Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) submitted its case for authority to serve the largest U.S.- China market currently without daily nonstop service, New York/Newark- Shanghai, to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
NEW YORK – Continental’s Cleveland-New York/Newark-Shanghai proposal is supported by elected officials from New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere. Continental also filed over 80,000 signatures from civic parties, corporate travel partners, Continental employees, the airline’s customers and other concerned citizens, all of whom understand that Continental’s proposal to serve the New York/Newark-Shanghai market nonstop and to provide through flight service between Cleveland and Shanghai via Newark Liberty International Airport has made the best case for the route award.
„We especially thank the tens of thousands of Continental employees and customers and other interested parties who are backing Continental in this DOT proceeding,“ said Continental Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner.
The New York/Newark-Shanghai market is nearly five times larger than the Dallas/Fort Worth-Beijing market; more than two times larger than the Detroit- Shanghai market; and half again as large as the Washington-Beijing market. Tying together the world’s two most diverse and important financial capitals – – New York/Newark and Shanghai — with Continental’s nonstop service will accommodate far more people, produce significantly more U.S.-China trade, and bring more competition to the U.S.-China market than any other proposal.
United and Northwest, the two carriers that currently dominate U.S.-China air service by controlling almost 80 percent of the U.S. passenger airline flights to China, have applied to operate a fifth daily passenger flight (United) and a fourth daily passenger flight (Northwest) to expand their current market duopoly. It would be anti-competitive for DOT to grant either dominant carrier another route rather than providing the first nonstop Shanghai access to the financial capital of the U.S. and to the entire Continental route network served via Newark Liberty.
„United’s proposed third daily flight to Beijing would be in addition to its two daily flights to Shanghai and would serve a far smaller gateway-to- gateway market compared to Continental’s application,“ said Continental Executive VP-Marketing Jim Compton. „United’s Washington route would fail to generate the trade, economic and financial benefits that Continental’s financial capital-to-financial capital service would offer.
„Once DOT considers the merits of Continental’s application, it will understand what we and over 80,000 other people already know: New York/Newark-Shanghai service, with through-flight service between Cleveland and Shanghai, is the best thing for U.S. consumers, for competition on air service routes to China and for this country’s trade and businesses that need better access to China’s biggest financial market,“ Compton added.
Northwest has proposed to serve the far smaller Detroit-Shanghai route, which it serves today via Tokyo after abandoning nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service previously, and American has proposed to serve the miniscule Dallas/Fort Worth-Beijing market while it eliminates other Asian service between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Osaka due to poor route economics.
Valuable, limited-entry rights should be awarded to benefit the most travelers and provide the biggest boost to U.S.-China trade, rather than to airlines which want to protect their dominant positions (United and Northwest) or airlines that propose service in small markets that would fail to remain viable for the long term (American and Northwest). Since the far-smaller Chicago market has already been given three daily nonstop flights to China, residents in the much larger New York/Newark market deserve a second daily frequency operated by the region’s only true hub airline, Continental.
Continental plans to operate the new Shanghai services beginning March 25, 2007.
Continental thanks all parties for their support of the airline’s application, including:
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
The New Jersey Parties
The Ohio Parties
The entire New Jersey Delegation
12 members of the Northern Ohio delegation
10 members of the Houston/Southeast Texas delegation
New York Governor Pataki
New Jersey Governor Corzine
Lt. Governor of Ohio Johnson
Continental's hub city mayors in New York City, Newark, Cleveland and
Houston
Mayors and airport officials from cities ranging from Amarillo and
Brownsville in Texas, to Shreveport and New Orleans in Louisiana, and to
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Madison, Wisc.
The Greater Houston Partnership
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey
New Jersey Business and Industry Association
Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
New Jersey Alliance for Action
Greater Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Partnership for New York City
New York City Economic Development Corp.
China Institute
Asian American Federation of New York
