H. Res. 631 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
July 29, 2009. 
Whereas Continental Airlines was founded 75 years ago by 
Walter T. Varney and his partner Louis Mueller as 
Varney Speed Lines in West Texas primarily as a mail 
service; 
Whereas, on July 15, 1934, Continental’s first flight was 
flown by its precursor Varney Speed Lines on a 530-mile 
route from Pueblo, Colorado to El Paso, Texas with stops 
in Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico; 
Whereas during World War II, Continental Airlines built the 
Denver Modification Center where it modified B–17 Fly-
ing Fortresses and B–29 Super Fortresses for the United 
States war effort; 
Whereas during the Vietnam War, Continental transported 
United States troops across the Pacific and as a result 
of this experience, in 1968 Continental formed Air Micro-
nesia—the first step towards global airlines; 
Whereas in 1999, Continental named the first woman in the 
Nation to head a major commercial airline pilot group; 
Whereas, on October 11, 2000, Continental Airlines and 
Northwest Airlines launched the world’s largest interline 
eTicket network;
•HRES 631 EH 
Whereas in 2001, Continental Airlines was again named 
‘‘Airline of the Year’’ by the aviation industry’s monthly 
trade publication, Air Transport World. As recipient of 
the same honor in 1996, Continental became the first air-
line to receive the coveted ‘‘Airline of the Year’’ distinc-
tion twice in five years; 
Whereas following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 
2001, Continental offered special compassion fares to and 
from the New York area to assist family members of the 
9/11 victims, relief organizations and volunteers; 
Whereas, on April 26, 2002, Continental was recognized for 
offering the best Elite Level Program, OnePass, of any 
United States airline, according to Inside Flyer’s 14th 
Annual Freddie Awards Competition; 
Whereas, on September 29, 2003, Continental became the 
first airline to offer three of the most popular business 
applications, two-way e-mail, instant messaging and text 
messaging, on its fleet of 737, 757, and MD 80 aircraft; 
Whereas, on February 7, 2005, Continental was named for 
the eighth consecutive year to HISPANIC Magazine’s 
‘‘Hispanic Corporate 100: One Hundred Companies Pro-
viding the Most Opportunities for Hispanics’’; 
Whereas, on April 28, 2005, Continental received honors for 
companywide excellence in Aviation Maintenance Train-
ing from the Federal Aviation Administration. Conti-
nental earned the FAA Diamond Certificate of Excellence 
for Aviation Maintenance Training, the highest award of-
fered as part of the organization’s Aviation Maintenance 
Technician Award Program; 
Whereas, on June 29, 2006, Continental ranked the highest 
in Customer Satisfaction among Traditional Network
•HRES 631 EH 
Carriers in North America in the J.D. Power and Associ-
ates 2006 Airline Satisfaction Index Study marking Con-
tinental’s sixth customer satisfaction award by J.D. 
Power and Associates since 1996; 
Whereas for the 10th consecutive year, Continental outranked 
all of its United States competitors in international busi-
ness class and domestic first class service, according to 
the results of a survey of Conde Nast Traveler readers 
published in the magazine’s October 2007 edition; 
Whereas in 2007, Continental Airlines teamed with the 
Transportation Security Administration to be the first 
United States carrier to launch a paperless boarding pass 
pilot program that allows passengers to receive boarding 
passes electronically on their cell phones or PDAs; 
Whereas in April 2008, Continental Airlines received an 
award from the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency’s Design for the Environment Program in rec-
ognition of the airline’s use of an environmentally friend-
ly, nonchromium surface pretreatment for its aircraft. 
Continental was the first commercial air carrier to use 
this technology on its aircraft; 
Whereas for the fifth consecutive year, Continental was 
named the ‘‘Best Airline in North America’’ at the 2008 
OAG Airline of the Year Awards; 
Whereas for the sixth consecutive year, Continental was rated 
the top airline on FORTUNE magazine’s annual airline 
industry list of World’s Most Admired Companies in 
March 2009; and 
Whereas Continental Airlines currently services five con-
tinents with more than 2750 daily flights and more than
•HRES 631 EH 
260 destinations today, employing more than 43,000 men 
and women: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of operations by 
Continental Airlines; and 
(2) congratulates the employees of Continental Air-
lines for the numerous awards and accolades they have 
earned for the company over the years. 
Attest: 
Clerk.