News Release
Continental Airlines Inaugurates Non-Stop Service Between New York/Newark and Santiago, Chile
HOUSTON, May 28, 1998 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAI.B and CAI.A) on Saturday inaugurates non-stop service between Newark/New York and Santiago, Chile. With the new service, the airline will operate six daily non-stop flights from Newark to South America, and a total of 16 Latin American and Caribbean destinations from Newark.
The new daily service departs Newark at 10:05 p.m. and arrives in Santiago, Chile, at 8:10 a.m. the next day. Return service from Santiago leaves at 7:40 p.m. and arrives in Newark at 5:30 a.m. the following day. Continental will operate a widebody 242-seat DC-10-30 on the route, with BusinessFirst and economy class seating.
"Latin America is the new frontier, for global business and for tourism," said Tom Anderson, staff vice president - Latin America Sales, Continental Airlines. "Continental already is the leading airline in the New York area, with more non-stop service to international destinations than any other carrier. Our Newark-Santiago flight offers a new avenue for commerce between New York and South America in mining, agriculture, finance and the growing wine industry, as well as for vacation travel."
Serving 20 countries and 35 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Continental is the second largest U.S. carrier to Latin America in number of destinations and passengers served.
Continental's recent $1 million "Latinization" project is evidence of the airline's commitment to enhanced customer service to complement its strong Latin America route system. Approximately 75 percent of the in-flight crew on Continental's Latin American flights speak Spanish. In Newark and Houston, bilingual Continental representatives assist Latin American passengers through Customs and Immigration, and directional signs and flight information is posted in Spanish and English.
Continental is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,000 departures daily to 122 domestic and 70 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, Continental is strategically positioned for transcontinental travel, and offers extensive service to Latin America and Europe via its Houston and Newark gateways. Continental has entered into a strategic global alliance with Northwest Airlines, subject to government approval, that will result in interconnection of the two airlines' route systems, code-sharing arrangements, frequent flier reciprocity, cooperation between Continental and Northwest's trans-Atlantic partner KLM, and other cooperative activities.