Continental Airlines files for voluntary bankruptcy

Continental Airlines filed voluntarily for a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy laws Saturday. The Houston-based Continental, the nation's eighth largest airline, also dismissed about two-thirds of its 12, 000 employees and began a two-day suspension of all domestic flights Saturday night.

In a statement, the airline noted it had been seeking a voluntary reduction of $150 million a year in labor costs from its employees but was unable to reach agreement with pilots and flight attendants.