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Continental Airlines Named to HISPANIC's 'Corporate 100'
Continental Airlines Named to HISPANIC's 'Corporate 100'
Published 02-13-04
Submitted by Continental Airlines
"Our company's culture is based on treating employees and customers alike with dignity and respect," said Gordon Bethune, Chairman and CEO. "The diversity of ideas, experiences, cultures and lifestyles among Continental employees helps us provide the best possible service to our global customers. We are proud that Continental has again earned a place on HISPANIC Magazine's 'Corporate 100' list -- more proof that Continental is a great place to work and a great airline."
"Continental Airlines has proven itself to be a front-runner in the race toward ethnic diversity," the HISPANIC article says, highlighting the airline's Spanish-language Web site functions, Spanish-speaking flight attendants, and bilingual ticket office. The article also mentions Continental's diversity council, employment of Hispanics in high-ranking positions, and the airline's "Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the Future" partnership with Upward Bound that helps Hispanic students visit college campuses.
HISPANIC selects companies for the listing based on their recruitment efforts, diversity training, minority business initiatives and philanthropic donations to Hispanic communities.
Approximately 17 percent of all Continental Airlines employees are Hispanic and 10 percent of its management is Hispanic. The airline annually supports around 50 Hispanic organizations and festivals throughout the U.S. In 2003, Continental expanded its "Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the Future" partnership with the Federal government's Upward Bound, adding Miami- and Chicago-based projects to the list of educational programs in Houston, New York City, San Antonio, and Los Angeles that receive airline tickets to help Hispanic high school students and their parents make college visits.
Continental continues to enhance its specialized customer service initiative for Spanish-speaking passengers, called Latinization. The airline has added Spanish-language functions on the Continental.com Web site, including Flight and Gate Information, Flight Paging, Timetable, and OnePass frequent flyer program enrollment, statements and mileage credit requests. Continental also has placed bilingual personnel in a new ticket office convenient to Houston's Hispanic neighborhoods.
Latinization also includes bilingual flight attendants and Spanish- language entertainment on board the majority of flights to Latin America. In major U.S. airports, Continental has bilingual customer service representatives and Spanish-language airport signage, flight information, and eTicket machine screens. Passengers in the U.S. may make reservations in Spanish at 1-800-537-9222, and may call Continental's automated Spanish- language flight-information line at 1-800-579-3938 to obtain up-to-date flight arrival, departure and gate information.
Continental Airlines, the second-largest U.S. airline to Latin America and the Caribbean in passengers and destinations, operates daily nonstop flights for more than 680 departures a week to 56 cities in 24 countries in those regions. Continental operates flights to 23 destinations in Mexico -- more than any other U.S. airline, as well as to nine Central American, seven South American and 17 Caribbean destinations.
Continental Airlines is the world's seventh-largest airline with more than 2,300 daily departures to 126 domestic and 101 international destinations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. With 42,000 mainline employees, the airline has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and carries approximately 51 million passengers per year. FORTUNE ranks Continental one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, an honor it has earned for six consecutive years. FORTUNE ranked the company highest among major U.S. carriers in the quality of its service and products, and No. 2 on its list of Most Admired Global Airlines in 2003. For more company information, visit continental.com.
