US Continental Airlines Inc. said on Friday that it will start daily nonstop flights to China this summer.

Continental, the fifth biggest carrier in the United States, announced in Houston, Texas, that it has received final approval from the US Department of Transportation to provide the service to Beijing from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

It said that its first flight will take off on June 15 and tickets will soon be available through its Web site and other distribution channels.

At present, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Northwest Airlines Corp. already provide service to China. American Airlines is also planning to provide service from Chicago to Shanghai in April of next year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2005)