CONTINENTAL AIRLINES, CITY AND BUSINESS LEADERS LAUNCH MISSION TO BOOST TOURISM, TRADE WITH U.K.

Mayor Campbell, Council Majority Leader Sweeney and Nene Foxhall, Continental Airlines vice president of state & civic affairs, will be joined by several local business leaders including Growth Association President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis E. Eckart, CVB President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Nolan, and Cleveland marketing, sales and tourism consultant Terry Uhl.

Also joining the mission are John Slater, Continental's senior sales director - Midwest region, Shirley D. Stineman, director of community affairs for The Plain Dealer, Constance Harper, executive vice president of The Call and Post Newspapers, and Richard Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Kaleidoscope Magazine Publishing. The three-day investment and tourism mission includes: 

* A working breakfast with executives of the British Airports Authority, which manages London's Gatwick Airport;

* A meeting with the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, His Excellency William S. Farish;

* A working lunch at the U.S. Embassy with VisitUSA, a U.K.-based tourism group that encourages tourism between the U.K. and the United States. Mayor Campbell will deliver the keynote address at the organization's luncheon, where Dave Nolan also will speak;

* A working breakfast with Joseph Bauer, vice president and general counsel of Lubrizol, which has significant operations in Greater Cleveland and in the U.K., and U.K.-based officials of Lubrizol; 

* A meeting with U.K. Tourism Minister Dr. Kim Howells;

* A session with executives at St. Ives, a printing company with operations in northeast Ohio and the U.K.; 

* A dinner reception with the law firms Squire, Sanders & Dempsey and Jones Day. 

Many of the events will be attended by political, economic development and tourism officials from throughout the U.K. The mission begins this evening at 7:25 p.m. with the resumption of Continental Airlines' nonstop service between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Continental's third-largest hub, and London's Gatwick Airport. The flight, which was temporarily suspended after Sept. 11, is Cleveland's only nonstop link to Europe. 

"Continental's nonstop flight between Cleveland and London is vital to Cleveland's ability to compete for investment and tourism dollars in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe," said Continental Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune. "Continental's success in this important market and Cleveland's ability to attract global investment hinges on the support of this service by the business and tourism community on both sides of the Atlantic. We are grateful to Mayor Campbell and the other key civic and business leaders for drawing attention to the region and to this service." 

"I want to thank Continental Airlines for their continued investment in the City of Cleveland," said Mayor Campbell. "By resuming the nonstop flight between Cleveland and London, we are given the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with businesses in the U.K. I am looking forward to meeting with civic and business leaders during my stay and furthering those relationships." 

"The direct link to London speaks volumes about the importance of Greater Cleveland and, for that matter, of Hopkins International Airport, in the global economy," said Council Majority Leader Sweeney. "Continental's nonstop service gives our region a tremendous opportunity to attract new investment and to encourage leisure travelers to take a second look at Cleveland and northeast Ohio." 

Continental Airlines flight 66 departs Cleveland daily at 7:25 p.m., arriving in London at 7:45 a.m. the next morning. Beginning tomorrow, Continental flight 67 will depart London daily at 11:55 a.m. and will arrive in Cleveland at 3:30 p.m. the same day. The service is flown by Boeing 757-200 aircraft, configured with 16 seats in Continental's award-winning BusinessFirst class and 156 seats in coach. 

According to an economic impact analysis completed in 2000, visitors to Cleveland who flew on Continental's nonstop flight from London added $78 million to the local economy in the first year the flight operated, including the money they spent in local hotels, restaurants and retail and other establishments. One goal of this week's mission is to drum up further interest, investment and tourism in the region. 

The Greater Cleveland Growth Association is the nation's largest metropolitan chamber of commerce with nearly 16,800 members. Its mission is to serve as a catalyst for economic growth and jobs creation in Northeast Ohio. The Growth Association is committed to enhancing Greater Cleveland's competitive advantage through leadership, collaboration and innovation.

The Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland is a non-profit organization working diligently to bring conventions and tourism visitors to Cleveland. Through the efforts of the CVB, more than 8.1 million convention and tourism visitors brought $2.34 billion into the local economy. Continental Airlines offers more than 220 daily flights from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to more than 60 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and to London. Service includes frequent daily departures to major business centers, including Chicago, New York and Houston, and top leisure destinations like Las Vegas, Orlando and Miami.

More than 3,500 Continental employees are based at Hopkins. Continental Airlines is the fifth-largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,100 departures daily to 120 domestic and 91 international destinations. Operating hubs in New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, Continental serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.