Continental Airlines launches Daily Non-Stop service between New York and Berlin

Continental Airlines launches its inaugurate nonstop flights from its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport to Berlin/Tegel, Germany on Thursday..

“This new route marks an historic milestone for Continental Airlines and a new era in air travel for Berlin,” said Jeff Smisek, Continental’s president. “Our unbeatable combination of award-winning service and hundreds of convenient flight connections from our New York hub opens up a new world of opportunities for travelers to and from the German capital.”

This new route is part of Continental’s international expansion that began in May and will continue through November. Continental began service from Newark Liberty International Airport to Bristol on May 19; to Belfast on May 26; to Stockholm on June 2; to Hamburg on June 9 and to Beijing on June 15. Continental will begin service to Delhi on November 1.

Flight CO96 departs New York/Newark daily at 6:45 p.m. and arrives in Berlin at 8:40 a.m. the next day. Flight CO97 leaves Berlin daily at 10:15 a.m. and arrives at New York/Newark at 1:25 p.m. the same day. The flight times are seven hours and 55 minutes traveling east and nine hours and 10 minutes traveling west. During the winter months, when demand traditionally declines, Continental will operate five flights per week on the route, reverting to a daily service in spring 2006.

Continental’s New York to Berlin flights are operated with a 172-seat Boeing 757-200 aircraft, carrying 16 passengers in the BusinessFirst cabin and 156 in economy. The inaugural flight will be operated by a 757-200 aircraft equipped with Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets™, one of the first aircraft of its type in the world to be modified in this way. The 8 foot 2-inch tall winglets, which have been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, reduce the amount of drag on an aircraft which can result in a five percent fuel savings. That can translate to a savings of as much as 300,000 gallons per aircraft per year and give the airplanes approximately 200 nautical miles of additional range. Eleven of Continental’s 41 757-200 aircraft are scheduled to be equipped with winglets this year.

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