Connecting through Newark - Continental

[DisneyRookie2007]

Anyone with some experiencing connecting through Newark using Continental Airlines?

This is our 1st time using a US carrier and connecting in the USA - so we are kinda nervous.

Also, we are flying from Moncton (which is supposed to be considered an International Airport ) - so would we clear customs here or in Newark?

Thanks for any speedy replies.............we leave tomorrow morning !!

 

[Applemomma]

I'd be interested to know what Newark is like too...we're thinking of Continental for our trip because the arrival times in Orlando are afternoons....don't want to be getting my rental car in the dark.

We leave from Halifax and would clear customs in Halifax....another advantage to flying straight to the States instead of TO...but not sure if Moncton has customs or not.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I'm lurking here too ....

 

[MikeyNS]

I have never done Newark, but several family members have.
If you're flying from an airport that clears US customs (Halifax. Not sure about Moncton) then you just leave the plane and change gates (not terminals) in Newark. Lots of little shops and restaurants. Pretty easy airport to get around I guess.

The only problem is travelling in winter can get dicey. I've had several of the same family members stuck in Newark for a day because of snowy conditions, and because there aren't a lot of flights from Newark to Halifax or Moncton it can be difficult to get a seat; but that wouldn't discourage me from flying. Now that they are a member of star alliance and I can get aeroplan points I'll be flying with them if their prices are better than AC. I'd rather clear customs in Halifax anyways!

 

[YukiPhnx]

I'm pretty sure that if you don't clear through customs in your departing airport, you'll be going through it when you reach MCO for sure.

 

[Tinkershelly]

Moncton doesn't have US Customs pre-clearance so when you reach Newark you must clear customs first. That means that you will fill out the declaration form that the flight attendant gives you on the plane. When you land in Newark you will follow the crowd to customs and immigration which may be in a different terminal that you land in. You will then have to claim your checked baggage and recheck it. There won't be any options to get lost so just follow the crowd and don't go through any locked doors and you will be ok. Before Halifax had pre-clearance I did this many times and didn't miss a connection once so don't worry. At that time we also had to go through security again after customs but I'm not sure about this now.

From Halifax the planes arrive in terminal A, you leave the plane and board a shuttle bus for terminal C. This bus shuttles between the terminals through regular gates so there isn't a need to go through security again, saving a lot of time. Right now Continental will allow a connection time of 45 minutes so they think this works well, but I have never tried to push it that close, usually we try to have about 1.5 hours for connections.

Terminal A has very little retail or food options in it so spend most of your time in terminal C, very large and many options. There are maps posted on the official Newark airport website with a list of shops and restaurants. Terminal A doesn't have a duty free shop, or at least didn't have one in October, so you won't be able to purchase anything duty free for your return to Canada. I checked with the duty free shop in terminal C, but they aren't allowed to transfer purchases to terminal A, which sucks.

Newark and Continental is my preferred way to travel to Orlando during the off-season when I can't get a direct flight. Good luck and if you have any more questions I'd be happy to give them a go.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Thanks!

 

[Applemomma]

I'm starting to like the idea of COntinental more and more...does anyone use "OnePass" ? Does it give you a heads up about seat sales or is it only a frequent flyer program?

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I've signed up for onepass .... but i haven't seen any benefits yet. Don't fly until March

 

[M&M mom]

We are flying out of Moncton on Continental, with a connection in Newark. This will be our first time flying to Orlando from Canada. We always drive to Bangor and fly from there. I am really nervous about it!!! Finding baggage claim, clearing customs and finding our connecting flight.
I have never used Continental before but my friends flew out of Halifax with them last year and really had a huge problem. When they got to the airport they were told that there weren't any seats for them. They overbooked!!! I'm not sure of all the details, my memory isn't the best but I know it was a big problem. On a positive note Continental did give them all free flights for this year. Anyone else have this happen to them flying with Continental? The stress of trying to get to Disney!!!

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

tinkershelley covered it all i think. we went via them inspetember/october. i wasnt a fan of the gate check peeps who wouldnt help us with our seats being split up. plane was a puddle jumper- one seat and then two on the other side. we had 17 a 18 a and 18 b and c. so we stuck the kids together for safety reasons. we landed in a, and walked forever after going to terminal c. we found the gate, changed the kids and boom time to load onto the plane. just be careful of your connections. and make sure you double check as newark is continnetals hub and will change things quite often. i booked our trip down last week, within hrs i got a flight change time out of hali. my ta says theyve been doing that a lot lately. this is working in our favour tho, extra time at gates.

we had to pay for headsets both down and back. snack ws a banana muffin, ick, and then meal from newark to orlando was a roll with lunch meat, dry carrots and something for dessert. same on return trip.

the trip from newark to disney was great tho three and three oneach side. so hubby sat with kids! lol on the way home we had our own screens in each seat back. it was great! this trip ive selected our seats only to get my confirmation email saying it wasnt available, after it asked me what i wanted and showing what was already sold. this worries me a little!

