Continental

First of the United Continental Boeing 787 aircraft enters assembly phase

United Continental have announced that the first of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft has entered the assembly phase at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington. In early 2012, United will be the first North American carrier to take delivery of the aircraft, marking the first of 50 787 Dreamliner aircraft for the airline. Read more

New app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch for United Continental customers

United Airlines has introduced a new, full-featured application for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users that gives United and Continental customers easy access to book reservations, check in, access mobile boarding passes with one touch, get flight status details and manage their MileagePlus and OnePass accounts. Read more

Continental Airlines celebrates 25 years flying to the UK

Continental Airlines today celebrates the 25th anniversary of its first flight from the United Kingdom. The inaugural flight from London Gatwick to Houston on the 29th April 1985 began a quarter of a century of growth in the UK, as the airline expanded its operations to seven airports and up to 14 daily flights – 12 to its New York hub, Newark Liberty International Airport, and two to Houston.

Continental has become the only trans-Atlantic carrier with a significant presence in the UK regions, while the Open Skies treaty in March 2008 gave the carrier access to London Heathrow for the first time, and heralded the start of a significant expansion into that market. Indeed, by October 31, 2010 when Continental begins a fifth daily service to New York, the airline will have seven daily trans-Atlantic flights from Heathrow (two to Houston).

Continental was also the first-ever airline to offer scheduled non-stop trans-Atlantic flights from Edinburgh, Bristol and Belfast, and has now operated services to New York from Glasgow for almost 12 years, from Birmingham for almost 13 years and from Manchester for almost 15 years. For many of the UK cities that the airline serves, it offers the only direct route to New York.

Bob Schumacher, Senior Director – UK & Ireland, said: “Although we’re an American carrier, the UK is one of our most important markets. The last 25 years have seen us grow from being a small player at London Gatwick to operating trans-Atlantic flights from more UK airports than any other airline and now being a major operator at Heathrow. People often talk about the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the US and the Continental success story here is strong evidence of this bond. We look forward to another successful 25 years and helping many more people fly between the two countries for business and leisure.”

 Continental Airlines’ UK milestones

          o April 1985 – Inaugural flight from London Gatwick to Houston
          o June 1987 – Inaugural flight from London Gatwick to New York
          o 1992 – Introduction of BusinessFirst on UK services
          o July 1995 – Inaugural flight from Manchester to New York
          o July 1997 – Inaugural flight from Birmingham to New York
          o July 1998 – Inaugural flight from Glasgow to New York
          o January 1999 – Introduction of Boeing 777 on London Gatwick-New York route
          o June 2004 – Inaugural flight from Edinburgh to New York
          o May 2005 – Inaugural flight from Bristol to New York
          o May 2005 – Inaugural flight from Belfast to New York
          o March 2008 – Inaugural flights from London Heathrow to New York and Houston
          o October 2009 – Continental joins Star Alliance, the world’s largest and most comprehensive airline alliance
          o November 2009 – Aircraft featuring new BusinessFirst flat-bed seat start serving the UK

Continental Airlines to start New York - Munich service

Continental Airlines will begin tomorrow daily nonstop flights from the airline’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport  and Munich, Germany.

“Launching nonstop service to Munich allows us to link Continental’s New York hub to the Munich hub of our new partner Lufthansa,” said Jim Compton, Continental’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.  “It’s a great example of how joining Star Alliance is allowing our customers to seamlessly connect to a greater number of travel destinations.” 

Convenient Flight Schedule

Continental will operate the nonstop daily flight with a Boeing 767-200ER aircraft, seating 25 passengers in BusinessFirst and 149 passengers in economy class.  Flight CO106 will depart Newark Liberty daily at 5:30 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 7:40 a.m. the next day.  The return flight, CO107, will depart Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport daily at 9:20 a.m. and arrive at Newark Liberty at 12:35 p.m. the same day.  The schedule of the Continental service complements that of Lufthansa’s existing daily New York/Newark-Munich service, which departs Newark Liberty about three hours later and Munich about six hours later.

