Continental Riffs

Continental Airlines(CAL Quote) President Jeff Smisek was particularly candid in an address he gave at the Bear Stearns Global Transportation Conference last week in New York.

In addition to some colorful insights on the industry, Smisek offered his own frank observations about the airline's competitors. The criticisms, some of which were not-so-thinly disguised references of specific industry players, offer a window into the highly competitive business of flying the friendly skies.

Here are some excerpts from Smisek's speech Wednesday:

On competitors who have wrested concessions from employees through bankruptcy: "Our network competitors have frankly screwed their employees by defaulting on their pension plans and taking away wage and benefits in a very hostile manner." ...