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Stephen Seawright

United States-based Continental Airlines will launch the first non-stop flights between Hong Kong and New York in March, taking at least two hours off the route's flying time.

'Hong Kong is the largest market from New York which is currently without a scheduled non-stop service, and it is clear most travellers prefer non-stop [flights],' Continental's senior vice-president of corporate development, David Grizzle, said.

'As New York's hometown airline, we're very pleased to link two of the world's leading business centres.'

Flying time from Hong Kong to New York will be about 15 hours and 40 minutes while the return journey will be 16 hours and 30 minutes.

The move by the US carrier was expected to force Cathay Pacific Airways to speed up the introduction of a similar service, analysts said.

Cathay Pacific is drawing up plans to introduce a similar service, but the carrier has yet to set a timetable for its launch.

'Our own plans for the route are being developed,' a Cathay spokesman said.

Cathay Pacific's flights to New York have to transit Vancouver.

'It is going to be a bit of a call to arms,' said Lehman Brothers analyst Philip Tulk of Continental's new service.

Warburg Dillon Read airlines analyst Timothy Ross said: 'It's a very compelling service so I can't imagine that Cathay will be dragging its heels.'

Continental Airlines said it expected most of the passengers on the route to come initially from New York because the carrier was not well known in Hong Kong.

'Initially, a disproportionate number of passengers will come out of New York,' Mr Grizzle said.

The flight path of the new service will be over the ice caps near the North Pole where airspace has been opened up by regulators in recent years.

Continental will operate the service with Boeing 777-200 aircraft carrying 48 passengers in the Business First cabin and 235 in coach.

The shorter route plus the longer flying capabilities of the Boeing 777 aircraft have made the non-stop flight between the two cities feasible.

Continental operates a hub in New York City using the centrally located Newark International Airport.

The airline is the sixth-largest in the world.

It carried almost 19.5 million passengers to and from New York last year.

Cathay said it planned to acquire new aircraft for the expansion of its routes.

'We haven't confirmed purchase of any of these, [and] we won't be having any deliveries in the next year,' the spokesman said.

Cathay may launch a non-stop service to New York before it acquires the new aircraft, but may not run it all year as the service would not be economically viable.

The airline had one commercial flight directly to New York as part of a promotion on the opening of the airport at Chek Lap Kok in July 1998.

In May, Cathay flew a one-off direct commercial flight to Toronto.



Continental lands SAR first in non-stop New York service