CONTINENTAL Airlines has expanded its European Rewards Programme for frequent flyers to include regional options for travellers flying to and from Manchester.
The programme, open to members of OnePass, the airline’s frequent-flyer scheme, offers extra benefits to business travellers including vouchers for travel, accommodation, restaurants, theatre tickets or duty-free merchandise.
Several Manchester options have been added, including the Manchester Posthouse, Posthouse Manchester Airport, Le Meridien Victoria and Albert and the Manchester Marriott Country Club. The airline has also extended the range of its chauffeur-driven service for business passengers from 50 to 100 miles radius of Manchester Airport until December 31.
The service gives passengers free door-to-door transfers from their homes or office as well as chauffeur-driven transfers on arrival in the US.
Alternatively, business travellers who want to drive their own cars to Manchester Airport can have free valet parking service for up to seven days or overnight hotel accommodation.
Continental sales manager for north of England and the midlands Rob Pollard said the number of business passengers using transatlantic services from the UK has grown by one-third in the last 12 months, although he refused to give specific figures.
The airline’s daily service from Manchester and New York has carried the highest number of business travellers of any of Continental’s routes outside London. In September, the airline replaced its DC10 aircraft on its Manchester and Gatwick-New York and Newark routes with bigger Boeing 777s.
Pollard said:”The introduction of Boeing 777s is a major boost to transatlantic services, in particular in Manchester where there are no other transatlantic 777s.
“We are constantly revising our BusinessFirst service and our regional options in order to keep ahead of competition.”