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Continental Airlines Urges DOT to Approve Airline's Application for
China Service
<http://money.excite.com/img/cmt.gif>
Friday October 22, 12:45 PM EDT
HOUSTON, Oct 22, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Citing
consumer benefits and strong support from federal, state, local and
economic development officials, Continental Airlines (CAL
<http://money.excite.com/jsp/qt/full.jsp?time=0&symbol_search_text=CAL>
) today urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve the
airline's application for service linking New York/Newark with the
Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
Continental's service will be the only flights operated by a U.S.
carrier linking mainland China with New York, the largest
origin-and-destination point in the United States for China travel.
"Continental is the only applicant proposing a comprehensive plan to
create a significant presence in China, offer the first daily nonstop
service for China's two primary cities from the largest U.S. gateway and
begin competing effectively with well-entrenched incumbent carriers on
U.S.-China routes," said Continental Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Gordon Bethune in written testimony.
Bethune thanked his coworkers, elected officials and thousands of
concerned citizens and corporations for their incredible show of support
for Continental's application. Nearly 13,000 employees have sent letters
of support to the Department of Transportation, and thousands more
letters have been sent from members of Congress, state and local
officials, major U.S. corporations, travel industry partners, chambers
of commerce, Chinese-American organizations, and concerned citizens.
More letters of support are being sent daily.
If approved, service between New York/Newark and Beijing will begin in
March 2005, with Shanghai service beginning in March 2006. Each flight
will be linked to dozens of communities via Continental's Global Gateway
hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, the only major-airline
international hub serving the New York area. In all, Continental
anticipates its proposed Beijing and Shanghai services will provide for
more public benefits than proposals for new service at Chicago, Atlanta,
Honolulu, Oakland and San Francisco.
Continental's proposal to use a new China designation and 14 weekly
frequencies will maximize the benefits of these new opportunities:
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