HOUSTON, TX – Continental Airlines announced today that it has filed an application with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate daily, year-round service between its Houston hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Rio De Janeiro and through-flight service between New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro beginning June 2009.
โWe continue to see strong demand by our corporate customers for daily, nonstop service between these two important oil markets,โ said John Slater, Continentalโs staff vice president, Latin America and Caribbean sales. โThe new flight will complement our existing service between the US and Brazil and provide additional access for tourists traveling between the two cities.โ
Continental proposes to operate the daily service utilizing a Boeing 767-200 on the route, with 25 seats in BusinessFirst and 149 seats in economy. The proposed nonstop flight will be timed to offer convenient flight connections at Continentalโs Houston hub to more than 104 cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The airline currently operates daily nonstop service between Continentalโs New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Sรฃo Pauloโs Guarulhos International Airport and between Houston and Sรฃo Paulo, with continuing service to Rio de Janeiro. In addition, the airline will operate three times, weekly, nonstop service between Houston and Rio de Janeiro from December 17, 2008 through February 28, 2009.