Continental Expedites Screenings for OnePass Elite, BusinessFirst, First Class, Latin Business Customers Friday February 15, 10:04 AM EST HOUSTON, Feb 15, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Continental Airlines (CAL) today has begun to further expedite the security screening process for its OnePass Elite, BusinessFirst, domestic First Class and Latin Business Class customers by designating security checkpoint lanes for their use at the airline's hubs in Houston, New York/Newark and Cleveland. "From the beginning, we led the industry in ensuring that our customers avoided the interminable wait times at security checkpoints that travelers experienced at many other airline hubs," said Continental Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune. "With the addition of 13 new security checkpoint positions in our three domestic hub airports since October, we have made the security process faster and more convenient for everyone. Now we are happy to offer this new benefit to OnePass Elite and premium-fare customers without increasing wait times for others." One checkpoint lane has been designated at each of Continental's domestic hubs at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Newark International and Cleveland's Hopkins International. To use the new specially designated checkpoint lanes, BusinessFirst, domestic First Class and Latin Business Class customers need only show their Continental Airlines ticket, boarding pass or E-Ticket itinerary. OnePass Elite customers should also show their OnePass Elite membership card. Signs designate the location of the premium lanes. In recent months, Continental has doubled the number of security checkpoint positions in Houston from five to ten; in New York/Newark, six positions have been added; and in Cleveland, two have been added. Since the additions, the average wait time at security checkpoints at Continental hub airports has been less than eight minutes. While check-in and processing times vary between airports and depending on the time of day, travelers should arrive at the airport at least one hour before departure of a domestic flight and at least two hours before an international flight. Airport-specific check-in information is available at continental.com or with Continental Airlines reservations at (800) 525-0280 for many of the airports served by Continental Airlines and Continental Express. Continental Airlines is the