News Release
Continental Airlines Resumes Service to Daytona Beach, Melbourne
New Orlando, Sarasota, Key West, Freeport flights expand Continental network
HOUSTON, December 17, 2001 -- Continental Airlines today announced the resumption of service to Daytona Beach and Melbourne, Fla., along with increased service within the Sunshine State and to the Bahamas, beginning Feb. 1, 2002.
Continental Connection, a regional affiliate of Continental Airlines, will offer two daily roundtrips between Tampa and Daytona Beach and between Tampa and Melbourne. Departures and arrivals are closely timed for easy connections to Continental’s hubs in Houston, New York/Newark, and Cleveland. A slightly modified schedule will be flown on weekends.
"We’re pleased this new service allows us to re-establish a link to two important Florida destinations, while matching capacity with market demand," said a Continental spokesperson. "These flights also will be particularly important to the business traveler, who will be able to connect to our hub cities, conduct business and return the same day."
Continental suspended service to Daytona Beach and Melbourne following the Sept. 11 terrorist incidents.
Continental also announced additional daily Continental Connection service in Orlando, Sarasota and Key West, Fla., and in Freeport, Bahamas.
Effective Feb. 1, Continental Connection will fly two daily roundtrip flights between Sarasota and Tampa and four daily roundtrips between Miami and Sarasota. The same day, Continental Connection will launch two daily roundtrips between Orlando and Key West and one daily roundtrip flight between Orlando and Freeport.
With the Feb. 1 additions, Continental and Continental Connection will serve more cities from Key West with more departures than any other airline, and will operate more departures from the U.S. mainland to the Bahamas than any other airline.
Flights, to be operated by Continental Connection-affiliate Gulfstream International Airlines, will be served by 19-seat Beech 1900-D aircraft.
With the new links, Continental Airlines and Continental Connection will serve 13 Florida cities. In addition to Freeport, Continental and Continental Connection link Florida to the Bahamas via Nassau, Marsh Harbour, North Eleuthera and Treasure Cay.
All flights are currently available for sale through Continental Airlines reservations at 800-525-0280, continental.com and travel agents.
Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 1,900 departures daily to 122 domestic and 89 international destinations. Operating hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, Continental serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit continental.com.
Continental was named the 2001 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World, as well as the 1996 Airline of the Year, making it the only carrier to receive this honor twice in five years. 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 (Fortune magazine).