Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 1:14PM

Continental Airlines announced this week that it intends to fly the very long range Boeing 787 Dreamliner jumbo jet from its hub in Houston to Auckland, New Zealand beginning September 16 of next year. Continental intends to fly one flight in each direction daily on weekdays. Development by Boeing of the eagerly anticipated aircraft has been delayed multiple times, but Continental chairman Jeff Smisek nevertheless expressed confidence in what the new route will do for the area around Continental’s current hub in Houston, Texas. Houston-Auckland and the return flight are not currently flown non-stop by any airline. The Boeing 787 Dreamliners used for the route (of which Continental has 25 on order) will have room for more than 200 passengers. This includes 36 flat-bed BusinessFirst class seats.

The airline that became Continental Airlines was formed in 1931, and flew its first passengers in 1934. In 2010, Continental approved a merger with United Airlines. If the move is approved by the United States Department of Justice, the new airline would be called United Airlines and would be based at United’s headquarters in Chicago. But according to the agreement, it would eventually be run by Continental management.

related stories

The United-Continental merger is not yet a sure thing (May 19, 2010)

United and Continental will probably merge (May 3, 2010)

original story (USA Today)