United Continental Suspend Operations at New York Area Airports Due to Hurricane Irene

CHICAGO, Aug. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines and Continental Airlines will suspend flight operations beginning Saturday, August 27 at their New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport in anticipation of severe weather conditions caused by Hurricane Irene. The airlines are also suspending regional service, which include flights operated as United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, at these airports. The airlines plan to resume operations at these airports on Monday morning, August 29.

United and Continental will also suspend operations at the following airports on Saturday, August 27:

• Raleigh-Durham, NC
• Richmond, VA
• Norfolk, VA

The airlines also plan to suspend operations on Sunday, August 28 at the followings airports:

• White Plains, NY
• Boston, MA
• Hartford, CT
• Providence, RI
• Portland, ME
• Manchester, NH
• Albany, NY

The airlines plan normal mainline operations at all their other domestic hubs, including Washington Dulles International Airport.

Flight Cancellations

Due to the approach of Hurricane Irene, United and Continental have pre-canceled about 2,300 flights for August 27 and August 28.

Checking Flight Status and Changing Travel Plans

Customers on flights to, from or through the affected areas through August 30, may reschedule their itinerary with a one-time date or time change, and airlines will waive the change fees.  Customers may request a refund in the original form of payment for canceled flights. Complete details and eligible travel dates are available at united.com and continental.com.

The fastest and most convenient way to change travel plans is via united.com or continental.com. Customers should continue to manage their reservations on the respective carrier's website from which they purchased their ticket.  Customers may also book a new reservation, change an existing reservation or check flight status by calling United Reservations at 800-UNITED-1 or Continental Reservations at 800-525-0280 or their travel agent.

About United Continental Holdings, Inc.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Together with United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, these airlines operate an average of 5,765 flights a day to 377 airports on six continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark Liberty, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. United and Continental are members of Star Alliance, which offers more than 21,200 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries. United and Continental's more than 80,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. For more information about United Continental Holdings, Inc., go to UnitedContinentalHoldings.com. For more information about the airlines, see united.com and continental.com or follow on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.