Insular and slightly off topic here
A question before going off topic: Is "The Bus" a hard aircraft in strong crosswinds?
Well I have to admit that the same thought occured to me BUT, the world is big. CAL has allways been China Airlines for me. When I PAXed with Continental and had to refer to it, then it was either "CO" or "Continental.
But to be fair to the chap he is right CAL is also used and in financial markets to be specific CAL is Continental Airlines stock exchange code so if you are an investor or have stock you would probably refer to Continental as CAL.