Continental Airlines will start offering direct flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Cancun this Saturday, marking the first time two airlines fly to the Mexican resort town from RDU airport.
Continental will fly to and from Cancun every Saturday, mirroring the schedule in place for Delta Airlines. Continental will celebrate its inaugural flight to Cancun with a live mariachi band playing at the Continental ticket counter in Terminal 2.
Airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin said Continental's new flight is an economic decision.
"If they have confidence in the market they will add service," said RDU spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin.
RDU officials also said today that they saw an increase in passengers in January and a 1.5 percent boost in passengers in 2010 over 2009.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or