Continental Airlines and its wholly-owned subsidiary Continental Micronesia have submitted a joint application to the Department of Transportation to provide non-stop service from the carriers’ hubs in New York/Newark and Guam to Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

Continental and Continental Micronesia seek the route awards as part of a historic open skies agreement between the US and Japan, which is anticipated to come into force later this year. The open skies agreement would provide the US airline industry access to Haneda, with its close proximity to Tokyo’s CBD, for the first time in over 30 years.

“Continental again congratulates Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Transportation LaHood on securing rights for additional competitive US airline service to Japan,” said Jeff Smisek, Continental’s chairman, president and CEO. “We thank both the US and Japan negotiating teams for achieving this landmark agreement, which will benefit air travel and consumers for years to come.”

Both the New York and Guam hubs, two major gateways for passenger traffic to Tokyo, also provide convenient connecting opportunities for travel between Tokyo Haneda and numerous additional points.

The proposed non-stop service to Haneda would begin in late 2010, pending approval, and would use Boeing 777 aircraft from Continental’s New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, and Boeing 767-400 aircraft from Continental Micronesia’s hub at A. B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam.