Hotel & Tours Group

Continental Airlines on Wednesday, March 25, will become the first U.S. carrier to inaugurate scheduled service between New York and Shanghai, China, with daily nonstop flights from the airline's hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The new service will provide daily nonstop flights in the largest U.S.-China market that today lacks daily service, linking the world's financial center and top business and tourism destination with China's center for finance and trade.

With the success of the Beijing Olympics showcasing modern China to the world, and the upcoming Expo in Shanghai in 2010, Continental expects to see increased demand for service between the U.S. and China over time.

Continental has operated nonstop service between New York and Hong Kong since 2001 and between New York and Beijing since 2005. With the new service to Shanghai, Continental will be the only airline in the world providing daily nonstop service between New York and three Chinese cities.

Convenient Flight Schedule
Continental will operate the nonstop flight daily with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. 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 arrive at Liberty in the evening of the same day at 6:20 p.m. Flying times are approximately 14 hours and 30 minutes in each direction. The flight is timed to provide convenient roundtrip connections at Continental's New York hub to more than 60 other cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Onboard Product Tailored for China Market
Continental's Shanghai flights will feature special products and services for customers, with movies and music available in English and Mandarin, and local Chinese newspapers available for BusinessFirst customers. Instructional videos, including the safety and arrival video and pre-recorded announcements, will be available in Mandarin. Menus will be available in English and Chinese, and inflight meals designed by chefs based in the U.S. and in China will feature Chinese choices. A Mandarin-speaking flight attendant will be available to help customers inflight and Mandarin-speaking agents will be available to help customers at check-in.