That list represents the world's most admired airlines according to Americans, not according to world opinion. I believe the combined world's opinion would probably be something like: Emirates, Singapore, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, Qatar and so on. Can't see any US airline making the first 10 of a global most admired list. Maybe Delta.
Just look at internationally recognized Skytrax rankings. click: Airline Reviews, Airport Reviews, Flight Reviews, Seat Reviews and SKYTRAX Airline and Airport Star Ranking
Continental is considered a 3 star Airline.

"3 STAR RANKING : The 3 Star ranking signifies a "satisfactory" standard of core Product across most travel categories - but reflects poor or less consistent standards of Staff Service / Product quality in selected Onboard or Airport features. This Ranking is assessed by SKYTRAX after detailed Product and Service standards analysis for each featured airline, and is NOT connected in any way to customer ratings across the Forum pages on this site."