Jan
22nd
2007
By
Rajiv Gadgil
CEO Lawrence W. Kellner spoke about the high-flying
carrier’s turnaround in ten years before a crowd of
about 200 on Monday, Jan 22.
Kellner was the keynote speaker at the Indo American
Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston’s
distinguished lecture series held at the Westin Oaks
hotel.
Kellner said that in 1995, “we ran a lousy airline.”
Continental was in last place in key metrics such as
on-time arrival, bag handling and customer
satisfaction among the top ten airlines in the U.S.
In 2006, Continental was ranked highest in customer
satisfaction among major U.S. carriers in a JD Power
study. In 1995, Continental flew to 5 cities
overseas. Today it has 29 foreign destinations,
including New Delhi and Beijing. He said the nonstop
Newark to New Delhi flight has been a roaring
success. Kellner credited the company’s turnaround
to its employees who showed the right spirit and
dedication to the task of taking Continental to the
top spot.
Chamber president Subroto Mukerji welcomed the
gathering. Consul-general S.M. Gavai complimented
Kellner on running a fine operation. “I fly only
Continental within the U.S.,” he said and suggested
to Kellner that the airline should add Mumbai to its
list of overseas destinations. Mr. Gavai had high
praise for the chamber in its mission to promoting
India in the U.S. “This is the best of all
Indo-American chambers in the U.S.,” he said. The
chamber’s executive director, Jagdip Ahluwalia gave
a brief history and outline of the chamber and
thanked BMC Software for underwriting the event.
Pradeep Anand was the winner of two free domestic
tickets on the airline in a lucky drawing. The next
lecture in the series is on Monday, Feb 26 and the
guest speaker is Jeff Moseley, President and CEO of
the Greater Houston Partnership.
Consul General S M Gavai speaking at IACCGH Lunch
Mr. Larry Kellner speaking at IACCGH Lunch
Mr. Larry Kellner at IACCGH Lunch
Mr. Larry Kellner, Chairman/CEO, Continental
Airlines, with Consul General Gavai and Jagdip
Ahluwalia
Mr. Larry Kellner with Subroto Mukerji, Atul
Varadhachary and Jagdip Ahluwalia of IACCGH
Mr. Larry Kellner with plaque presented by IACCGH
