Continental Airlines

American, Delta, Lufthansa, US Airways and a few other airlines could take lessons from Continental Airlines when it comes to their offerings on transatlantic flights. I flew back to the US from Europe on Continental, and overall it was a great experience, especially when compared to my experiences on transatlantic flights with several other airlines.
Each and every seat on the plane had it’s own entertainment system for watching movies and TV programs on demand, playing games, etc. Also, each row on the plane had power outlets for charging cell phones and operating or charging laptops, portable DVD players, etc. The food was above average quality and the staff were very friendly. (one could tell by the caliber of the staff and the offerings on the plane that this was a Continental plane with a Continental crew, even though it now says «United» on the side following the recent and unfortunate merger). It was a bit disappointing to see that Continental is now charging $ 7 per glass of wine with dinner on transatlantic flights, as traditionally most every airline offered this perk for free on these hours long trips. Continental also used to provide a whole amenities kit to passengers on transatlantic flights, where they now only offer a pillow and blanket. Most likely another cutback that was instituted after the merger with United.
If I’d have taken this same flight with these amenities 2 or 3 years ago, I’d probably only have given Continental 3 stars. However, after seeing the reduction in services and amenities due to cost reductions and shoddy offerings from some of the other airlines I mentioned above, it seems Continental is actually much better than average. My only hope is that the Continental experience isn’t ruined completely due to their recent merger with United, as IMO Continental always went the extra mile, their prices were reasonable but their amenities were well above average (as evidenced by my comments in this review), where United was generally just average and overpriced.

Let me tell you about my trip to Connecticut…
Got to LAX 2 hours early (it was an 11:50pm flight), check my bags– which cost my $ 30– and then went to the gate to wait for my flight. My plane boards on time, but some moron decided to wander the airport and my flight ended up pulling away from the gate 30 minutes late. Not really the airlines fault, but if someone cant be bothered to get to the gate on time, then leave without them. Then as we are waiting in line to take off, the bathroom door falls off. One of the passengers is a handyman and says he can fix it, but do they listen? Nope, back to the gate and we loose our place in line. The door was fixed and we headed back to the end of the line before making it to the gate.
Finally we take off well over an hour late, and since I only had 1 hour between connecting flights, I start to panic… The stewartesses were rude when I mentioned that I had a connecting flight, and asked if we would make it in time. Finally we land with 5 minutes to spare. The people at the gate tell me where to find my connection– WRONG GATE! So I have to run all the way back down, past where my arrival gate was, to the real gate. I get there and my flights been delayed. I think, thank goodness… wrong again. The flight has been delayed 1 hour. I go get a coffee, use the restroom, and then come back. Flights been delayed another hour. When I go up to ask what time they think the plane will be leaving the guy says– «well the sign says 10:15, but it could be sooner or later than that. We arent really sure.» I am sure I don’t need to tell you what I thought of that. So I ask why and get told that they are waiting for the plane to finish inspection. Unfortunately for them, both my parents are pilots, so I know that planes get inspected well before they are going to take off. So I know there is something wrong with the plane. I go up to the counter to see about changing my flight. As I do that, they get the call that the flight is cancelled. So we all get sent to the Customer Service desk in the concourse. I don’t think you can find more incompetant people anywhere then the 2 ladies working at this desk. I walk up, tell them whats going on, they say the flight has not been officially cancelled yet, so they cant move my reservation and I have to wait. Then, as I walk away pissed off, they say «oh wait, it just got cancelled.» Then they tell me that they are putting me on the next flight to Hartford, and that it leaves in an hour. No problem, except the ticket they give me says it’s for the NEXT DAY! I complain and they say that the only other way to get to Hartford today would be to take the train. Okay, refund my ticket and I will take the train. Oh no, my ticket apparently doesn’t have any value if I cancel it, because it is a connecting flight… Huh???
Finally, a nice gentleman at the next representative offers to give me his seat on that day’s flight. YAY! Off I go.
Then, on my return flight, I check in and what do I get told. One or both of your flights may be oversold, so they will be asking for volunteers to take later flights… You have got to be kidding me. Fortunately, I did not have to take a later flight, but seriously Continental. YOU SUCK!

