Continental Airlines today announced it will begin daily nonstop service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 17, 2005. Puerto Rico’s third-largest city, Ponce will be Continental’s 26th Caribbean destination. Continental already offers daily nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from New York/Newark and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as daily nonstop service between New York/ Newark and Aguadilla.
The flight will depart Newark at 11:55 p.m., arriving in Ponce at 4:45 a.m. The return flight will depart Ponce at 6:15 a.m., arriving in Newark at 9:15 a.m. Continental will utilize a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the flight to Ponce, with seating for 14 passengers in First Class and 141 in Coach. (During off-peak season, Continental will operate the flight four times per week, using a Boeing 737-700 aircraft, with seating for 12 passengers in First Class and 112 in Coach.)

Continental’s Ponce service will complement existing Continental codeshare service to San Juan via Cape Air, which operates three daily flights between the two cities, providing Continental customers with additional connecting options. Cape Air also offers service to Mayaguez via San Juan.

Known as “La Perla del Sur” (pearl of the south), Ponce is located three miles from the south-central coast of the island. Ponce’s port is Puerto Rico’s principal shipping port and one of the busiest in the Caribbean area, handling distribution of tobacco, coffee, rum, and sugar cane. The heart of Ponce, dating from the late 17th century, has been declared a national treasure for its plazas, churches, decorative colonial homes and fountains.

Continental currently serves 18 Caribbean destinations from its international hubs in Houston and New York/Newark, and offers service to seven additional destinations in the Caribbean through Continental Connections codeshare flights.
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