How IT is launching new business for one airline

The airline business is a tough one, and it's not getting any easier to compete or post profits given the rising costs of fuel and various other factors. But despite the trend downward, in which most carriers are losing money, Continental's outlook is pretty bright financially thanks to some major technology revamping and investment in new systems. The airline has tossed its old legacy IBM mainframe, consolidated dozens of customer-relationship management systems and built a huge database to provide a comprehensive view of its customer with data fed by 25 systems. Not only is all the tech work helping keep planes full and efficiency high, but it's also helping the airline build a loyal customer base--no easy feat, given that most fliers have little loyalty these days except to head where the ticket is cheapest.

For more on the airlines technology efforts:
- take a look at this article at CIO Insight