Continental Airlines nonstop daily New York-Shanghai flight launched

Continental Airlines will launch daily nonstop scheduled flights between New York (Newark Liberty) and  Shanghai,  China from March 25, 2009.

With this new flight, Continental Airlines will become the first airlines to start a daily airline service from New York to Shanghai.

Continental President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Smisek said, “China is a valued international market for Continental, and we expect great success from this new nonstop route to Shanghai.”

He also termed China as an important business destination. He said that he expects the economic growth in China to continue, in 2009, despite the current status of the economy.

“We are proud to bring our outstanding product to Shanghai by launching this service as previously announced, even as other airlines are canceling or delaying similar routes,” he was quoted as saying.

Continental Airlines has operated nonstop flights between New York and Hong Kong since 2001, and between New York and Beijing since 2005.

It now plans on using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft for the New York – Shanghai daily flight. Flight 87 will depart Liberty at 11:20 a.m., arriving in Shanghai mid-afternoon the following day at 1:45 p.m.

The return flight 86 will depart Shanghai in the afternoon at 3:45 p.m. and will arrive at Liberty in the evening of the same day at  6:20 p.m.

Continental Airlines will offer newspapers in both English and Chinese to the people on the flight. Movies and music will be available in both English  and Mandarin wherein people get to choose from over 250 movies and various TV shows, and over 3000 music tracks.

The instructions for safety and arrival will be available in Mandarin with the help of a video.

Customers get to choose from Chinese cuisines and American specialties prepared by chefs from both China and America, respectively. Menus too will be available in both languages. It is only obvious, that a few flight attendants too would be Mandarin speaking hosts.

Customers traveling in BusinessFirst will also able to access any of Continental’s 27 Presidents Clubs and more than 60 airline affiliated lounges worldwide.

Continental Airlines is all set to install an in-seat power that will not require an adapter. One outlet is available per seat in BusinessFirst  and two outlets for every three seats, for all rows in main cabin.

With an aim to provide its customers with space and comfort, the 777 aircraft will also have a 3-3-3 seating configuration with wider aisles.

The inclusion of Continental’s new 180-degree lie-flat seats in the premium-class cabin will provide more individual space and laptop power. Fliers will also get iPod connectivity and 15.4-inch video monitor to enjoy on-demand movies, music and games.

Continental Airlines is considered one of the best airlines in the world. Conde Nast Traveler magazine has rated it as the highest among all U.S. carriers for trans-Pacific flights for 10 years in a row.