The new flight has been timed to provide convenient connections at Munich, where Star Alliance member flights provide service to more than 95 destinations in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and at New York/Newark with an extensive network of Continental flights to more than 100 destinations throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America.  Continental operates the largest hub in the New York City metropolitan area at Newark Liberty International Airport. 
      
Munich becomes the fourth German city to be served with daily flights to New York by Continental after Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg; the airline also operates daily service between Frankfurt and Houston.  Munich is the 30th destination in Continental’s overall trans-Atlantic network.

Award-winning BusinessFirst Service

The new flights will feature Continental’s BusinessFirst service, rated by Condé Nast Traveler magazine as the highest among all U.S. carriers for trans-Atlantic flights for 10 years in a row.

Continental’s BusinessFirst amenities include an extensive gourmet menu served with premium wines and champagnes created by Continental’s Congress of Chefs and Sommeliers.  A specially selected and trained corps of concierges is available to provide individualized pre-flight and post-flight services for BusinessFirst customers at 35 international airports worldwide. Customers traveling in BusinessFirst are also able to access any of Continental’s 24 Presidents Clubs and other airline affiliated lounges worldwide.

Munich Destination

The new service will provide daily nonstop flights to Germany’s third largest city and the economic centre of southern Germany. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, has a population of 1.3 million in the city and 5 million in the Munich Metropolitan Region. Famed for its historic and modern architecture and annual Oktoberfest beer celebration, Munich boasts a wealth of cultural attractions and institutions.  Among the many world-renowned companies whose headquarters are in the city are Siemens AG (electronics), BMW (cars), MAN AG (trucks, engineering), Allianz (insurance) and Munich Re (re-insurance).  Lufthansa operates a hub at Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport, which is the second-largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt.

Continental also offers tour packages to Germany through Continental Airlines Vacations.

Continental and ANA begin U.S. - Japan codeshare flights

Continental Airlines will begin a codesharing agreement with All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA) on routes between the United States and Japan effective from the 28th March.  It will be the first time that Continental Airlines has implemented codesharing with a Japanese airline.

Through the arrangement, customers of Continental Airlines and ANA will be able to more conveniently travel between the United States and Japan.

Codeshare Flights

International ANA flights

Domestic ANA flights

Continental Airlines flights

* Flight numbers are subject to change without notice.

U.S. travelers will be able to conveniently access ANA’s network via Continental flights.  Continental’s flights to U.S. gateway cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago provide connections with ANA’s onward flights to Japan.  Furthermore, Continental’s flights from Houston and New York/Newark to Tokyo/Narita provide convenient connections with ANA’s flights to onward points such as Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Okinawa.

“Codesharing between Continental and ANA improves on the linkages we established between the two airlines when we first joined Star Alliance,” said Continental Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Smisek. “We look forward to further solidifying our relationship with ANA under our planned Pacific joint venture.”

“Working with our partner Continental Airlines, the networks of both airlines will expand through the commencement of this codesharing agreement, and together we can offer our valued customers a wider selection of convenient flight options between Asia and the United States,” said Shinichiro Ito, president and chief executive officer of ANA.

This announcement represents the first phase of codesharing cooperation.  Both airlines look forward to further expanding codesharing service in a constant effort to provide customers with the most convenient options possible.

Continental Airlines to offer food for purchase on select flights

Continental Airlines will change its in-flight meal service this autumn by introducing a variety of high quality, healthy food choices for purchase in economy class on many U.S./Canada and certain Latin American routes.  The airline will continue to offer complimentary food in the economy cabin on all intercontinental and certain other international routes, and on long-haul domestic routes over six hours.

Continental will also continue its award-winning complimentary food in the front cabin (first class and BusinessFirst) on routes worldwide.  New first-class lunch sandwiches (such as a chicken parmesan Tuscan sandwich) and updated first-class dinner pasta dishes (such as spinach & cheese cannelloni with pomodoro sauce) will debut April 1.

“We are improving our economy meal service with a high-quality, industry-leading food-for-purchase program that is consistent with the strong brand image and high service standards for which our customers recognize us,” said Jim Compton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer.  “Our traditional free-food model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect today’s market and customer preferences.”

