MAXXAM-LED INVESTOR GROUP TO INVEST $350 MILLION IN CONTINENTAL AIRLINES

DATELINE: HOUSTON, July 9

 MAXXAM Inc. (AMEX: MXM) and Continental Airlines Inc. announced today that they 
have signed preliminary agreements calling for a $350 million MAXXAM-led 
investment in the airline. The investment is to provide Continental with the 
financial resources necessary to enable it to emerge from Chapter 11 and assure 
its continued operation as an independent company. The proposed transaction will 
close concurrent with Continental's emergence from bankruptcy.

 In announcing the preliminary agreements, MAXXAM's Chairman of the Board and 
Chief Executive Officer, Charles E. Hurwitz, said, "It is vitally important-- to 
Houston, to Texas, and to the communities across the country which are part of 
Continental's system -- that the positive economic impact created by the airline 
is retained and expanded.

 "As an investment, we believe Continental has a number of fundamental strengths: 
good routes, competitive costs, strong management, and a dedicated team of 
employees. And, a key for us is the fact that Continental is Houston-based.

 "We see the potential for a situation where everybody wins -- where jobs are 
saved, communities are served, competition is preserved and enhanced, the 
economic recovery is helped, and investors are rewarded," Hurwitz said.

 Continental Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert R. Ferguson III, 
said, "The MAXXAM-led investment is a vote of confidence in Continental's future, 
which speaks volumes about the inherent value of the company. This transaction 
will provide the financial resources that will allow Continental to implement a 
highly specific business plan targeting consistent improvements in profitability 
and service quality.

 "Recent efforts by Continental and its employees have allowed the company to 
overcome a projected revenue shortfall caused by the industrywide fare 
restructuring. Therefore, as we finalize our own financial restructuring with the 
benefit of this new investment, we can proceed from a platform of added strength 
and stability," Ferguson said. The preliminary agreements were executed by a 
group led by MAXXAIR Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MAXXAM Inc., 
and by Continental Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Holdings Inc. (AMEX: 
QCTA) on behalf of all the Continental companies.

 The agreement calls for the MAXXAM-led group to receive from the restructured 
Continental $325 million in secured notes, 65 million shares of Class B common 
stock having 3 votes per share, and warrants to purchase 130 million shares of 
Class A common stock. Unsecured creditors will receive 60 million Class A shares 
and other constituencies could receive up to 15 million Class A shares. On a 
fully diluted basis, the MAXXAM-led group would control approximately 72 percent 
of the stock of the new company.

 The preliminary agreements are subject to a number of conditions, including 
execution of definitive agreements, and the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court 
for the District of Delaware and of various other government agencies. 
Continental will seek approval from the bankruptcy court of an agreement with the 
MAXXAM-led group which requires any other bid to provide at least $400 million 
cash to Continental and otherwise be at least as favorable to Continental and 
which also imposes certain restrictions on Continental and other prospective 
bidders. The Continental Unsecured Creditors Committee has advised the MAXXAM-led 
group and Continental that it will support approval of the agreement.

 MAXXAM is a Houston-based FORTUNE 200 company that operates in three industries: 
aluminum (through Kaiser Aluminum Corp., an 87.3 percent- owned, fully integrated 
aluminum producer); forest products (primarily through The Pacific Lumber Co., a 
wholly owned subsidiary); and real estate management and development (primarily 
through MAXXAM Property Co. and various wholly owned subsidiaries).

 Continental is the fifth largest U.S. airline, serving 135 domestic and 59 
international destinations. It is the recognized industry leader in frequent 
flyer programs (OnePass), domestic business travel fares ("A" fares), and travel 
agency relations. Affiliated with the SystemOne computer reservations system, the 
airline and its subsidiaries employ 43,500 people who operate 431 aircraft on 
2,066 daily jet and commuter flights. Continental is the most efficient major 
U.S. airline, producing approximately 20 percent more travel capacity per 
employee than its primary competitors


MAXXAM FACT SHEET
PR Newswire, July 9, 1992 

 -- had sales of $2.2 billion in 1991 and net income of $57.5 million, or $6.08 
per share.
 -- has assets of over $3 billion and approximately 12,000 employees.
 -- is listed on the American Stock Exchange (trading symbol: MXM). MAXXAM 
conducts its aluminum operations through Kaiser Aluminum Corp., an 87.3 
percent-owned, fully integrated aluminum producer, which it acquired in 1988. One 
of the world's leading producers of alumina, primary aluminum, and fabricated 
aluminum products, Kaiser accounted for 89 percent of MAXXAM's revenue and 79 
percent of its operating income in 1991. Kaiser has facilities in 10 states and 
five foreign countries. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange 
(trading symbol: KLU).

 MAXXAM conducts its forest products operations primarily through The Pacific 
Lumber Co., which is the world's largest producer of premium- grade redwood 
lumber. Located in Humboldt County, Calif., the 122-year- old lumber company 
operates four modern sawmills and related facilities and owns 195,000 acres of 
commercial timberland to support these operations. The company carefully manages 
its forest to ensure continuous renewal and healthy growth. MAXXAM acquired 
Pacific Lumber in 1986.

 MAXXAM conducts its real estate operations through MAXXAM Property Co. and 
various wholly owned subsidiaries, some of whose roots go back over 25 years 
through MAXXAM's predecessor companies. Assets consist of single- and 
multi-family residential, commercial, resort operations, and large land holdings 
in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Puerto Rico.

 MAXXAM's founder, chairman, and chief executive officer is Charles E. Hurwitz, 
52.

CHARLES E. HURWITZ

 Charles E. Hurwitz is founder, chairman, and CEO of MAXXAM Inc. and MAXXAM Group 
Inc.

 MAXXAM Inc. is a Houston-based FORTUNE 200 company. It is engaged in the 
businesses of aluminum, through Kaiser Aluminum Corp., an 87.3 percent-owned 
producer and marketer of bauxite, alumina, primary aluminum, and fabricated 
aluminum products ... forest products, principally through The Pacific Lumber 
Co., a wholly owned producer of redwood, Douglas fir, and other lumber and wood 
products ... and real estate, through MAXXAM Property Co. and other subsidiaries, 
with properties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Puerto 
Rico. Wholly owned MAXXAM Group Inc. is the subsidiary through which Kaiser 
Aluminum and Pacific Lumber are held.

 Born and raised in Kilgore, Texas, Hurwitz, 52, earned a B.A. from the 
University of Oklahoma in 1962. Upon graduation, he entered the securities 
business. He became a securities analyst and portfolio manager and formed his own 
investment advisory firm.

 In 1973, he acquired Federated Development Co., then a publicly traded New York 
business trust. That was followed by the acquisition of McCulloch Oil in 1978 and 
Simplicity Pattern in 1982. MAXXAM Group acquired Pacific Lumber in 1986 and 
Kaiser Aluminum in 1988.

 Hurwitz devotes considerable time and effort to a number of charitable and 
philanthropic causes. 

 CONTACT: Robert W. Irelan, 713-267-3722, or Scott Lamb, 713-267-3826, both of 
MAXXAM; or Continental Airlines Corp. Communications, 713-834-5080