Ever ridden in a helicopter? If you are flying Continental into Newark and have to go into Manhattan, they offer a special $45. helicopter fare from Newark into Manhattan, which is about the same as a cab.

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced a promotional $45 one-way fare for US Helicopter service between its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Manhattan. The discounted fare is available for a limited time to economy-class customers traveling on select fares to or from Liberty.

In addition, for a limited time, Continental is offering complimentary helicopter service between Liberty and Manhattan to customers traveling on first-class and full-fare economy tickets.

The special offer is effective immediately for tickets purchased on or after Sept. 1 for travel through Oct. 31, 2008. Customers previously ticketed to travel within these dates may add the US Helicopter service at the discounted fare. No advance purchase is required. The promotional fare does not include passenger facility charges of up to $18 per segment, Sept. 11 security fee of up to $5 each way or Federal excise tax of $3.50 per segment. For reservations or additional information go to continental.com or call 1-800-523-FARE.

Continental currently offers complimentary US Helicopter service between Liberty and Manhattan to BusinessFirst customers traveling between Liberty and Europe, Asia, Tel Aviv, Delhi, Mumbai, Brazil and Argentina.

US Helicopter flights operate hourly, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. connecting Continental's Terminal C at Liberty to the Downtown Manhattan Heliport near Wall Street and the East 34th Street Heliport in Midtown Manhattan with an eight minute-travel time. US Helicopter customers receive TSA security clearance at the New York heliports before departure and arrive at Gate C-71 inside the secure area at Liberty. The service also provides convenient check-in, with boarding passes and baggage check to the final destination. More information on US Helicopter is available at www.flyush.com.