NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 8, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has assigned its preliminary 'A-' rating to Continental Airlines Inc.'s series 2012-1 Class A pass-through certificates with an expected maturity of April 11, 2024, and its preliminary 'BBB-' rating to Continental's series 2012-1 Class B pass-through certificates with an expected maturity of April 11, 2020. The final legal maturities will be 18 months after the expected maturity. Continental is issuing the certificates under a Rule 415 shelf registration. We will assign final ratings after concluding a legal review of the documentation. The preliminary 'A-' and 'BBB-' ratings are based on the consolidated credit quality of Continental's parent, United Continental Holdings Inc. (B/Stable/--); substantial collateral
