Continental Airlines

[Christine9125]

Thinking of using Continental for our upcoming trip in August, right now, even if we pay for luggage it is cheaper out of dayton ohio to MCO then using Southwest from Columbus Ohio to MCO. Been awhile since we have flown with them, give me the good the bad and the ugly if you will.

 

[DebbieB]

Thinking of using Continental for our upcoming trip in August, right now, even if we pay for luggage it is cheaper out of dayton ohio to MCO then using Southwest from Columbus Ohio to MCO. Been awhile since we have flown with them, give me the good the bad and the ugly if you will.

I flew them last year, they were good. One thing to keep in mind is that any changes will be a $150 fee per ticket, vs no fee on SW. How much is the price difference?

 

[hamm1207]

We absolutely love Continental--staff is professional and friendly, almost always on-time, clean aircraft,etc. Every time we fly another airline we end up upset in one way or another...don't get me wrong, we're frequent fliers (Elite status on Continental) and we know the ups and downs of traveling by air, but everytime we've had an issue with Continental it was always taken care of and Continental went above and beyond to take care of us.

For example, we had a mechanical issue coming from Seattle to Houston one day, and we ended up be stuck for hours and hours. We told the gate agent that we were more than willing to take the first flight out in the morning and we'd put ourselves up for the night (we have friends in Seattle). Two weeks after we arrived home we recieved 2 vouchers for $150 each for Contiental as an apology for the mechanical issue.

Keep in mind that Continental is now United, as the two airlines have merged, so the flight you're on may actually be a United flight.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Keep in mind that Continental is now United, as the two airlines have merged

Actually the merger is not yet completed.

I would choose Continental over SWA any day. It's no better or worse than any other major legacy airline.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

We never fly anything but SWA because of the change fee. I would pay $50 more because I know I will be able to change my flights to the cheaper flights as they go down, even if it's the same flight you already have. No bag fees. If you suddenly get the whim to add a day or two to your trip, no change fees. If your little one gets sick or you have an emergency, no change fee. Every day on here I read posts about families being so discouraged because they can't change their flight w/o the $150 change fee each way.

 

[Christine9125]

The difference between SWA and Continental is about $450 plus I would have to drive 1 1/2 hours to get to the closest airport swa services. I would be willing to do this if the price was close, but it's not. We are also looking at AirTran which is being bought by SWA.

 

[Christine9125]

Ok, this is what I have done. I made a chart for flying out the last Saturday of each month and coming back the following Thursday for Continental, Airtran and Southwest. Looks like if we wait until about 3 months out we can get the best rate from either of the 3 with Southwest being the least expensive. Is this the norm or does it depend on how many seats are booked? I figure, we will have the money for our flights next month and I can keep an eye out until we leave for a good rate, if not we will drive and have the rest of the money for souviners

 

[Singinglizzie]

I love Continental, but another thing to consider is baggage charges. I believe you are allowed 1 free check on bag per customer. HOWEVER, you can sign up for a free Chase/Continental credit card, (well free for the first year) and then you can check in addtional bags at no charge. BTW, where are you driving from? Airtran flies out of Canton/Akron and it usually is cheaper the Continental. Over night parking is cheaper too, like $7.00 a night. Anyhow, maybe that won't work for you but just throwing it out there since I see you are from Ohio.

 

[DebbieB]

I love Continental, but another thing to consider is baggage charges. I believe you are allowed 1 free check on bag per customer. HOWEVER, you can sign up for a free Chase/Continental credit card, (well free for the first year) and then you can check in addtional bags at no charge. BTW, where are you driving from? Airtran flies out of Canton/Akron and it usually is cheaper the Continental. Over night parking is cheaper too, like $7.00 a night. Anyhow, maybe that won't work for you but just throwing it out there since I see you are from Ohio.

There are baggage charges except in some cases:

http://www.continental.com/CMS/en-U...age.aspx?SID=CE9C919186AA46E18D7F687DB54EF8B2

Not sure about the credit card.

 

[palomastewart]

Continental Airlines is the first or the first company and Economy Class, which are the two-class configuration. Passengers travelling in Business First offered seats that turn into lie-flat beds, adjustable armrests, lumbar support, six direction of the headrest, footrest, the shell of privacy, personal enlightenment and the seat cushion. Business passengers-before for international flights have full access to airline lounge chair. While the seats in economy class are a lot of legroom, free meals, drinks, snacks and a touch-screen AVOD entertainment.

 

[DebbieB]

Continental Airlines is the first or the first company and Economy Class, which are the two-class configuration. Passengers travelling in Business First offered seats that turn into lie-flat beds, adjustable armrests, lumbar support, six direction of the headrest, footrest, the shell of privacy, personal enlightenment and the seat cushion. Business passengers-before for international flights have full access to airline lounge chair. While the seats in economy class are a lot of legroom, free meals, drinks, snacks and a touch-screen AVOD entertainment.

This only applies to International flights.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Continental Airlines is the first or the first company and Economy Class, which are the two-class configuration. Passengers travelling in Business First offered seats that turn into lie-flat beds, adjustable armrests, lumbar support, six direction of the headrest, footrest, the shell of privacy, personal enlightenment and the seat cushion. Business passengers-before for international flights have full access to airline lounge chair. While the seats in economy class are a lot of legroom, free meals, drinks, snacks and a touch-screen AVOD entertainment.

That quote above describes Continental's long-haul jets for long-haul international flights. You don't get that kind of seating or that kind of service on domestic flights to Orlando.

Domestic first class is still better than economy (wider seats and more legroom), but there are no "lie-flat beds" or "shell of privacy" in business/first class.

Domestic economy is modest, with cramped but adequate seating. Meals are available for purchase, not included. Continental is not appreciably better or worse than other airlines for domestic service.

For most leisure passnegers to Orlando, domestic first class is not a realistic option anyway. The price is likely to be around 5 to 10 times as much as discounted economy. Domestic first class tends to be for people who upgrade because of their frequent flyer elite status, or who have generous corporate expense accounts, or who so rich that the fare difference is not an issue.

To get back to the OP's question, one other big advantage of Southwest is that they don't charge the ridiculous $150 per passenger change fee that most airlines charge if you find it necessary to change your flights (or if you want a credit if the fare goes down). That might not be enough reason to choose Southwest, but it's a big advantage of choosing Southwest over other airlines.

 

[lurkernj]

We are avid Continental flyers and have never had a complaint. We have their credit card so everyone booked on my reservation gets a free checked bag (up to 9 guests). Just to clarify, Continental and United have merged (I think it was Sept or Oct), but are currently operating separately until they have integrated the two. If you book on Continental, it will tell you if you are booking on a United flight or Continental flight (continental flights start with CO in their flight number).

 

[figment_jii]

We flew on a United flight operated by Continental last December and the arrival flight was fine, but the departure was a different story. The flight out of MCO was late because we had to return to the gate to do a baggage recount (someone mis-counted by 50). So that put us about 90 minutes behind schedule. Then when we got to IAH (Houston), our connecting flight hadn't been cleaned or re-stocked before it left. They ran out of food for purchase (about 2/3 of economy didn't have anything to eat - not even little bags of pretzels or nuts) and the seat pockets had garbage from previous flights. The only other note I would add, is try to avoid sitting behind the wing. We were seated there and there was a noticeable smell of jet fuel for the entire flight.

Overall, I suppose this one experience with Continental might not be representative because any airline might have an off day. We've typically flown United (operated by United) and have had much better luck.