Stuttgart will be the fifth German city to be served by the new United, formed last year by the merger of Continental and United Airlines. The new United is the US carrier to Germany in terms of both seat capacity and number of flights.

Continental already serves Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich from New York/Newark and Frankfurt from its Houston hub, while United serves Frankfurt from its Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C hubs and Munich from Chicago and Washington D.C.

The New York/Newark-Stuttgart service will be operated by Boeing 757-200 aircraft, featuring 175 seats - 16 in businessfirst and 159 in economy.

The new flights have been conveniently timed to connect at Stuttgart to key Star Alliance partner markets such as Vienna, Austria, and Hanover, Germany.

The new flights will offer Continental's BusinessFirst service. By the time of the launch, all Continental 757-200 aircraft are expected to feature new, flat-bed seats, which are being installed on all 757-200 aircraft with completion scheduled for end of May 2011.

The new seat, reclining 180-degrees and providing six and one half feet of sleeping space in the fully extended position, is one of the widest business-class seats in the air, measuring up to 25 inches when the adjustable armrest is positioned flush with the seat cushion. Electronic controls enable customers to easily move the seats to the custom position most comfortable for them.

The seat's features include laptop power, headset and USB plugs conveniently tucked above the customer's shoulder, iPod connectivity, a 15.4-inch video monitor and a privacy shell that allows for seclusion from other travelers.

Other BusinessFirst amenities include gourmet menus and award-winning wines and champagnes. A specially selected and trained corps of Concierges provides individualized pre-flight and post-flight services for BusinessFirst customers at 35 key international airports worldwide.

John Slater, vice president of sales of for Americas at United, said: “We are excited about expanding our German route network further, and we are confident that it will be a success, even in this fuel environment, as we are providing the only non-stop link between New York and Stuttgart. “This new service, supported by our trans-Atlantic joint venture partners Lufthansa and Air Canada, will give customers more flight options on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Will the new service enhance customer service of the airline?

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