Continental CEO sees joining SkyTeam in spring = = = = Thursday September 18, 3:34 PM EDT = NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Continental Airlines' (CAL) chairman and ch= ief executive said on Thursday that Continental, the No. 5 U.S. airline, = could become part of the global SkyTeam alliance next spring, potentially= placing it in what could become the largest carrier group partnership in= the world. Talks in Europe over a potential alliance between Dutch carrier KLM (KLM)= and Air France (AIRF) have pulled Continental and its U.S. codeshare par= tners, Northwest Airlines (NWAC) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), into the mix.= Delta, Northwest and Continental have already formed a domestic partnersh= ip to share revenue codes on each others' flights and offer reciprocal fr= equent flier perks. If KLM joins the global SkyTeam airline alliance, led by Air France and D= elta, industry sources agree it would likely clear the way for Continenta= l and Northwest to follow. = "I kind of look to be in there next spring," Continental's Gordon Bethune= said of the SkyTeam alliance, after a presentation to analysts and repor= ters in New York. "We're headed on that path." Bethune also said Continental is "well on its way" to striking up a marke= ting deal with Aeromexico, already part of SkyTeam. PUSHING BACK PLANES Revenue from airfare sales picked up a bit in July and August due to pent= -up demand, but Bethune said Continental isn't expecting much of a reboun= d in yields going forward. To offset low ticket prices, Houston-based Continental is working to cut = $900 million in annual costs by the end of next year, and expects to show= $400 million in cuts by the end of 2003. Bethune did not expect Continental would have to ask its labor groups for= concessions. Because of slow demand and operational losses, however, the airline has d= elayed delivery on many of the 737 jets it bought from Boeing (BA), and i= s in talks over 757s it has on order. "The world has changed, and the airplanes are not worth what they once we= re," Bethune said. He said financing on the planes has become tougher to = set up, though it is easier to secure plans for 737s, which have more uni= versal components. "Of course, this is coming at a time when Boeing is considering stopping = the (757)," Bethune said. Analysts have said that if Continental does not= take deliveries as planned on its 757 orders, it would probably require = Boeing to shut down the program. = =A92003 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS