Continental Sues United on Frontier Plan

NEW YORK —  Continental Airlines filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver seeking to bar United Airlines from listing flights of Frontier Airlines as those of United in its computer reservation system.

United last week agreed to purchase Frontier from People Express for $146 million. When the sale was announced, United said it would institute a joint marketing plan with Frontier and would conduct joint advertising and promotional activities.

But Continental’s civil suit seeks to prevent such joint marketing arrangements pending review of the merger by the Department of Transportation.

In its request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, the Houston-based carrier also seeks to prevent United from coordinating schedules and fares with Frontier.

Hoped to Start This Summer

United, Continental and Denver are the three principal carriers in Denver. Each has a hub in that city. UAL has 37.5% of the traffic through Denver’s Stapleton International Airport, Continental 26.3% and Frontier 19.6%.

A United spokesman, Charles Novak, declined comment, saying the airline has not received the court papers. He said that although no date had been set for implementation of the joint marketing activities, United had hoped to start them during the busy summer travel period.

In its court papers, Continental said the acquisition of Frontier by United “would violate antitrust laws and would harm consumers.” Earlier this month, Texas Air Corp., Continental’s parent company, had attempted to buy People Express, but it was rejected when that carrier decided to sell Frontier to United.