The only airline to fly to the US from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, Continental offers free non-alcoholic drinks, but there is a charge for non-alcoholic beer. All spirits, beer, wine and liqueurs are charged at $5. Even though Continental aims to compete with the lowest cost airlines, it remains committed to offering full in-flight catering. You can order a variety of specialist meals, including vegetarian. There are also seat back TVs on all flights.

Continental 'code shares' with Virgin, which means that you might well end up on a Virgin flight either for the full flight, or - if appropriate - a connecting flight within the UK or US.