I gathered from the Q&A that there "might" (read heavy on the MIGHT BE) an announcement of perhaps 1 new destination

Thats the short answer - the longer answer includes they will sell what people will / do pay for the current BF product sells, why mess with it too much?

-Vincent

Uh, I dunno, perhaps to strive for the best possible product; or to gain a competative advantage; or attept to strategically place yourself ahead of the competition; or...
Resting on one's laurels seems like a poor way to approach one's premium product.

I agree but feel it necessary to add the following: During both Gordon's and Larry's tenure, CO has (almost) always been a step ahead of the curve, particularly regarding its premium product. That said, BF is a niche product designed for the majority of premium fliers who want as close to a First Class experience possible but still remain at a J/D/Z class fare (whether due to their own budget preference or their company's travel policy). CO delivers this price/value brilliantly.

Do they need to evolve and stay ahead of the curve???...absolutely, but within the constraints of the BF economics which is CO's winning hand. After this past weekend, I am even more confident they will continue to.

Clearly Continental is concerned with upgrading the product, but in all reality the current product sells WELL. They have plans to introduce newer seats, AVOD, and etc etc. Unlike other airlines Continental do not have the ability to take planes out of service for such things, as Larry said they work it into planned service or heavy checks on the planes. You can't argue with that, every time a plane is out of service that plane is not producing revenue.

When I said why mess with it too much - I meant it currently sells and can compete against many other airline's product. This of course is no reason to not upgrade, but it is also a good enough reason to not take the entire international fleet out of service to install new seats over night. By the time they will start to feel much more heat from the competition, they will have already started retrofitting the 777/767 fleet with a newer BF product. (to match the 752 BF).

-Vincent

In my opinion, this is one of the smartest things that CO has done. I'm sure it has been tempting to pick up some 777s (if not other aircraft) on the cheap and dedicate them to specific routes, but CO has not done so. They are restricted to the 777-200ER with the GE engines which perhaps they only can buy new, but they have great fleet flexibility as a result.