Gordon Bethune is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines, Inc., the nation’s fifth largest airline.   Bethune joined the airline in February 1994 as president and chief operating officer.   He was named chief executive officer in November 1994 and chairman of the board in September 1996.

Under Bethune’s leadership, Continental has achieved 18 consecutive profitable quarters and was ranked as the No. 2 most admired global airline by FORTUNE magazine.   That same publication ranked Continental 40^th among the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America."   The airline has won the Frequent Flyer magazine/J.D. Power and Associates Award for customer satisfaction for three of the past four years, taking the top spot again in 1999 for long-distance flights (500 miles or more).   Additionally, Continental was named Airline of the Year in 1997 by Air Transport World.

In 1999, Bethune was ranked sixth among the 50 best CEOs in America by Worth magazine.   Business Week magazine named him one of the top 25 global managers for 1996 and he was named among the business travel industry’s 25 Most Influential Executives of 1998 by Business Travel News.   Continental was named "Best Managed" among the major U.S. carriers in 1998 by the publication Aviation Week & Space Technology.   In 1997, that publication, along with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, honored Bethune with the Laureate in Aviation trophy.

Bethune has promoted international growth at Continental, including expansion throughout Latin America and Europe.   Continental is the second largest U.S. carrier to Latin America and serves more destinations in Mexico than any other U.S. airline.   Continental is the largest carrier in the New York City metropolitan area and with the launch of new service to Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich and Tel Aviv, the airline offers more weekly non-stop flights from the New York area across the Atlantic than any other carrier in history.

Prior to joining Continental, Bethune was vice president and general manager of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group’s Renton Division, where he was responsible for the 737 and 757 airplanes.   He began his career with Boeing in 1988, and also served as that company’s vice president and general manager of the customer services division.

Before joining Boeing, Bethune held a number of senior management positions in commercial airlines, including vice president engineering and maintenance for Braniff and Western Airlines, and Senior Vice President Operations for Piedmont Airlines. Additionally, he has served as a U.S. Navy Aircraft Maintenance Officer.

Bethune holds a bachelor of science degree from Abilene Christian University at Dallas and is a 1992 graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.   He is a licensed commercial pilot, type-rated on Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft as well as the DC-3.   Bethune also is licensed as an airframe and power plant mechanic.   Bethune serves on the board of directors of Honeywell and SYSCO Corporation.