News Release
Continental Airlines Marks Successful First Year of Service Between Cleveland and London
CLEVELAND, June 29, 2000 -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL and CAL.A) on Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Cleveland's first regular transatlantic flight. Approximately 80,000 passengers have traveled on the Cleveland-London route during its first year of operation (40,000 in each direction, average).
"The flight between Cleveland and London is even more successful than we expected," said Continental’s Cleveland Hub Senior Director Dante Marzetta. "Our customers on both sides of the Atlantic have welcomed the service with open arms, whether they are traveling on business or pleasure."
In addition to Cleveland travelers, the flight carries customers who originate in other U.S. cities and connect at the Hopkins International Airport hub.
Supporting the route's strong performance has been Continental's above-average reliability. The flight to London was cancelled only twice in its first year for a 99.5% dispatch reliability rate.
Continental flight 66 departs Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at 5:20 p.m. and arrives at London’s Gatwick Airport at 5:55 a.m. the next day. Continental flight 67 departs London at 10:55 a.m. and arrives at Hopkins Airport at 2:45 p.m. the same day. Continental operates the service with a specially equipped Boeing 757 aircraft which seats 16 passengers in BusinessFirst and 156 passengers in coach.
BusinessFirst seats are outfitted with electronic comfort controls, multi-channel personal video systems and far more space and seat-recline than typical business class cabins. Attentive cabin service includes a choice of freshly prepared multi-course meals and quality wines.
"Our corporate customers deserve a big thanks for doing such a good job of stepping up and supporting flight," said John Slater, Continental’s senior director of Sales. "Without their commitment, and the great working relationship we have with the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau, the flight would not have been so successful."
Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 136 domestic and 87 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland, Continental (www.continental.com) serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Continental is in the top quarter of FORTUNE magazine’s "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and is ranked the nation’s No. 1 airline in customer satisfaction for long and short-haul flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power and Associates. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Condé Nast Traveler, OAG, Entrepreneur and SmartMoney magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer’s Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Air Transport World’s 1996 Airline of the Year).