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Continental Airlines
today announced that it will temporarily suspend its five-times-weekly service between its New York hub, Newark Liberty
International Airport, and Hong Kong due to a dramatic reduction in traffic
on the route.
The
airlines said that although traffic from Hong Kong has remained stable, passenger demand
from the United States has plummeted.
Continental attributed the weak demand to government and health
organization travel advisories recommending that travelers postpone Hong
Kong travel due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
Continental will continue to operate the flight through Thursday, April 10
(New York- Hong Kong) and Saturday, April 12 (Hong Kong-New York).
The service, the only nonstop flight between Hong Kong and New York, is to
be reinstated on June 2, 2003, and the airline is continuing to take bookings
for summer travel.
In the interim, Continental
has said it will continue to provide U.S. - Hong Kong service by transporting customers to Tokyo and providing connecting service with
Northwest Airlines for the Tokyo-Hong Kong segment. In addition, Continental will continue to operate two flights per week on the Hong
Kong-Guam route. |
