Continental Micronesia adding Manila-Guam flights

SAIPAN – Continental Micronesia will be adding flight service for peak summer travel from Guam to Manila during Saturday mornings between June 6 and July 11. In a statement, Continental said the first additional flight will be at 7:10 a.m. on June 6 from Guam using CO893 and arrives in Manila at 8:50 a.m. On the same day and every Saturday thereafter, CO894 departs Manila at 10 a.m. and arrives in Guam at 3:40 a.m. David Kendell, Continental sales and marketing director, said the additional flight frequency is in response to customer demand and will enhance the packages offered through the summer holidays. Continental also operates daily evening service to Manila with a 155-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft. “The benefit of the extra flight service on Saturday morning is also to accommodate our customers who flow through to Southeast Asia destinations for their summer travel and for those who look to Manila as a weekend getaway," Kendell said. Due to the discontinued Continental flights to Manila from Guam’s neighbor, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) since July 2008, overseas Filipino workers in the CNMI with US visa have to fly via Guam before flying to Manila. Most OFWs in the CNMI with no US visa have to stop over in Korea or Tokyo for up to 10 or 12 hours before heading for Manila for another three hours of flight. Continental Micronesia, which marks its more than 40 years of service in Guam and Micronesia, is headquartered in Guam and operates a Pacific hub from the A.B. Won Pat International Airport. A wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, Continental Micronesia employs 1,400 men and women and offers more than 246 departures each week between 21 cities throughout the Pacific Rim, the Micronesian Islands and Hawaii with a fleet of 12 Next-Generation Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft. Continental Micronesia and its code share partner Cape Air also operate 86 weekly commuter service flights between Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). - Haidee Eurenion,GMANews.TV