Continental from Bristol?

[oceanscape]

Looking at all the options now -- has anyone flown with Continental from Bristol, connecting via Newark? Any comments appreciated!

 

[Hilary]

We're flying out on this route tomorrow

I can't give you any feedback yet, but here's thread where I asked much the same question a few weeks back:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2075228&page=1&highlight=bristol

 

[Lottie]

Just got back last Sunday and flew from Bristol via Newark to Orlando. Went really well. Bristol airport was chaos the morning we flew out due to snow closing it the day before (Friday 6th) - flight was delayed 2 hours due to scratch on the plane and we'd been put on the plane on time - I think they moved us out onto the plane as the departure lounge was full to capacity! But flight was good, connection in Newark fine - plenty of time to do immigration and get a quick drink before connection- due to delay we'd missed our original connection but by the time we got there they already had us booked on the next flight. Having done immigration in Newark, progress through Orlando International was really quick - then had a hold-up with car rental - Dollar was a nightmare. But the flight was great, the return flight was good. We took the 3.00 p.m. flight from Orlando back to Newark but should perhaps have taken the next one (which is listed as Orlando - Bristol with a stopover in Newark) as we had quite a long wait in Newark for the flight back to Bristol. Have to collect luggage in Newark on way out and take to onward connections belt but that was simple. On the way home it comes straight back to Bristol. Any other questions, please ask!!!

 

[Hilary]

We got back home on Monday after a great last-minute trip

Short answer opinion of the Bristol / Continental route: We liked the Continental flights and would definitely be happy to do this route again, although we'll always weigh up convenience / price before booking.

Long answer: Booked (through Airmiles, but paying cash)about 5 weeks ahead of our trip for one week Saturday 28 Feb to Saturday 7 March. At the time of booking, the on-line system would let me request seating on only one of the four flight sections so, the weekend before we were due to fly, I checked again to see if anything had opened up. When I went into our booking I had a pop-up message to say our flight details had changed. I checked and saw that the return flight was now leaving Orlando an hour later and I clicked to say we acknowledged the change. No big deal ...

The day before we were due to fly out, I rang Airmiles to query the connection time in Newark - we were on the flight that Lottie mentioned that has the same flight number all the way through from Orlando to Bristol - as I wanted reassurance that the allocated 48 minutes was quite normal. During the conversation I mentioned the change of flight time; Airmiles were unaware of this and not pleased they, as agents, hadn't been notified by Continental. I read out the details of the new flight time to the Airmiles agent, and only then did I see the change had been by an hour and a day! Our return flight had been switched to the Sunday and I'd already clicked to say I agreed with it because I'd only noticed the time change, not the day!

Airmiles were really helpful and got Continental to agree that we could have a full refund if we didn't want to accept the changed day. After a quick conversation with work and DH, we agreed we'd take the extra day - then I had to try to rearrange the accommodation, car rental, airport parking, etc.!

On ou return flight the Orlando / Newark flight was an hour late taking off, so we knew we might have problems, but were hopeful that the fact the flight number out of Newark was the same would be in our favour. As we were sprinting through Newark to the gate for Bristol, we were picked up by one of the buggies and driven the rest of the way (we must have looked suitably panic-stricken!). Fortunately the Bristol flight had been delayed (although I don't think it was for our benefit!), so we made it - but our luggage didn't

When we went to the baggage desk at Bristol to report our missing luggage, the clerk was waiting for us. She said the baggage never made that connection! We got everything delivered to the house the next day, and it wasn't oo big a hassle, really.

After all that, it hasn't put us off that route, but I'd be more careful about connection times and keeping essentials in our carry-on

Sorry for such a long answer - hope it helps you make up your mind