [1] as her representative in this matter.

Destinations

Main article: Continental Express destinations

Fleet

The largest operator of ERJs is ExpressJet, under the colors of Continental Express.

Embraer ERJ 145 operated by ExpressJet d. b. a. Continental Express

ExpressJet Holdings announced on December 28, 2005 that they received notice from Continental Airlines of its intention to reduce by 69 the number of aircraft ExpressJet will operate for Continental under the companies' capacity purchase agreement. Per the agreement, ExpressJet could return the aircraft to Continental, or lease them from Continental at a higher rate and operate as a regional feeder for another airline.

As announced by Continental, the withdrawal of aircraft from the agreement was expected to begin in January 2007 and be completed during summer 2007. Simultaneously, Continental announced its intention to request proposals from other regional carriers to lease and operate the returned aircraft, beginning in January 2007. Continental announced in April 2006 that Chautauqua Airlines had been awarded a contract to operate the 69 aircraft owned by Continental.

ExpressJet later announced their intention to maintain operating the 69 aircraft independently, at increased lease rates. As such, scrambled with much difficulty to find suitable 50-seat aircraft to cover their obligations. Chautauqua was forced to add a new fleet type because ExpressJet retained their ERJs.

In July 2006, Continental Airlines announced a new contract, in which Chautauqua Airlines will provide and operate regional jets as a Continental Express carrier. ^[5] Therefore, as of 2007, Continental Express will consist of 205 aircraft operated by Expressjet Airlines, and 25 aircraft operated by Chautauqua.

• Bombardier CRJ200ER
• Embraer ERJ 135
• Embraer ERJ 145

References

External links

• ExpressJet Airlines
• Continental Airlines

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