Continental Airlines Operates First Overseas Flights With New BusinessFirst Seats Monday April 8, 1:11 PM EDT HOUSTON, Apr 8, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Continental Airlines (CAL) will fly its first transatlantic flight with new, specially engineered seats in the BusinessFirst cabin later this week, departing from the carrier's hub at Newark International Airport to London/Gatwick (Flight #28) on April 10. The carrier's first transpacific flight with the new seats will operate between Newark and Tokyo/Narita on April 18 (Flight #9). "Continental continues to invest in its product to make flying more pleasant for our customers," said a Continental spokesperson. "The new seats are extra wide for more sleep comfort and are especially appreciated on the long haul flights." Continental began installing the enhanced seats on the first of 18 Boeing 777 aircraft that serve transatlantic and transpacific routes on April 4. New seats will be installed on a second aircraft by April 25, and seat installation will continue through the summer with the last Boeing 777 completed by the end of October. The seats are being installed at Continental's new maintenance hangar at Newark International Airport. Continental will operate the Boeing 777 with new seats on routes between Newark and Madrid (Spain), Tokyo/Narita (Japan), London/Gatwick (England), Tel Aviv (Israel), Hong Kong (China) and Paris (France), and between Houston and Narita, London/Gatwick and Paris. The new BusinessFirst seats feature several significant design improvements that provide more comfort for customers. The new seat is the widest business class seat in the world measuring 22 inches between the armrests, offers a 170-degree recline from seat cushion to seat back and 6 1/2 feet (2 meters) of sleeping space in the fully extended position. The seats also have privacy hoods, individual dual-level reading lights, adjustable winged headrests, power ports for laptop personal computers and personal multi-channel entertainment systems and satellite telephones. New Seats Centerpiece of BusinessFirst The new seats are the centerpiece of Continental's premium BusinessFirst cabin service that provides the extra space and fine amenities of traditional international first class service at a business class price. The award winning BusinessFirst service also features extensive gourmet menu selections created by Continental's Congress of Chefs, premium wines and champagne, and International Concierge Service that provides individualized pre- and post- flight services for BusinessFirst customers at 21 key international airports. Customers traveling in BusinessFirst may also access any of Continental's 27 President Clubs and more than 50 airline affiliated lounges worldwide. Roger & Amanda