Boeing 787 Dreamliner:

Continental was the first American carrier to order Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, placing an order for 10 aircraft in December 2004. Since that time it has expanded the order to a firm commitment for 17 787-9 and eight 787-8 aircraft as published in this press release from March 2007.

There is wild speculation about the economy seating arrangement that Continental will request and whether there will be 8 vs. 9 per row. You can see the 9 per row arrangement in this Boeing pamphlet. This will reportedly decrease seat width from 19" for 8-across to 17.2" for 9-across.

Continental expects to take delivery of its first 787s in March 2011.

2008 fleet plan:

2008 Order Update:
CO placed an order on 2.21.2008 for 8 additional 777 aircraft. Two will be delivered as 777-200ERs (same as the existing fleet) in early 2009. The other 6 can be any 777 variant or converted to 787 orders, to be finalized later. Delivery for the other 6 planes is expected in the 2011-2012 timeframe.

Investor Update April 9, 2007:

• 18 new 737-900ER entering service during 2008
• 12 new 737-800 entering service during 2008
• 16 737-300 removed from service

Third quarter 2007 10-Q:

• Firm commitments for 64 737s and 25 787s (unchanged from prior)
• Options to purchase an additional 92 Boeing aircraft (model not specified)
• Sale of 15 737-500s to TRANSAERO Airlines of Russia (vs. previously indicated sale of 737-300s) to be delivered by December 2008
• First 737-500 removed from service 10/07, nine more to follow between 11/07-11/08
• Five 737-500s sold to a subsidiary of VTB-Leasing of Russia with delivery between 12/07-12/08

Fourth quarter 2007:

• Delivery of 3/15 owned 737-500s to buyers.
• Termination of leases and sale of an additional five 737-500 for a total of 20 to be removed from service by the end of 2008.
• Delivery of the first 737-900ER. Boeing press release here. Continental was the 1st North American customer to place firm orders for the 737-900ER. Source.)

Employee plans updates from June 2007:

24 new 737s in 2009.
2 new 772s in 2009.
10 new 737s in 2010. (6 deferred from 2009, 4 added)
Parking of some 733/735 as market conditions warrant.

Investor update 6/11/08:

Additions:
2 777-200ERs in 2009.
2 787-800s in 2010.
10 737-900ERs for remainder of 2008, 18 in 2009, 24 in 2010.
6 737-800s for remainder of 2008.
2 Q400s for remainder of 2008.

Removals:
24 737-500s in 2008, 23 in 2009.
13 737-300s in 2008, 7 in 2010.
7 CRJ200LR in 2008, 10 in 2009, 7 in 2010 (all gone).

2 December Credit Suisse Presentation (p19)
2x 772s are deferred to 2010
2x 788s are expected in 2010
1x 753 in 2009; 3x 753 in 2010 - ex-ATA birds
18x new 738/739s in 2009; 12x new in 2010

30x 733/735s removed in 2009
10x CRJ2s removed in 2009; 7x removed in 2010 - end of the CRJ "experiment" is coming soon
10x E45s removed in 2010

CO Do IV Presentation (7 Feb 2009)
The 787s are expected to be delivered starting in March 2011.