Release #06.CAL
March 17, 2006

Continental Pilots Elect New Leadership Team

HOUSTON, TX -- Capt. Dave Earnest, a Boeing 757/767 pilot based in Houston and a 28-year veteran at Continental Airlines, has been elected Chairman of Continental Master Executive Council (CAL MEC), a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA). The CAL MEC is made up of the nine elected representatives of the 4,200 Continental pilots.

Also elected were Vice Chairman Capt. Bob Reilly, a B-737 pilot based in Newark, N.J., and 22-year veteran at Continental. Elected new Secretary-Treasurer was First Officer Randy Hodge, a B-737 pilot based in Houston with 19 years at Continental.

New MEC Chairman Earnest said, “During this time of extreme volatility in the airline industry, this pilot group has stepped up to ensure the survival and viability of Continental Airlines and help advance the causes professional pilots nationally and internationally through the Air Line Pilots Association.

“Serious challenges remain, not the least of which are the strong possibility of consolidation in the airline industry and the possible incursion of foreign airlines and foreign ownership. The only way we can face these challenges is as a united ‘Band of Brothers,’ a band willing to take preemptive actions to defend our profession, our airlines and our industry.

“Continental Airlines pilots will not shrink from these challenges.”

Capt. Earnest retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserves in December 1997. He holds a doctorate in dental surgery from University of the Pacific and has both taught and practiced dentistry. Since 2001, he has served the Continental pilots union as member and then Chairman of the Retirement and Insurance Committee.

ALPA represents 62,000 airline pilots at 39 carriers in the U.S. and Canada. Its website is www.alpa.org.

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Contact: Jim Moody, 281-987-3636