CONTINENTAL AIRLINES CONTINUES FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING
NEW YORK, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ — In the latest phase of its program to restructure finances, Continental Airlines has agreed to sell a major portion of its operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, and six slots at Washington/ National Airport, to USAir for $61 million.
Continental will permanently retain its primary service from LaGuardia to its Houston, Cleveland and Denver hubs, and will keep its LaGuardia-Florida service in place throughout the busy winter and spring period.
Included in the LaGuardia assets being sold to USAir are 62 arrival and departure jet slots, 46 commuter slots, the East End Terminal now under construction, and a flight kitchen.
The sale is subject to Bankruptcy Court approval and various other conditions.
A portion of the assets — including 24 jet slots and 46 commuter airline slots — are scheduled to transfer to USAir effective Feb. 1, 1992. The balance of 38 jet slots, which Continental will utilize in conjunction with its winter/spring Florida service, will transfer to USAir on May 1.
The LaGuardia operations are non-strategic assets which are largely duplicative to Continental’s substantial Newark hub operation.
Continental acquired most of the LaGuardia assets earlier this year in the Eastern Air Lines liquidation sale in exchange for assuming lease obligations primarily associated with six Airbus A-300 aircraft that Continental is retaining.
“Like the pending divestiture of our Micronesian operations, the sale of this portion of our LaGuardia operations will assist us in completing our financial restructuring in a timely manner without hurting our long- range competitiveness,” said CEO Robert R. Ferguson, III. “This change will allow us to focus more on building Newark’s role as the ‘total’ airport for the region, and will improve the profitability of our New York/New Jersey service.”
Last month Continental signed an agreement in principle to sell its Micronesian operations for $290 million in consideration.
Currently Continental provides 70 daily departures from LaGuardia, including 43 jet departures. Among the services Continental will suspend at LaGuardia in February are flights to Atlanta, Buffalo and Columbus. Service to five Florida cities ends on May 1. Continental already operates nonstop flights to each of these destinations from its Newark hub.
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