Hub club

Ten years ago, Continental Airlines, the world's fifth-largest airline, began a multibillion dollar project to develop a major new international hub in the New York-New Jersey region, among the busiest in the world for air traffic.

It has now become the leading airport in the northeastern United States, handling 12.5 million passengers annually, accommodating 25 percent of airline travelers to the largest metropolitan area in the United States.

It is also important to travel links between China and the US, providing the only non-stop flight from New York to Beijing, and soon, to Shanghai.

The Newark Liberty hub has been a key part of Continental's international growth strategy, with international nonstop flights rising from 25 to 76 over the past decade, at the same time international passenger traffic increased from 1.4 million to more than 4 million. Today international tickets provide half of the airline's total passenger revenue, which totaled $13.1 billion last year.

As the company eyes rapidly developing markets, the hub becomes even more important.

The only US airline that provides daily direct flights between Beijing and New York, Continental is also planning to operate daily nonstop service between New York and Shanghai in March 2009.

The new route, connecting two of the world's major financial centers, will provide nonstop flights for the largest US-China connection that today lacks daily service.

"The new route will also provide vast single connecting opportunities from the hub at Newark through to flight services all the way from northern Ohio to Shanghai," says Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and CEO.

Newark Liberty hub, located in the heart of a megalopolis that stretches from Boston to Washington, DC, can also function as an efficient connecting point to more than two dozen cities in the region.

Continental and China Southern Airlines, the largest airline in China by the number of fleets, have also established a partnership to make transfers between the two carriers easier.

"Continental Airlines' cooperation with China Southern will significantly increase China Southern's market share in the cross-Pacific and US domestic markets," says China Southern Chairman Liu Shaoyong.

For Continental it means that the airline can connect to more cities in China apart from Beijing and Shanghai.

To make ground transportation to and from the airport easier, Continental and US Helicopter Corp last year began a shuttle service between Manhattan and the Newark Liberty International Airport.

Business travelers can now avoid the traffic and quickly reach downtown. For tourists, it is a complementary experience of viewing New York City from the sky.

A one-way transfer aboard US Helicopter usually costs $159 plus security fees. Business class passengers from Beijing and Hong Kong can enjoy the service free of charge.

Newark will be a key base for Continental's future fleet of 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, scheduled to be delivered starting in 2009. The 787 will excel on long-distance routes through its capability to fly nonstop to the major cities in the world.

Since 1997, when the plans for the new gateway were first announced, Continental and The Ports Authority of New York and New Jersey have invested approximately $2 billion in redeveloping the airport.

The company is also developing hubs in Houston and Cleveland to complement its Newark operation. Houston is a key gateway serving Latin America, while Cleveland is undergoing growth that will increase the size of the mid-western airport by 40 percent over the next two years.

(China Daily 11/19/2007 page6)