News Release
Continental Airlines Announces New Non-Stop Service between Houston and Sao Paulo, Brazil
HOUSTON, Texas, August 4, 1999 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) announced today the carrier will launch non-stop service to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Nov. 30, 1999, subject to Brazilian government approval.
Continental will operate a DC10-30 aircraft on the route. This aircraft is equipped with 38 seats in BusinessFirst and 204 seats in economy class.
Flight 93 will depart Houston at 7:00 p.m. and arrive in Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport at 8:30 a.m. the next day. Return flight 94 will depart Sao Paulo at 12:30 a.m. and arrive in Houston at 6:30 a.m. the same day.
"Houston already is a major gateway to Latin America, and this new service strengthens Continental's commitment deeper into South America. It also is a terrific complement to our non-stop service from New York/Newark to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro," said President and COO Greg Brenneman.
Continental is celebrating two years of service between Newark and Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this week.
In addition, Continental today also announced plans for the early retirement of an additional DC10-30 aircraft, bringing the number of early retirements of DC10-30 aircraft to three, between the months of November 1999 and April 2000. This retirement is part of a wide-body fleet restructuring plan that originally scheduled these planes to retire between 2001 and 2004.
As the second largest U.S. carrier to Latin America and the Caribbean in number of destinations and passengers served, Continental serves 20 countries and 39 cities in Latin America, operating daily nonstop flights for more than 500 weekly departures. All flights to Latin America feature Business class or premier BusinessFirst service, international cuisine, and award-winning OnePass frequent flyer privileges. As part of Continental's "Latinization" program, Portuguese speaking flight attendants will serve on the Brazilian flights.
Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 130 domestic and 85 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland, Continental (http://www.continental.com) has extensive service throughout the Americas, and to Europe and Asia. Continental recently initiated a strategic global alliance with Northwest Airlines. Continental is in the top half of FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and has won first or second place Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power awards for four consecutive years. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Condé Nast Traveler, OAG Official Airline Guides, Entrepreneur and Smart Money magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer's Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Air Transport World's 1997 Airline of the Year).