A star alliance one pass member & longtime customer no more. Continental, I’ve flown my last.
Missed a plane because of a fender-​bender en route to the airport. To change the ticket, a $ 150 change fee, plus the airfare difference, adding up to over $ 250. All that on top of an already $ 400-​something dollar round trip fare between LGA and Austin TX. See anything wrong with this picture, Continental? I do. No wonder you’re merging with the only other airline I can think of that’s shittier than you– the original rats of the skies, United. Hopefully you guys can have a lovely time together, charging your once loyal customers exorbitantly for flight changes due to extenuating circumstances. Oh! Not to mention the baggage fees, pet fees, for sale meals on 4+ hour flights… what’s next? Want me to tip the pilots? God knows I’d tip the agents if it would help their attitudes any. I think they must chain these «customer service» people to the phones and feed them the cold, leftover «angus» cheeseburgers they try to sell for $ 7 on flights.
Screw you guys.
or something like it from here on out. Never again.

I had never had a problem flying Continental. They were in the «OK» range of getting from point A to point B. My bags have never gone to the great luggage carousel in the sky, pretty reliable, and reasonable in price. However… after this past Wednesday they now rank somewhere in between the DMV and the bubonic plague.
I wanted to see my sister in law and since she is in Dallas and we are in very northeastern Pennsylvania it seemed that the fastest and easiest way to get her here was by one of those big flying machines. I was wrong.
Being excited about her trip the night before about 3am we were chatting on Facebook when she receives a text message that her plane to Newark that was supposed to take off in 3 hours had been delayed due to a «mandatory crew rest period». The new estimated time of departure would be about two hours later. This presented a problem since her connecting flight to Scranton, PA would have already left without her on it. She called the «customer care» number and after holding for 18 minutes told her that there was another connecting flight at 2:45. This gave her plenty of time (around 3hours) to peruse the fine facilities of the Newark Airport.
My husband and I set off for the Scranton Wilkes Barre Airport two and a half hours away to pick her up. 20 minutes before her flight was supposed to board the announcement was made that the 2:45 flight had been canceled, no reason, no explanation, just not gonna do it. She called us and shared the joyous news. We continued on our journey and called «customer care» to see if we could find out anything or make any other arrangements on our end. After 24 minutes on hold we were told that they had no explanation for the cancellation but there was another flight leaving at 9:00pm and she was put on standby on that one (6 hours from now).
We got to the airport and found a lady from the Continental ticket booth, relayed the happenings to her, and she said that the 9:00 flight was overbooked, the plane holds 37 people and they have 40 people booked so the 9:00 flight did not look like it would get her here either. They did have her confirmed on the 10am flight the next morning but since it was a «weather» cancellation and also a flight by one of their «commuter airlines» she would not get a hotel room, meal voucher, or anything else for her 24 hour delay.
The lady did suggest that we drive to Newark and pick her up there since it is only a 2 hour and 30 minute drive. So with very few options left we took a wonderful drive through the state of New Jersey and retrieved our very frustrated and exhausted sister. The five hour drive back was also wonderful. We can’t get a refund on the ticket since she was already confirmed on the flight the day and she didn’t show up to board the plane.
So thanks Continental for the lovely highway tour of the garden state, the hour of wonderful muzak while on hold, our $ 117.00 tank of gas, and the hour of kennel cleaning due to our 4 month old Basset puppy being in his kennel for 13 straight hours. You’re the BEST!

