The Hindu Business Line : Continental mulls non-stop US flights from 4 Indian cities

The US-based Continental Airlines, the world's fourth largest airline, is examining the option of launching non-stop flights between the US and several cities around the globe including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

"While the airline would look to expand into India, we do not have any announcement to make at the moment. The airline, however, is exploring options all around the globe for what can be done with the Boeing 787 aircraft that it will receive in 2009," said Mr James J. Summerford, Vice-President (Europe, Middle East and India), Continental.

"The aircraft would be the platform for us to do extensive expansion of our international routes."

The airline, which has just completed one year of non-stop services between New York and Delhi, has said that the route has exceeded all expectations.

"We are thrilled to have made the decision to launch the service. It has exceeded expectations on several fronts, be it in revenue generated or the mix of the passengers carried," said Mr Summerford.

Officials indicated that with non-stop flights between the US and different parts of the world being the hallmark of the airline, it was unlikely that Continental would look to launch flights that would stop en route before reaching here.

On whether the airline would look to add a second daily flight on the existing route to India, officials said that it was unlikely. "Adding a second flight will hurt our profitability. However, this does not mean that we will not look at this option in the future," Mr Summerford said.

"We will continue to build this route, which has seen demand growing on a month-on-month basis."