NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 9, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'CCC+' rating to Continental Airlines Inc.'s $230 million 4.5% convertible notes due 2015, two notches lower than the company's 'B' corporate credit rating. We also assigned a '6' recovery rating, indicating negligible (0%-10%) recovery of principal in a payment default scenario. The ratings on Houston-based Continental reflect its participation in the high-risk airline industry and a heavy debt and lease burden, but also better-than-average operating performance among its peer large U.S. hub and spoke airlines. We expect Continental to maintain adequate liquidity over the next several quarters, despite an expected prolonged weak, albeit improving, travel environment, so long as fuel prices do not increase significantly.
