Continental Airlines Launches Mobile Boarding Passes at London's Heathrow Airport
February 25 2010 - 10:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
First carrier to offer paperless boarding passes on flights from
U.K. to U.S. HOUSTON, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental
Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced the expansion of its mobile
boarding pass service to London's Heathrow Airport, becoming the
first carrier to offer paperless boarding passes on nonstop flights
from the United Kingdom to the U.S. The service allows customers to
receive boarding passes electronically on their cell phones or PDAs
and eliminates the need for paper boarding passes. "We are pleased
to add Heathrow to the growing list of airports we serve with
mobile boarding passes," said Martin Hand, Continental's vice
president of reservations and eCommerce. "Customers have told us
this is the type of product improvement they want, and we will
continue to expand the self-service technology to more of our
domestic and international destinations." Mobile boarding passes
display a two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight
information, which scanners at the security checkpoint and boarding
gate validate. The technology prevents manipulation or duplication
of the boarding passes and heightens security. In addition to
boarding passes, Continental provides access to enhanced flight
information through mobile devices. Customers may view onboard
amenities and standby lists, as well as track the status of their
flights. Continental was the first carrier to offer paperless
boarding passes in the U.S. in a pilot program with the
Transportation Security Administration that began in December 2007.
The airline currently offers mobile boarding passes at 42 airports,
including its hubs in New York, Houston and Cleveland. Continental
was the first U.S. carrier to offer mobile boarding passes from an
international destination when it launched the service at Frankfurt
Airport late last year. Continental operates five flights per day
to Heathrow - three from its New York hub at Newark Liberty
International Airport and two from Houston. The airline announced
recently that it will add a fourth daily service to the New York -
Heathrow route in March and a fifth daily service in October,
bringing the total number of Continental daily departures to
Heathrow to seven. Continental also announced that effective June
2, 2010, all aircraft scheduled for its Heathrow flights will
feature new, flat bed seats in BusinessFirst. Continental Airlines
is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with
Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,500
daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving
133 domestic and 135 international destinations. Continental is a
member of Star Alliance, which overall offers 19,700 daily flights
to 1,077 airports in 175 countries through its 26 member airlines.
With more than 41,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New
York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with its regional
partners, carries approximately 63 million passengers per year.
Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both
its operation and its corporate culture. For the sixth consecutive
year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most
Admired Airline on its 2009 list of World's Most Admired Companies.
For more company information, go to continental.com. DATASOURCE:
Continental Airlines CONTACT: Continental Airlines Corporate
Communications, +1-713-324-5080, Web Site:
http://www.continental.com/
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