PRNewswire-FirstCall HOUSTON Nov. 10 :

Continental Airlines has expanded its “Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the
Future” partnership with Upward Bound, adding Miami- and Chicago-based
projects to the list of educational programs that will receive airline
tickets for Hispanic high school students and their parents to make
college visits.

Upward Bound programs at Florida International University in Miami and at
Columbia College in Chicago will participate in “Volando al Futuro” during
academic year 2003-2004, joining programs in Houston, New York City, San
Antonio, and Los Angeles. Upward Bound is designed to prepare low-income
first-generation college-bound students for the college experience.

Last year 12 Hispanic Upward Bound participants and 12 parents or teachers
received the “Volando al Futuro” Continental tickets to visit distant
campuses to evaluate whether they wanted to leave their hometowns to go to
college. All of the students later enrolled in the colleges they visited.

“Our students sometimes give up their college dreams because their parents
are concerned about their moving away from the family,” said Sofia
Santiesteban, Director, Upward Bound, Florida International University,
Miami. “Hispanic families tend to be very close. Continental`s `Volando al
Futuro` program gives parents a greater sense of comfort about their
children`s college experience.”

Upward Bound program offices are located on college campuses or in
community organizations. In addition to the Miami and Chicago partners,
Continental`s “Volando al Futuro/Flying Toward the Future” program will
work with Upward Bound programs at the following locations during the
2003-2004 academic year: Houston Community College, Houston, Texas;
Columbia University, New York City; Trinity University, San Antonio,
Texas; TELACU, Los Angeles, Calif.; and the Latin American Youth
Center/George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Upward Bound
administrators determine the selection process for the Continental tickets.

“`Volando al Futuro` makes it possible for high-achieving young Hispanic
students to experience a world of educational opportunities they otherwise
might not have had,” said Maria Cristina Osorio, Manager of Public
Relations, Latin America, Continental Airlines.

Continental Airlines, the second-largest U.S. airline to Latin America and
the Caribbean in passengers and destinations, operates daily nonstop
flights for approximately 530 departures a week to 50 cities in 22
countries in those regions. Continental flies to 21 business and leisure
destinations in Mexico—more than any other U.S. airline—and to eight
destinations in Central America, seven in South America, and 14 in the
Caribbean. “Latinization,” Continental`s specialized service to
Spanish-speaking passengers, includes Spanish-speaking flight attendants
on most flights to Latin America; Spanish safety videos on select flights;
and Spanish-language newspapers, magazines, TV programs and music.
Continental has bilingual customer service representatives, signage and
flight information in airports, and eTicket machines have a
Spanish-language screen. In the U.S., passengers can make reservations in
Spanish (1-800-537-9222) and call an automated Spanish- language line for
up-to-date flight arrival, departure and gate information
(1-800-579-3938). The continental.com Web site includes Spanish-language
functions including Flight & Gate Information and OnePass frequent flyer
program enrollment. Continental has been listed in HISPANIC Magazine`s
“Corporate 100 Providing the Most Opportunities for Latinos” for six
consecutive years.
Continental Airlines is the world`s seventh-largest airline with more than
2,200 daily departures to 127 domestic and 96 international destinations
throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. With hubs serving New York,
Houston, Cleveland and Guam, the airline carries approximately 41 million
passengers per year. For more company information, visit continental.com.

——-