Menu choices and pricing are currently in development and will be announced prior to implementation.  Continental will offer food and snack selections that are appropriate for the length of the flight and the time of day.  Traditional non-alcoholic beverages and accompanying snacks like pretzels will continue to be complimentary on every Continental flight.

All of Continental’s significant U.S. competitors either do not offer food or have already implemented food sales for economy class travelers.

The airline is continuing to invest in services and amenities that customers value.  For instance, Continental is deploying DIRECTV live television service and new flat-bed BusinessFirst seats.  GoGo inflight internet service will make its debut on Continental later this year.

Continental Airlines launches new flights between California and Hawaii on Sunday

Continental Airlines begins new flights from Los Angeles and Orange County to Maui and a flight between Orange County and Honolulu on Sunday, 7th March.

“We are excited to launch more service to Hawaii,” said Jim Compton, Continental’s executive vice president of marketing. “The new flights to Maui complement our existing service to Honolulu, providing our customers more travel options to Hawaii.”

The new daily flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG) will depart at 5:05 p.m. and arrive at 8:45 p.m. The return flight will depart Maui at 10:15 p.m. and arrive at Los Angeles at 5:45 a.m. the next day. Continental will operate the flight with a Boeing 737-800 with 160 seats. In addition, on Sunday the airline begins a second daily flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu.

The new Orange County-Maui flight will operate four times weekly, departing John Wayne Airport (SNA) at 5:40 p.m. and arriving at Maui’s Kahului Airport at 9:25 p.m. The return flight will depart Maui at 12:10 a.m. and arrive at Orange County at 7:45 a.m. Continental will utilize a 124-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft on the new route and plans to increase the service to daily during the summer.

The new daily flight from Orange County to Honolulu will depart at 9:00 a.m. and arrive in Honolulu at 12:45 p.m. The return flight will depart Maui at 2:00 p.m. and arrive at Orange County at 9:35 p.m. Continental will utilize a 124-seat Boeing 737-700 aircraft on the new route.

Continental launches mobile boarding passes at Heathrow

Continental Airlines today announced  the expansion of its mobile boarding pass service to London’s Heathrow Airport, becoming the first carrier to offer  paperless boarding passes on nonstop flights from the United Kingdom to the U.S.

The service allows customers to receive boarding passes electronically on their mobile phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs) and eliminates the need for paper boarding passes.

“We are pleased to add Heathrow to the growing list of airports we serve with mobile boarding passes,” said Martin Hand, Continental’s vice president of reservations and eCommerce. 

“Customers have told us this is the type of product improvement they want, and we will continue to expand the self-service technology to more of our domestic and international destinations.”

Mobile boarding passes display a two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information, which scanners at the security checkpoint and boarding gate validate. The technology prevents manipulation or duplication of the boarding passes and heightens security.

In addition to boarding passes, Continental provides access to enhanced flight information through mobile devices.  Customers may view onboard amenities and standby lists, as well as track the status of their flights.

Continental was the first carrier to offer paperless boarding passes in the U.S. in a pilot programme with the Transportation Security Administration that began in December 2007.  The airline currently offers mobile boarding passes at 42 airports, including its hubs in New York, Houston and Cleveland.  Continental was the first U.S. carrier to offer mobile boarding passes from an international destination when it launched the service at Frankfurt Airport late last year.

Continental operates five flights per day from Heathrow – three to its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, and two to Houston.  The airline announced recently that it will add a fourth daily service to the Heathrow-New York route in March and a fifth daily service in

October, bringing the total number of Continental daily departures from Heathrow to seven.  Continental also announced that effective June 2, 2010 all aircraft scheduled for its flights departing Heathrow will feature new, flat bed seats in BusinessFirst, its business-class cabin. 

In addition to its Heathrow services, Continental operates non-stop services to New York from Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, as well as Dublin and Shannon, serving more cities in the U.K. and Ireland than any other trans-Atlantic airline. 

Continental’s Heathrow flights operate from Terminal 4.