28 March 2008

Continental prepares for Heathrow debut

Continental Airlines starts flights from Heathrow Airport to both New York and Houston on Monday  

The Heathrow flights have been made possible by the new Open Skies agreement between the US and the European Union.

Continentalââ¬â¢s flight CO28 from Newark is scheduled to be the first aircraft of the new-entrant carriers to arrive at Heathrow on March 30, at 07.30.

The carrier will run four daily departures from Heathrow ââ¬' two to New York and two to Houston ââ¬' the largest operation of any of the new-entrant airlines at Heathrow. 

Continentalââ¬â¢s Heathrow flights will operate from Terminal 4, which will be the future base for all SkyTeam carriers operating at the airport. 

The airline will continue to offer flights from Gatwick to New York (twice daily), Houston (daily) and Cleveland (daily, seasonal). 

Heathrow flights will be operated by 283-seat Boeing 777-200, carrying 48 passengers in the BusinessFirst cabin and 235 in economy, and 174-seat Boeing 767-200ER, with 25 BusinessFirst seats and 149 economy seats. 

The Gatwick flights will be operated using 235-seat Boeing 767-400ER, with 35 BusinessFirst seats and 200 economy seats, and 175-seat Boeing 757-200, carrying 16 passengers in BusinessFirst and 159 in economy.

CEO and chairman Larry Kellner said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœContinental has waited a long time to gain access to Heathrow and this is a great day for us, as well as for all transatlantic travellers.

ââ¬ÅâœWe can now provide our customers with what they have requested ââ¬' the opportunity to fly to both of Londonââ¬â¢s main airports with their preferred airline.ââ¬~

by Phil Davies

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