those NRT fifth freedom rights are worth their weight in gold. Remember when Six took the Air Micronesia contract to get his foot in the door from GUM? Well now CO has the whole banana and they are going to fritter it away. I feel sorry for the NRT and other Asia based employees who will be let go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Six

1969 saw the introduction of service from Los Angeles to Honolulu/Hilo; Continental's first Boeing 747s arrived in May 1970. DC-10s were added to the fleet in 1971, affording Continental the ability to carry its burgeoning traffic on key routes between Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, and Seattle.[1]

During the Vietnam War, Continental provided cargo and troop transportation for the United States Army and Marine Corps to Asian and Pacific bases. Continental's 707s were the most common non-military aircraft transiting Saigon Tan Son Nhat airport. As a result of Continental's experience in Pacific operations, the carrier formed subsidiary Air Micronesia, picking up island-hopping routes between Yap/Majuro/ Saipan/Guam and Honolulu, which were served by 727 aircraft. One of Six's long cherished goals was for Continental to become a major player in the Pacific basin, something the airline would achieve only after his retirement.[2]