Following its flight service from New York to Hong Kong and Beijing, the world's fifth largest airline, Continental Airlines, has announced it will launch another daily nonstop flight between Shanghai and New York from March 26.

At a time when major carriers around the world are reeling from runaway fuel costs and deteriorating profits, Continental's move comes as other US airlines have decided to postpone their highly coveted routes to China.

Mark A. Erwin (right), president of the Asia-Pacific region for Continental Airlines Inc, tells China Daily reporter Qian Yanfeng how Continental is coping with volatile fuel costs in the current economic downturn and sheds light on the market potential of the Asia-Pacific region for propelling new growth opportunities.