 

[Northstar]

I've flown Continental through Newark a lot, both before Halifax had pre-clearance (so we had to go through in Newark, like you) and after.

Newark is a huge hub for Continental. Advantage: lots of connecting flights in case you miss yours due to delays in your first flight! Continental's always come through for us, getting us onto another flight so we're not stuck in Newark. ( Hint in case your first flight is delayed: don't try to find a person or counter in the airport to deal with your problem. Power up your cell phone the instant you're on the ground and call Continental's 800 number. Sometimes they've already re-booked you and tell you to get a new boarding pass printed at the gate!)

The major problem with going through customs and immi after your first flight is that you really can't predict how long it's going to take them to get the baggage unloaded from your flight... and you can't move until you scoop up your bags. Keep an eye on the clock and if your time is running out, get on the phone to Continental's 800 number and tell them the situation.

Once you've picked up your bags and thrown them onto the conveyor belt, it's very fast... I've never run into lines or delays.

With Continental in Newark, always check the Departures board for your flight once you're in the airport... they change gates a LOT so don't rely on what was printed on your boarding pass in Moncton.

If you have to change terminals, you have to take a shuttle bus. It's fast, frequent, and reliable. It leaves from a gate that looks just like a flight gate... scan the wall for signs. It's well marked.

Bon voyage!

 

[M&M mom]

Thanks so much for all the helpful information. I really like the tip on calling continental if we're running late or miss our connecting flight rather than trying to find someone to help us.
I really dislike the travel to disney but it's so worth it when we get there!

 

[Tinkershelly]

I'm starting to like the idea of COntinental more and more...does anyone use "OnePass" ? Does it give you a heads up about seat sales or is it only a frequent flyer program?

Onepass is essentially just a frequent flyer program however when I sign in on the site to check the status of my flights I can see my assigned seats and also how many other seats have been purchased. I can also change my seat assignments as much as I want with no charge. As of last fall Continental has joined the Star Alliance, which means that if you have Aeroplan for Air Canada you can collect miles with either plan and redeem the points for either airline. I currently have enough Onepass miles for a free flight to Orlando There is a monthly email newsletter that I get with Onepass which announces specials but I've never found them useful for booking.

Last September one of my flights wasn't filling up so they combined it with a flight that left a bit earlier the same day and so our seat assignments were screwed up. By the time I was notified and checked the seats online there were no empty seats to shuffle into and so DH and I were split up. Other than that we haven't had any trouble with Continental (so far!!!).

Don't worry about clearing customs and immigration in Newark. You have no choice about where to go from the plane, there are airport employees posted along each corridor and doorway directing you. Until you clear customs you are in a restricted area that is reserved only for people who are arriving internationally. You can't leave this area until you have cleared customs, and there is only one way to go during this procedure. As long as you follow the crowd you can't get lost and you won't get in trouble. They are constantly directing the traffic the right way but feel free to ask questions of them. They might be a bit snotty with their attitude but they will answer your questions.

 

[crashbb]

I'm pretty sure that if you don't clear through customs in your departing airport, you'll be going through it when you reach MCO for sure.

No - you'd clear customs at your first US airport. In this case, EWR. The EWR-MCO flight is a US domestic flight.

 

[Applemomma]

I'm pretty sure that if you don't clear through customs in your departing airport, you'll be going through it when you reach MCO for sure.

No - you'd clear customs at your first US airport. In this case, EWR. The EWR-MCO flight is a US domestic flight.

Technically both are true.... If you have a direct flight out of someplace like Canada or the UK that doesn't have preclearance customs then MCO would be where you go through customs because it's the first place you touch down on US soil.

If you leave from someplace like Moncton that doesn't have preclearance then Newark is where you first step on to US Soil so you would have to go through customs to continue on.

If you are leaving from someplace like Halifax or Toronto (or connecting through Toronto) that has created US customs preclearance then you go through it when you leave (and when you come back).

Frankly if were the OP I think I might look at driving down to Halifax to go through customs right off the bat and getting it overwith.

 

[crashbb]

Technically both are true.... If you have a direct flight out of someplace like Canada or the UK that doesn't have preclearance customs then MCO would be where you go through customs because it's the first place you touch down on US soil.

If you leave from someplace like Moncton that doesn't have preclearance then Newark is where you first step on to US Soil so you would have to go through customs to continue on.

If you are leaving from someplace like Halifax or Toronto (or connecting through Toronto) that has created US customs preclearance then you go through it when you leave (and when you come back).

Frankly if were the OP I think I might look at driving down to Halifax to go through customs right off the bat and getting it overwith.

