News Release
Continental Airlines Offers End-of-Year Travel Tips for Customers
HOUSTON, December 26, 2001 -- As travelers complete their post-Christmas travel and take to the air for New Year's Eve celebrations, Continental Airlines is offering customers the following tips to make holiday travel smooth:
- Travelers should arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to a domestic flight and at least two hours before an international departure. Minimum check-in times vary depending on airport of departure, day of travel and time of day. More information is available at continental.com or (800) 525-0280.
- Continental Airlines eService Centers are available at 92 U.S. airports. Customers using eTickets and checking in at an eService Center will find the process offers significant time savings over traditional check-in. Continental agents are available to assist customers using eService Centers.
- Customers will need to have an eTicket receipt, boarding pass or paper ticket to pass through security; customers traveling on eTickets who do not have a receipt may check in either at an eService Center or with a Continental representative to obtain a boarding pass.
- Persons other than ticketed customers will not be allowed beyond the security checkpoint. A checkpoint pass will be issued to customers meeting or assisting unaccompanied minors and customers with disabilities.
- No knives of any size or material are allowed past security (including, but not limited to, pocket knives, folding or retractable blades regardless of blade length or composition, box cutters, X-Acto knives, metal nail files, scissors with a pointed tip, straight razors, corkscrews, Leatherman, or Swiss Army Knives).
- Federal regulations permit each customer one carry-on bag plus one personal item such as a purse, briefcase or laptop computer.
- Laptop computers must be removed from their cases and placed on the baggage belt at the security checkpoint.
- Unattended bags are subject to on-the-spot searches.
- Customers may also be hand-searched and bags may be physically searched as well.
- Customers should keep their government-issued photo ID readily available for display at the check-in counter, the security checkpoint and at the gate prior to boarding.
To expedite customer movement, Continental has increased the number of security checkpoints at all three domestic hubs. In Houston, the airline has doubled the number of checkpoints from five to ten; at Newark, six checkpoints have been added; and at Cleveland's airport, two more have been added.
Customers also are encouraged to visit continental.com or call (800) 525-0280 to confirm the status of their flights before departure. Customers with pagers can sign up at continental.com for instant notification of changes to their flight's departure or arrival times or the gate at which their flight will operate.
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).