New lie flat seat from Continental Airlines
Flights from Newark and Houston to Heathrow will feature new seat[August 1st 2008] 
Continental Airlines has unveiled a new 180-degree lie-flat seat for BusinessFirst customers which will be available on its Boeing 777 flights from Newark and Houston airports to Heathrow next year.
The new lie-flat seats provide 6 ½ feet (2 metres) of sleeping space in the fully extended position and measure 25 inches at their widest point. The seats are also said to offer more storage space for personal items, including under the ottoman, on a shelf under the monitor and in a storage alcove suitable for a book, magazine and water bottle.
“We created a brand-new seat designed to lie completely flat, without compromising functionality or effective use of cabin space,” explains Continental Airlines chairman and chief executive officer, Larry Kellner.
The lie-flat seats will be installed on Continental’s Boeing 777 aircraft, used mainly on transatlantic and trans-Pacific flights, from the autumn of next year. From 2010 the seats will also be fitted to the airline’s 757-200 fleet as well as to the new Boeing 787 Dreamliners as they are delivered.
Laptop power, headset and USB plugs are conveniently placed above passengers’ shoulders on the new seat, and iPod connectivity will also be available. On 777 and 787 aircraft the BusinessFirst seats will have a 15.4 inch video monitor for passengers to watch on-demand movies, music and games, while on 757 aircraft there will be 10.6 inch monitors.
Continental’s BusinessFirst has won several awards, including Best Executive/Business Class from 2003-07 in the Official Airline Guide (OAG) Awards. Condé Nast’s Traveller magazine has also rated BusinessFirst the best of all US airlines premium business classes on transatlantic and trans-Pacific flights for 10 years in a row.
OAG also presented Continental with the Best Airline in North America award at the 2008 OAG Airline of the Year Awards based on voting by frequent flyers. In its World’s Most Admired Companies 2008, Fortune magazine rated Continental as the top airline for the fifth consecutive year.
As well as flights from Newark and Houston airports to Heathrow, Continental also flies from Newark to Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Manchester airports.
Written by: Nick Purdom
Book your bed for the night before your flight at an Airport Hotel with the market leader Holiday Extras