HOUSTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) will launch daily nonstop flights Sunday, Nov. 1, to three new destinations from its Houston hub at George Bush Intercontinental Airport: Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Edmonton International Airport (YEG).

Houston - Frankfurt

The new service to Frankfurt will be operated with Boeing 767-400ER aircraft, seating 35 passengers in BusinessFirst and 200 passengers in economy. Flights will depart Houston daily at 6:55 p.m., arriving in Frankfurt at 11:45 a.m. the next day. The return flights will depart Frankfurt daily at 1:50 p.m., arriving in Houston at 6:15 p.m. the same day.

"We are pleased to further expand our network of service from Houston by linking our largest hub to Frankfurt, the largest hub of Lufthansa, our new Star Alliance partner," said Jeff Smisek, Continental's president and chief operating officer. "This new flight complements Lufthansa's existing Houston-Frankfurt service, and is a good example of the benefits that Star Alliance will bring to our customers. Now our customers have twice-a-day nonstop service between Houston and Frankfurt on which they can earn and redeem OnePass miles, receive elite level recognition and enjoy all the other benefits or our new membership in Star Alliance. Continental's and Lufthansa's flights together offer customers more travel options to Frankfurt and many additional points in Europe, Asia and Africa via convenient connections at Lufthansa's hub."

Frankfurt joins London, Paris and Amsterdam as the fourth European city served nonstop by Continental from Houston. Continental also operates flights to Frankfurt, as well as two additional cities in Germany - Berlin and Hamburg - from its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Houston - Washington Dulles

The flights to Washington Dulles International Airport will provide customers with increased connecting opportunities between Continental and its Star Alliance partner, United, which has an international hub at Dulles.

Continental Express service from Houston will be operated by ExpressJet using an Embraer regional jet aircraft with 50 seats. The flights from Houston will depart at 7:25 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 6:50 p.m. Return flights will depart Washington, D.C. at 6:05 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:35 p.m.

New service to Washington Dulles from Continental's hub at Cleveland will also begin on Nov. 1.

Houston - Edmonton

The daily service to Edmonton will be operated using a Boeing 737-500 aircraft with 114 seats. The flights will depart Houston at 6:00 p.m. and arrive at Edmonton at 9:25 p.m. Return flights will depart Edmonton at 6:40 a.m. and arrive in Houston at 11:56 a.m.

Edmonton is the 11th Canadian destination served by Continental and the fourth served from the Houston hub. Other nonstop destinations in Canada from Houston are Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.

Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,400 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 130 domestic and 132 international destinations. Continental is a member of Star Alliance, which provides access to more than 900 additional points in 169 countries via 24 other 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.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this 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.

SOURCE Continental Airlines