Continental Airlines to Launch Seasonal Service to London/Heathrow From Cleveland

Replaces seasonal service to London/Gatwick; seasonal flights to Paris from Cleveland ending

CLEVELAND, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced that it will launch seasonal daily non-stop service between its Cleveland hub and London’s Heathrow Airport, effective May 2, 2009 (eastbound). The new route will replace the current seasonal service between Cleveland and London/Gatwick Airport.

In addition, due to economic challenges, the carrier will end seasonal service from Cleveland to Paris/Charles de Gaulle Airport.

“Our Cleveland customers have told us they want non-stop service to Heathrow, the most important business airport in Europe, and we are delighted to be able to meet the City’s needs,� said Larry Kellner, Continental’s chairman and CEO. “We are investing in this service because of its potential,� he said.

The new Heathrow service will operate from May 2 through Sept. 26. Flights will depart Cleveland daily at 8:25 p.m. and arrive in London at 9:15 a.m. the next morning. The return flights will depart London daily at 11:40 a.m. and arrive in Cleveland at 3:30 p.m. the same day.

“We have long believed that non-stop service to Heathrow is something Cleveland needs and that it will be a boost to our business development efforts. I am optimistic that the region’s business community will support this improved service to London in a way that will warrant Continental’s consideration of extending the service year-round in the future,� said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.

The service will be operated by Boeing 757 aircraft, seating 16 passengers in the award-winning BusinessFirst cabin and 159 passengers in

economy.

Continental will continue to operate two daily flights to Heathrow from its Houston hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport in addition to three daily flights to Heathrow from its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will continue to operate daily flights from both its Houston and New York hubs to Paris/Charles de Gaulle Airport.

In addition to its Heathrow flights, Continental also operates easy connecting service from Cleveland through Newark Liberty to Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, as well as Dublin and Shannon - offering trans-Atlantic service to more cities in the U.K. and Ireland than any other airline.