United Continental adding flights to Florida

United Continental Holdings Inc. said on Wednesday that its Continental Airlines unit will begin daily flights from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla., and between Denver and Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 17.

The new flights are in addition to existing Continental flights to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach from New York, Houston, and Cleveland.

United Continental runs United and Continental airlines, and is combining them into a single carrier that will eventually fly under the United Airlines name. The new flights to Florida will be operated by Continental, but they're leaving from United hubs in Chicago and Denver.

United Continental shares rose a penny to $27.19 in afternoon trading.