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Don't Blow Your Summer / Fall Vacation! Continental Airlines Vacations' New Hurricane Policy Offers Ultimate Flexibility for Safeguarding Travel & Time Off

Posted on: Thursday, 15 June 2006, 12:00 CDT

Continental Airlines Vacations today announced the launch of its new hurricane policy. Offering the ultimate flexibility to better safeguard consumer purchases of vacation packages to Mexico, the Caribbean and Florida during the 2006 summer/fall period, the hurricane policy enables Continental Airlines Vacations customers to change their travel plans without penalty well in advance of a storm affecting their choice destination, thereby limiting the loss of hard-earned vacation time.

The hurricane policy goes into effect once a hurricane watch is issued by the National Hurricane Center. Typically, penalties and change fees are waived only when a hurricane is imminent, airports are closed and flights have been cancelled.

With more time to reassess their travel plans, Continental Airlines Vacations customers have ample opportunity to re-book their vacations to other destinations, while retaining their original dates of travel. The full cost of the original vacation package is applied toward travel to the customer's choice of any of the 250+ worldwide destinations included in the Continental Airlines Vacations product line, insuring the original vacation investment.

Steve Tipsword, general manager of Continental Airlines Vacations, commented on the new policy, stating: "We understand that your vacation time is very valuable and we want to make sure that you get to take and enjoy every minute of it. So, instead of making you wait until a storm has blown your vacation before allowing you to make changes, we're giving you extra time that can be the difference between living your dream vacation, or being stuck at home."

For travelers with their heart set on potentially affected destinations, the hurricane policy also makes it easy to safeguard your vacation investment while taking a wait and see approach. Customers have up to 21 days from the start of their original travel dates to change their vacation plans with no penalties. Re-accommodated travel must commence within 45 days from the start of original travel dates.

The hurricane policy covers all Continental Airlines Vacations packages booked for travel throughout the entire north Atlantic hurricane season -- June 1, 2006 and November 30, 2006. Only Continental Airlines Vacations customers whose travel dates fall within the period during which a hurricane watch or warning remains in effect for their choice of destination are eligible for protection under the policy.

To make changes, customers must contact Continental Airlines Vacations via phone at Tel: 1-800-634-5555.

Vacation Protection Plan

Continental Airlines Vacations offers the ultimate travel protection with its Vacation Protection Plan. An optional feature available for an additional fee on all Continental Airlines Vacations packages, the Vacation Protection Plan allows travelers to cancel travel plans up to the moment of departure for virtually any reason with the guarantee of a full refund of the package price, minus the cost of the Vacation Protection Plan.

"No one has to remind us how nerve-wracking hurricane season can be," Tipsword added. "The combination of our hurricane policy and our Vacation Protection Plan provides true peace of mind with the ultimate protection by securing your investment in your hard-earned vacation and your time."

For more information on the hurricane policy, visit http://www.covacations.com/hurry.

For more information on the Vacation Protection Plan, visit http://www.covacations.com/terms.aspx.

Continental Airlines Vacations offers extensive vacation options to Mexico, the Caribbean and Florida.

Mexico

As Continental Airlines is the number one U.S. carrier to Mexico with more flights to more destinations throughout Mexico than any other U.S. airline, Continental Airlines Vacations offers one of the largest Mexico product lines in the vacation package industry. In 2005, four new destinations were added -- Guadalajara, Merida, Mexico City and Oaxaca -- bringing the operator's total number of destinations throughout Mexico to 16.

Caribbean

Continental Airlines Vacations' Caribbean product line features value-priced packages to 10 of the region's hottest destinations -- Antigua, Aruba, The Bahamas, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Martin/St. Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Florida

Whether it's the sizzle of South Beach nightlife, the laid-back charm of Florida's Gulf Coast, or the family fun of Orlando, Continental Airlines Vacations covers the entire State of Florida. Destinations include Daytona, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Area (Fort Myers, Marco Island, Naples and Sanibel Island), Miami and South Beach, Palm Beach, Sarasota, Tampa Area (Busch Gardens and Tampa Bay, Clearwater and St. Petersburg) and the Florida Keys.

About Continental Airlines Vacations (http://www.covacations.com)

With more than 250 destinations and a wide variety of specialty programs covering such niche activities as skiing and scuba diving, Continental Airlines Vacations offers one of the most dynamic vacation package programs in the travel industry. Backed by exceptional service aboard Continental Airlines, named Airline of the Year in 2005 and 2004 by OAG, Continental Airlines Vacations packages include round-trip air transportation, hotel accommodations, ground transportation and a choice of amenities. Continental Airlines Vacations is operated by Certified Vacations Group, Inc. Through this relationship, Continental Airlines Vacations is a member of the United States Tour Operator Association (USTOA) $1 Million Traveler's Assistance Program and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA).

Source: Business Wire

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