Continental Lite

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title: "Continental Lite" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["continental-airlines", "defunct-airlines-of-the-united-states", "airlines-established-in-1993", "airlines-disestablished-in-1995"] description: "Defunct low-cost airline of the United States (1993–1995)" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Lite" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Defunct low-cost airline of the United States (1993–1995) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox airline"]

Field	Value
airline	Continental Lite
image	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Continental Airlines Lite AN0207929.jpg
caption	A DC-9-32 in Continental Lite livery
IATA	CO
ICAO	COA
callsign	CONTINENTAL
founded
ceased
(re-integrated into Continental Airlines)
hubs	{{ubl
frequent_flyer	OnePass
alliance	Wings Alliance (affiliate)
parent	Continental Airlines
key_people	Gordon Bethune
::

| airline = Continental Lite | logo = | logo_size = | image = McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Continental Airlines Lite AN0207929.jpg | caption = A DC-9-32 in Continental Lite livery | alt = | IATA = CO | ICAO = COA | callsign = CONTINENTAL | founded = | commenced = | ceased = (re-integrated into Continental Airlines) | aoc = | bases = | hubs = {{ubl|class=nowrap | Cleveland | Greensboro}} | secondary_hubs = | focus_cities = | frequent_flyer = OnePass | lounge = | alliance = Wings Alliance (affiliate) | subsidiaries = | fleet_size = | destinations = | company_slogan = | parent = Continental Airlines | headquarters = | key_people = Gordon Bethune | website =

Continental Lite was a short-lived subsidiary brand of Continental Airlines established in 1993. The airline folded in 1995 after losing what has been reported in the press as between $140 million and $300 million.

History

Continental Lite was developed by Continental Airlines to counter the rise of low-cost start up carriers. This despite the fact that Continental had some of the lowest costs in the airline industry due to many of the trade labor unions agreements being tossed out during Frank Lorenzo's reign with Continental through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The airline was originally informally known as CALite within Continental; the "Continental Lite" name was formally adopted in 1994. It expanded to serve 45 cities in 1994, primarily on the East Coast, and came to account for a third of Continental's total capacity. After Gordon Bethune took over as the CEO of Continental in 1994, Continental began to distance itself from the service.

Continental Lite operated with a dedicated fleet of McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300, and Boeing 737-500 aircraft, each repainted with the 'Lite' livery and stripped of its first class cabin. This service was based primarily at Continental's existing hub in Cleveland as well as a new hub established in Greensboro, partly replacing the service of Eastern Air Lines in North Carolina. The Greensboro hub had 83 daily flights at its peak in late 1994, and Continental had planned a gate expansion at the airport.

References

References

1. Bryant, Adam. (14 April 1995). "COMPANY REPORTS; Continental Is Dropping 'Lite' Service".
2. Gwynne, S. C.. (24 February 1997). "FLYING INTO TROUBLE".
3. "FindArticles.com - CBSi".
4. Jackson, Jerry. (26 July 1994). "CONTINENTAL EXPANDS IN ORLANDO".
5. Cooney, Peter. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20121023021339/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4239947.html Low Fares, No-Frills At Continental Lite]." ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''. July 26, 1994. Retrieved on February 22, 2009.
6. Scism, Jack. (8 December 1994). "CONTINENTAL LITE / AIRLINE'S FATE IS UP IN THE AIR".
7. (16 April 1995). "Continental Admits Flub, Turns Off Lite Struggling Airline Decides To Halt Ill-Conceived No-Frills Operation {{!}} The Spokesman-Review".
8. Writer, JACK SCISM Staff. (8 December 1994). "CONTINENTAL LITE / AIRLINE'S FATE IS UP IN THE AIR".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::