Continental Airlines is to add a third daily flight between London Heathrow and Newark New York next month.
The extra service will start on October 26 subject to government and slot approval.
But the Texas-based carrier said it would also end its flights from London second”s airport at Gatwick to New York and Houston from that date.
The airline said from October 26, it would operate two flights a day to Houston and three a day to New York from Heathrow.
Jim Compton, Continental”s executive vice president, said the focus on Heathrow was in response to customer demand.
”Our customers have shown a clear preference for Heathrow, and our main competitors have focused their operations there.
”We regret the need to end year-round operations at Gatwick, but it is imperative that we remain competitive and continue to meet the needs of our customers,” he said.
Continental said it would continue to operate non-stop services to Newark from Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, as well as Dublin and Shannon.
It would also code-share with Virgin Atlantic on several Virgin-operated flights from Heathrow and Gatwick.
Visit www.continental.com.
Stanley Slaughter
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