Continental Airlines today
announced that the first of its Boeing 757-200 aircraft equipped with
Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets has entered revenue service.
The addition of the winglets, which replace the standard wingtip, enable
increased fuel efficiency and range. Continental is the first carrier to
add winglets to Boeing 757-200 aircraft. Installation of the 8 foot 2 inch tall winglets has been approved by the
Federal Aviation Administration after a stringent set of tests and
certifications.

The winglets, by reducing the amount of drag on the aircraft, are expected
to achieve up to a 5 percent fuel savings, as much as 300,000 gallons per
aircraft per year, and give the airplanes approximately 200 nautical miles
of additional range. Eleven of Continental’s 41 757-200 aircraft are
scheduled to be equipped with winglets this year.

“Modification of our Boeing 757-200 fleet is one of the most important
steps we can take to offset the incredible expense of fuel in today’s
record price environment and ensure we are flying the most efficient
aircraft in the industry,” said Mark Moran, Continental’s executive vice
president of Operations. “In addition, with the extended range of these
aircraft, we are now able to offer service to a number of cities that we
couldn’t reach with these planes before.”
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