CAL buys back golden share:
Continental Airlines posts 1Q loss as fuel costs soar
Continental posts 1Q loss on soaring fuel costs, plans to take some planes out of service 
Thursday April 17, 9:44 am ET
HOUSTON (AP) -- Continental Airlines Inc. said Thursday that soaring fuel costs pushed it to a loss for the first quarter, and it plans to retrench by mothballing planes and reducing flights...

....Also, Continental took a step toward a possible combination with another airline by buying out Northwest's right to veto a deal involving Continental. Continental was able to do that -- for $100 -- after Northwest Airlines Corp. announced Monday it had agreed to be acquired by Delta Air Lines Inc. (read more)

Highaltitude hitch-ups
A Delta-NWA deal would likely trigger other airlines to pair up - with a Continental-United merger among the most likely candidates.
BY DAVID KOENIG
Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/08/2008 10:37:31 PM CST

DALLAS - The Delta-Northwest combination inching toward completion would create a new world leader, leapfrogging American Airlines and the Air France-KLM tandem in passenger traffic, but likely also would trigger a chain reaction of other deals, with unknown consequences for travelers.

The next potential deal in line - United and Continental - would be even bigger, and other pairings are likely too as carriers bulk up to compete in the new, more competitive global airline industry. (Read More)