Since the person I quoted was responding to the OP, who was flying Moncton-Newark-Orlando, it was incorrect to state that they would clear customs/immigration in Orlando. Had we been talking about a direct Moncton-Orlando flight, it would have been correct.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

Well, we just got back to Moncton last night @ 2am - lots of weather related delays pushed our arrival back 4 hours. Happy to be back

We do not clear customs in Moncton - that is done in Newark - but this was a piece of cake compared to Montreal or Toronto - I much prefer this route better.

If you have an specific questions I'll try my best to answer them.

Ooh...on the way down (Newark to Orlando) we had in seat-tv sets....the earphones were free but the cost to view was $6. However, on the way back (Orlando to Newark), we had tv sets from the ceilings. They wanted $3 for the earsets...but never got around to the cabin to collect any money or put any programming on the tv's.

On our departure date Jan 20th - carry-on baggage was a allowed - the restriction for no carry-on was just lifted that day.

 

[Cynsational]

Totally stressed. I am also flying Moncton - Newark - Orlando on Continental (end of April). We've never been to Disney and never traveled internationally with our daughter (4 years old). Our flight departs at the obscene hour of 6:00 am. In the past when I had an early flight and arrived early, security hadn't even opened and the ticket counter didn't open until 4:30 anyway. I don't know if things have changed in the last couple years, but I not want to get to the airport 3 hours early and then not be able to do anything for 1.5 hours anyway.

1 ) On Canadian carriers,I get 2 free bags per ticket. It appears I'll be paying, in US dollars for every bag I take (that is how I'm interpreting their baggage page). I'm not so sure my inlaws got the best deal on flights considering Westjet and Air Canada wouldn't have charged. If I check my carseat, I assume I'll be charged *something* for that as well?

2) I have a massive carseat (Britax roundabout bought in Canada). In the past, we have used an attachment that straps the car seat to a rolling carryon so that we could easily transport it (and child) through the airports. Current guidelines seem to indicate I'm not going to be allowed to bring the carrying, which will make transporting this thing quickly through Newark practically impossible. We only have 1 hr and 28 min to go through customs and connect. So, I would be willing to skip taking it on board potentially if I knew what,if anything, I will be charged to check it. I've had no luck reaching a person so far to get a straight answer.

Please oh please let the carry-on restrictions go back to pre Dec 25 levels by then. I cannot imagine how I'm going to keep a child that has been up since at least 3am occupied through all the waiting and flying without a carry-on bag full of tricks.

At this point I'm so stressed I'm not even sure I want to go.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

Totally stressed. I am also flying Moncton - Newark - Orlando on Continental (end of April). We've never been to Disney and never traveled internationally with our daughter (4 years old). Our flight departs at the obscene hour of 6:00 am. In the past when I had an early flight and arrived early, security hadn't even opened and the ticket counter didn't open until 4:30 anyway. I don't know if things have changed in the last couple years, but I not want to get to the airport 3 hours early and then not be able to do anything for 1.5 hours anyway.

1 ) On Canadian carriers,I get 2 free bags per ticket. It appears I'll be paying, in US dollars for every bag I take (that is how I'm interpreting their baggage page). I'm not so sure my inlaws got the best deal on flights considering Westjet and Air Canada wouldn't have charged. If I check my carseat, I assume I'll be charged *something* for that as well?

2) I have a massive carseat (Britax roundabout bought in Canada). In the past, we have used an attachment that straps the car seat to a rolling carryon so that we could easily transport it (and child) through the airports. Current guidelines seem to indicate I'm not going to be allowed to bring the carrying, which will make transporting this thing quickly through Newark practically impossible. We only have 1 hr and 28 min to go through customs and connect. So, I would be willing to skip taking it on board potentially if I knew what,if anything, I will be charged to check it. I've had no luck reaching a person so far to get a straight answer.

Please oh please let the carry-on restrictions go back to pre Dec 25 levels by then. I cannot imagine how I'm going to keep a child that has been up since at least 3am occupied through all the waiting and flying without a carry-on bag full of tricks.

At this point I'm so stressed I'm not even sure I want to go.

Carry-on restrictions were lifted Jan 20th (the day we departed) - I'm sure more info will be available to you prior to your trip.

We left @ 6am as well - you just need to be there 1.5 hours beforehand as the bags only needed to be checked 1 hour prior to departure.

Checked baggage cost $25US/bag each way - so keep that cost in mind as well. For us it added $100 US to the cost of our ticket. We pre-paid on-line before we left and paid at the ticket counter on the return trip. I have no answers for you on the carseat question - but if you live in Moncton, perhaps go down to the airport beforehand and ask them in person - I'm sure they'd have an accurate answer for you.

Customs in Newark was a piece of cake - providing your arrival is on-time you should have no difficulty in making the Orlando connection - just from my experience anyways.