Continental Airlines Announces Daily Non-Stop Service from New York to Stuttgart, Germany

CHICAGO, March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL), today announced that it will launch daily non-stop service between its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Stuttgart, Germany, effective June 9, 2011 (eastbound), subject to government approval. The new service is included in the company's updated capacity guidance for investors published on March 7, 2011.

Stuttgart will be the fifth German city to be served by the new United, formed last year by the merger of Continental and United Airlines. The new United is the leading U.S. carrier to Germany in terms of both seat capacity and number of flights. Continental already serves Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich from New York/Newark and Frankfurt from its Houston hub, while United serves Frankfurt from its Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. hubs and Munich from Chicago and Washington, D.C.

"We are excited about expanding our German route network further, and we are confident that it will be a success, even in this fuel environment, as we are providing the only non-stop link between New York and Stuttgart," said John Slater, United's Vice President of Sales – Americas. "This new service, supported by our trans-Atlantic joint venture partners Lufthansa and Air Canada, will give customers more flight options on both sides of the Atlantic."

The New York/Newark-Stuttgart service will be operated by Boeing 757-200 aircraft, featuring 175 seats – 16 in BusinessFirst and 159 in Economy.  

Flight Schedule

Flight CO152 will depart New York/Newark daily at 5:50 p.m. and arrive at Stuttgart Airport at 8 a.m. the following day. The return flight, CO153, will depart Stuttgart daily at 9:30 a.m. and arrive in New York/Newark at 12:40 p.m. the same day (all times local). During the winter months, when demand traditionally declines, the service will operate five days per week (no eastbound departure on Tuesday and Wednesday).

The flights have been conveniently timed to connect at Stuttgart to key Star Alliance partner markets such as Vienna, Austria, and Hanover, Germany.

The new flights will offer Continental's award-winning BusinessFirst service. By the time of the launch, all Continental 757-200 aircraft are expected to feature new, flat-bed seats, which are being installed on all 757-200 aircraft with completion scheduled for end of May 2011. The new seat, reclining 180-degrees and providing six and one half feet of sleeping space in the fully extended position, is one of the widest business-class seats in the air, measuring up to 25 inches when the adjustable armrest is positioned flush with the seat cushion. Electronic controls enable customers to easily move the seats to the custom position most comfortable for them. The seat's features include laptop power, headset and USB plugs conveniently tucked above the customer's shoulder, iPod connectivity, a 15.4-inch video monitor and a privacy shell that allows for seclusion from other travelers. Other BusinessFirst amenities include gourmet menus and award-winning wines and champagnes. A specially selected and trained corps of Concierges provides individualized pre-flight and post-flight services for BusinessFirst customers at 35 key international airports worldwide.  

All seats on the Boeing 757 feature Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD), allowing customers to choose from up to 40 movies, 60 TV programs and over 2,000 audio tracks. Once the system is activated by the crew, customers may watch the programming whenever they choose, controlling the programs with easy-to-use touch-screens to stop, pause, rewind and fast forward. The new entertainment system also has 20 video games and an interactive Berlitz Word Traveler program that teaches foreign language. AC power ports are available at every seat.  

About Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL).  Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,400 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 141 domestic and 132 international destinations. Continental is a member of Star Alliance, which overall offers 21,000 daily flights to 1,160 airports in 181 countries. Continental has hubs serving Cleveland, Guam, Houston and New York/Newark Liberty, and together with its regional partners, carries approximately 63 million passengers per year.  

United Continental Holdings, Inc. became the holding company for both United and Continental upon close of the merger transaction. The two airlines will operate separately as they begin to integrate key customer services, marketing activities and airport processes. For more company information, go to continental.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.