Delivery of Boeing planes deferred

Monday, July 14, 2003 | 9:43 a.m.

HOUSTON -- Continental Airlines said today it would put off by three years the delivery of 36 Boeing 737 airplanes, originally scheduled for delivery beginning in 2005, because of continued weakness in the airline industry.

Continental said it expects to begin accepting delivery of the planes in 2008.

"We are not going to invest in aircraft that we cannot profitably fly in the current marketplace," Continental Chief Executive Gordon Bethune said.

He said the company cannot determine whether it needs additional airplanes "until we see some return on the capital we've invested in our existing fleet of new airplanes and are confident we have a competitive long-term cost structure."

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