Decent. Not remarkable, but OK.
Their customer service line is lacking, though. The agents are not very warm. But I haven’t been traumatized either.
The nice thing about them is they fly everywhere, so I can use my miles and go someplace exotic. :-)

Knock on wood *
I’ve flown on CO 1139 from EWR to DFW, with a return on CO 1140 from DFW to EWR, every week for the past 14 weeks, and will continue to do so until goodness knows when.
For those keeping score, that’s approximately 97 hours on a plane, 31,808 miles, 56 Bloody Mary’s and astoundingly, *zero* cancellations, and only 2 incidences of flight delays.
For a legacy carrier, that’s fucking awesome.
* As a Star Alliance Gold member, I was not coerced or compensated for this review in any way… unless you count First Class as compensation. **
** Yes, I am smug about traveling First Class. I spend the majority of my free time in airports and airplanes and have earned the right to be an asshole.

Two of these things are not like the others,
Two of these things just don’t belong,
Can you tell which things are not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
#1 Wheat Bread
#2 Chicken Strips
#3 American Cheese
#4 Pesto
#5 Cream Cheese
Did you guess which things were not like the others? (#4)
Did you guess which things just don’t belong? (#5)
If you guessed the ones not like the others, (#1−5 smothered together)
Then you’re absolutely… right! (unless thy name is Continental)
More nightmarish than an Alice Waters & Bourdain lovechild, introducing a digestive Armageddon entitled: «Hot Sandwich Pesto Chicken.»
Bread Ingredients: whole wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, cracked wheat, wheat gluten, yeast, molasses, soybean oil, honey, calcium sulfate, wheat bran, cornstarch, wheat starch, dough conditioners, yeast nutrients, enzymes, enrichment, soy flour, soy lecithin.etc.
Forgive my ignorance but…
1. What is an «enrichment?»
2. «Dough conditioners?»
3. Does the fiber power of eight wheat products really make sense on a two restroom, six hour flight?
4. «Dried Basil» is to pesto as…
5. The FML printed on the label. Humor or warning?
6. Will I feel like an irate Kevin Smith on a Southwest flight after consuming said FML?
7. The innovative marriage of American cheese, pesto, cream cheese. American, Italian, or breakfast?
Continental, you’re still my favorite legacy carrier. The comical sandwich was brilliant, and your chocolate chip cookie (vegan? hilarious!) bumps you up to four stars.

Blows. Was just in Guatemala for 2 weeks (AMAZING)!. Continental, not so much. They lost the luggage going — so yes i wore my clothes for a few days in a row — and when it did arrive, they lost it going home after massive delays, attitude, and lies.
Continental — why do you do this to me???

Of all the legacy carriers, Continental is undoubtedly the best there is. I fly 30+ times per year and have flown all the biggies many times. No other worldwide major carriers come close to Continental.
In NYC (where I live), they fly from all three airports. Thankfully, they have very few flights from JFK and almost all are out of Newark (their second biggest worldwide hub). Flights from LGA are only to Houston and Cleveland — which are their two other main hubs — getting you where you need to go quickly.
OnePass, in my opinion (as a very frequent traveler) is the best frequent flier program out there. They make it super easy to earn miles (through dozens of merchants) and their usage structure is easy, straightforward, and because of their alliance (Star), you can always get a great deal with miles. Sorry, Delta, SkyMiles is impossible. With Continental, you can almost always get a domestic flight for 25K round trip if you book far enough in advance. They also make it easy to gain Elite status (if you fly enough). Continental also beats other airlines here because it is more likely you’ll be upgraded (because of the way their program is structured).
Continental is a bit behind on having things like on-​board wireless and in-​seat entertainment systems. This is especially noteworthy since their fleet is newer than other carriers. However, more recently many rows have in-​seat power and Direct TV.
Service. Continental’s isn’t something I can «rave» about… but it’s significantly better than other airlines. This includes on the phone, at the airport, and in the air. Their flight attendants are the friendliest in the skies and their agents are incredibly helpful over the phone. ***I’m going to take a moment here to say to everyone that if you call and you’re pissed/​acting like an ass hole, you’re probably not going to get good service. Stay calm/​be friendly and you’ll be AMAZED at how much better the service is.***
EWR (Newark). I would say 80% of this airport is Continental. HELL OF A lot easier to get to than JFK. It’s also more comfortable and has great dining/​shopping options for the frequent traveler and/​or the person who arrives way too early for their flight/​is delayed.
Their fleet is also clean and seemingly better maintained (on the interior) than others. One small complaint is that they tend to fly more 737s (smaller planes) on long hauls. Most airlines use 757s, etc for cross country – which have more room.
They also serve free meals on most flights STILL. Now, let’s not get too anxious. They’re things that are «steamed» in plastic bags such as: burgers, BBQ sandwich, chicken burritos, hot dog, calzone, etc. You also always get some lettuce (iceberg), and candy
Oh, and Continental is much more generous with their vouchers for over booked flights (situations where you hear them say «flight is overbooked, we’re looking for volunteers). For example, where Delta and American might offer a $ 300 voucher, you’ll often get $ 400 from Continental.
Coming from a very frequent flier… Continental is the best. Aside from jetBlue (who is amazing, but flies out of JFK – I don’t think so!! – and has select routes), they are my mainstay and I will remain loyal.

