ExpressJet prices IPO at $16/shr, high end of range Wednesday April 17, 7:10 PM EDT NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - ExpressJet Holdings Inc. (XJT) on Wednesday raised $480 million in its initial public offering, which sold at the top end of the expected range, tapping strong investor demand for regional carriers, one of the lead managers said. The Houston-based carrier, which is majority-owned by Continental Airlines Inc (CAL), said it sold 30 million shares at $16 each, within the expected range of $14 to $16. The sale was managed by investment banks Salomon Smith Barney, a unit of Citigroup Inc. (C), and Morgan Stanley (MWD). The sale was the largest airline IPO in five years, after the $700 million IPO of China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. (ZNH) in 1997. It came on the heels of JetBlue Airways Corp's (JBLU) IPO last week, whose shares rocketed 66 percent on the first day of trading. Two other airlines are waiting to tap the market this year: Northwest Airlines Corp's (NWAC) Pinnacle Airlines and Republic Airways. ExpressJet, which flies to 33 U.S. states from hubs in Houston, Cleveland, and Newark, New Jersey, registered its first profit last year, earning $48.1 million on $980.5 million of revenue. Continental gets the proceeds from 16 million shares and ExpressJet will keep the remainder. The company will start trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "XJT."(XJT) Roger La France EWR CO767 or ewrgateman on IAM