Continental Airlines is to launch daily nonstop flights between its Houston hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and through flight service between New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro beginning in August. Continental plans to operate the daily service using a Boeing 767-200 aircraft, with 25 seats in BusinessFirst and 149 seats in economy.

Flight CO129 will depart Houston at 9:15 p.m. arriving in Rio de Janeiro at 9:15 a.m. the next day. The return flight CO128 will depart Rio de Janeiro at 9:45 p.m. and arrive in Houston the following morning at 6:00 a.m.

The nonstop flight will be timed to offer convenient flight connections at Continental’s Houston hub to cities throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.

“This new flight links important energy centers with convenient nonstop service,” said John Slater, staff vice president Latin America and Caribbean. “It also provides the most direct routing from numerous western points being that it is the only nonstop flight between Houston and Rio west of the Mississippi.”

The airline currently operates daily nonstop services between Continental’s New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport and between Houston and São Paulo, with continuing service to Rio de Janeiro.
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