I LOVE Continental Airlines. I have used them for a very long time and have flown out of all three NYC-​area airports with them. Never disappointed. They rarely have delays, they are actually one of the very few airlines that serves you some food without charging extra for it, the staff is almost always friendly and courteous and they typically are one of the most reasonably priced airlines around. I have used them for international flights as well and they remain consistent. They also have improved by adding new planes to their fleet so you have way more elbow and leg room these days.
I have also flown with my dogs using Continental and they treated us with care. In fact one of the flight attendants allowed me to take my puppy out of his bag and let him rest on my lap.
An added plus is that they are now part of the Star Alliance group so you can earn even more frequent flyer miles using them. Next to Jetblue and Virgin America, I’d say they come in third as far as overall customer satisfaction. I am not saying they are perfect, as you can see from other reviews, experiences vary, but I personally have had nothing but positive ones and would recommend them.

My husband and I were flying into Beijing and out of Tokyo, and the only airline that did that direct was Continental out of Newark Airport. Their prices were also much cheaper than some of the other airlines that didn’t offer direct from JFK, so we took it in stride that it would be a trek to get out there.
We had no real issues with check-​in and the agents were not extremely helpful nor were they outright rude. I just chalk it up to the American flying experience.
The flight was uneventful and not full at all; my husband and I shared 3 seats. The seating is definitely a little cramped. They give you two «real» meals and a snack that was a cheeseburger and ice cream. Um, I’ve never had a cheeseburger NOR ice cream on a plane, so this scored real big for me.
On the way back, I tried to ask about upgrades (whether they were available, how much, if we could possibly use points) at the counter and I was totally and rudely rebuffed with a «Not unless you are willing to pay $ 2000». These customer service reps were just chatting with each other (loudly) about whatever it was that interested them at the moment, and the one that answered me made me feel like i was bothering her by asking her to do her job. Give me a break… there is NO WAY an upgrade costs $ 2000… and you didn’t even look in your system!!! This was the biggest glitch we experienced with our flight, so I guess you could say it’s minor compared to some of the other disasters that people have reported.
Our flight back was VERY bumpy… there was turbulence for 16hrs straight… so much so that I wanted to throw up and my husband couldn’t even stomach the food.
I would probably fly Continental in the future, but the price would definitely have to be very good for the trek to Newark.

