PGA TOUR Partners with United Continental Holdings

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. and CHICAGO, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The PGA TOUR and United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) today announced a five-year marketing partnership that aligns both carriers to the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour starting in 2011.

United Continental Holdings is the holding company for Continental and United as the carriers complete the integration process to create the world's leading airline. The "Official Airline" designation will pass to United as the integration process advances.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this new long-term agreement with United Continental Holdings and are very excited about the consumer and player programs that will be initiated through our partnership," said Tom Wade, chief marketing officer for the PGA TOUR. "The combined hub system and route network align extremely well with our Tour schedules, which is very beneficial to our members, as well as to the frequent fliers who might take advantage of the special PGA TOUR promotional programs."

The new partnership, which runs 2011-2015, will provide both airlines' frequent flier members the opportunity to obtain special PGA TOUR-related benefits, including:

• Unique PGA TOUR player experiences
• PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour tournaments
• Private and semi-private hospitality areas at select tournaments
• PGA TOUR's TPC Network of golf facilities and courses

"We are thrilled to partner our brand with an organization that receives great global attention. This partnership will offer exceptional benefits for our customers and the PGA TOUR's membership base of players from around the world," said Jim Compton, United's executive vice president and chief revenue officer.  "We're proud to be the 'Official Airline' of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour."

Members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour will receive significant travel benefits. Among the benefits are frequent flier program elite status privileges and complimentary access to over 50 airport lounges throughout the world.

The airlines' hub markets with a corresponding tournament include Houston (Shell Houston Open), Chicago (BMW Championship), Cleveland (World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational), Newark (The Barclays), Los Angeles (Northern Trust Open), San Francisco (Charles Schwab Cup Championship) and Washington, D.C. (AT&T National and Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship).  

About United Continental Holdings, Inc.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Together with United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, these airlines operate a total of approximately 5,800 flights a day to 371 airports on six continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark Liberty, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. United and Continental are members of Star Alliance, which offers 21,000 daily flights to 1,160 airports in 181 countries. United's and Continental's more than 80,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. For more information about United Continental Holdings, Inc., go to UnitedContinentalHoldings.com. For more information about the airlines, see united.com and continental.com, and follow each company on Twitter and Facebook.

About PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR is the world's premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 100 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.

The PGA TOUR's mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.

In 2010, the three Tours collectively had tournaments in 34 states and in 12 countries outside of the U.S. PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to nearly 600 million households in 225 countries and territories and 30 languages.

Virtually all tournaments are organized as nonprofit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2009, tournaments on the three Tours generated $108 million for local charitable organizations. The TOUR's all-time total of charitable contributions is approaching $1.5 billion. The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.