This past week, my husband and I vacationed in Ireland. We are from Pittsburgh and flew round trip from PIT-​SNN. The PIT-​NWK leg of our trip was on a subsidiary airline, Colgan Air. The remainder of our flight was on Continental.
You know, with air travel these days, you have to take the good with the bad. Once you lower your expectations, you’ll do alright. Continental got us there in one peice, and on-​time in both directions. Can you ask for anything more these days?
As for the flight itself, it was cramped in coach. I’m 5′ 6″ and medium build and I felt hemmed in. I come from a family of 6-​footers, including a female cousin who’s 6′ 1″ and even my mother is 4″ taller than I. I often wonder how they do it in coach, especially on a trans-​Atlantic flight.
Believe me, I am not comfortable flying overnight. The flight went okay, but we arrived in Shannon early (7am). I was out of it the rest of the day. Plus, being a type-​1 diabetic, my eating times have to be somewhat regimented. Once my body clock gets thrown off, I can be a crabby, cranky b — t — h!
All in all, my flight experience was «eh».

Outside of JetBlue and Virgin America, Continental is probably the best. It definitely is the best of the legacy carriers.
Even if you are non elite frequent flyer, you can check in 24 hours ahead of time and get an emergency row or bulkhead in coach on most every flight. Check out
before you fly and get the best available.
They serve food on flights in coach still (for free). Of course, the food wouldn’t get a 5 star rating on Unilocal,but it’s not as terrible as you might think. and it surely beats having to smell the dude that brings on McDonalds in 24B.
Since I moved to NYC, I’ve been flying Continental more and more. I find Newark to be the easiest to get to (from midtown and UWS) and have never had any problems with them. wait, they did lose my check bag once but got it to me very quickly, those things happen, no big deal.

You can keep your meal, or what you call a beef-​and-​swiss sub. On further review, it looked more like a sick sausage patty on a glossy, flaccid roll. I didn’t see anyone put it anywhere near their mouth. The brown iceberg salad sure was good though. The 12 M&Ms were a genuine pleasure. Seriously. After the rest.
Drillbit Taylor was the entertainment on the six-​inch screen eight feet in front of me. Are we really that infantile? When will people start getting offended by inane movies absent of overt controversy? I blame the Christians.
Dumber and fatter: that’s how they want you to arrive at your destination. Must be based in Houston.

Of all the legacy carriers, Continental is my favorite for cross-​country and international travel:
–Great business class (BusinessFirst) — comfy seats, great amenities and good food (really)
–Excellent frequent flier program — fly with them often and you’ll be rewarded with free upgrades, priority boarding and preferred seating (love the emergency row aisle seats when sitting in coach)
–Pillows, blankets and peanuts!
–President’s Club lounge is the perfect place to unwind after going through security and check email, have a draft beer or simple cocktail (free) and catch up on reading before your flight.
–Big planes when flying cross country, to Houston (their main hub) or internationally — love flying on the Peter Max painted 777!

I have to disagree with the lovely, talented and recently engaged Victoria and Snarky.
Continental is my favorite airline. I recognize that is not saying much since all airlines suck «two girls one cup» level ass these days.
But at least Continental still feeds me and their planes are relatively clean. Also, they have more over-​head space than their peers. My regulation size carry on actually fits the way it’s supposed to (ya know, ass end in first).
Maybe it harkens back to my time in Texas, but for me, Continental is the best of the worst.

I am really not a fan of habitual two hour delays.
I am really irritated by my slender frame, being squished into the smallest seats they can get away with.
I am ridiculously bored by their lack of (good) in-​flight entertainment.
Continental — you suck.
half star for getting me to my destination… eventually. half star for ease of check in. and one star for being partners with my worldperks frequent flier deal.

I’ve flown quite a few airlines in my bi-​coastal life throughout Asia, Europe, and the SouthWest corridor, and I’ve never had a chance to fly Continental. This is also the first time I flew out of Newark Airport.
Newark is a different review, but Continental was a dream. I checked in self serve fast, the security check was quick, and I had an entire row to myself on my non-​stop flight to LA. I liked the movies they chose were Spider Man and Fantastic 4, really easy to understand without headsets and easy to digest, making the trip both ways fun and fast.
oh, and they served me BREAKFAST, unlike United, who used to be cool, who now gives snack packs. ick!
Yay Continental!