Flying with Continental Airlines

[LBIJim]

Continental is a good airline. I was an elite frequent flyer with them for many years, from the late 1980s through earlier this decade. My job no longer requires travel, however, so I usually only fly Continental about 2 or 3 times a year now, all leisure travel. That said, they are the typical US legacy carrier, no better or worse for infrequent travellers than any other carrier.

I've never heard of Porter airlines, nor have I flown into or from Toronto Island airport. However, the option you're considering is feasible. There is a Marriott hotel on the Newark Airport premisis. Can't walk to it, though, so you'll need to use the shuttle. Other hotels are also close by. While EWR is notorious for delays, they usually start occuring later in the day. Your early morning flights out of Newark should fine.

If you do choose this flight option, you might want something to do after checking into a hotel. You can catch the train right from the airport into New York City and explore for a few hours, maybe see a Broadway show in the evening. If you're a hockey fan, the train can also take you into downtown Newark if by chance the New Jersey Devils happen to be playing that evening.

In the past, I occasionally planned an overnight or slightly longer layover to enjoy something in another city before my final destination.

Best wishes whatever you decide.

Jim

 

[bavaria]

Apparently the temporary TC/CATSA rules are creating havoc for TSA, who is being overloaded with checked luggage from Canada and does not have the manpower to check/manage this luggage. They are actually rumoured to be driving a short term change in strategy, which would benefit the airports with secured areas, but would not change the policy for smaller airports with no preclearance.

Even assuming that those changes would be in place 11 months from now, it would mean that YTZ would be an even worse option than theairportwhichcannotbenamed.

 

[dburg30]

All I'm looking for is the opinions of people who fly Continental to Disney. I'm well aware that CO has joined the Star Alliance with United since Air Canada operates the Toronto to Orlando United flight and is a part of the Star Alliance.

I'm just looking for opinions and experiences so I can decide if it's a route I might want to take in the future. Whether airport/airline policy changes in the next 6 months, I don't really care right now since that's not what I'm looking for. I want opinions on flying with Continental.

You want real information about flying Continental to Disney.. Fine, BUT as bavaria has tried to point out, you may want to check out FT for more in depth information about continental period. Here you will get folks that MAYBE fly to disney 2 times a year (yes I know there are people that go more then that, but to MOST people WDW is a rare trip). I think they were trying to get you to go get more 'broad' information about continental, EWR from people that actually fly the airline and the airport a lot. That will give you a much wider base of information then.

"Oh we flew to WDW last year in Dec via continental and it was great!!"

OK, so did that really help you?

Or would you rather hear "I fly out of EWR 8 times a month at least, and more then 50% of the time my flight is late" Or "I fly continental out of EWR 3 times a week and I wish my company would find someone else to fly, they dont have this, they tend to do that" etc etc.

Basically do you want someone to tell you what you WANT to hear, or do you want to hear the cold hard facts?

When people tend to give cold hard facts here, people think they are being mean, or arent listening to them, or dont know what they are talking about.. They dont realize they are REALLY trying to give them solid, real, factual information.

And re-reading your first post, I dont see what you would gain from not just flying to MCO from your home. Is Air Canada not going to be flying to MCO anymore? You will still be stuck with whatever rules are in effect wont you? So it's not like you can take more stuff with you? Unless there is something I'm missing there?

I hope your trip works out well for you no matter what you decide.

 

[bavaria]

And don't forget that all reviews are subjective. The experience one has an elite vs a nonstatus flyer, as a parent vs a single flyer, etc are all different. Hence I also recommend seatguru.com for factual, non-emotional information.

And the CO/UA partnership negates a lot of past reviews. jlewis and I may well have very different experiences in 2010 than in past years as the benefits and privileges are changing, and not always all at the same time.

From my years of reading here, I don't think that CO gets a lot of traffic from this board, except from some of the more frequent flyers and/or a few of the locals. Certainly the CO reports are few and far between on this website, hence my recommendation to check www.flyertalk.com for specific CO and Porter and YTZ information.

 

[Mystic's Lady Ebony]

You know what, you guys can argue it out all you want. I don't care anymore about your 'opinions'. All I wanted to know was people's experiences with Continental Airlines. I didn't want people picking apart my travel plans as it was merely an option I was considering. Having never flown on a US carrier, I was merely looking for some people's experience with this particular airline. I don't care what you think about my flying out of the ISLAND AIRPORT or what you may think about my changing planes in Newark. I wanted opinions on Continental and what kind of service they provide. This will be my last post on both this thread and this board. You certainly haven't made my first few posts here worthwhile or made me feel welcome at all.

 

[crashbb]

You know what, you guys can argue it out all you want. I don't care anymore about your 'opinions'. All I wanted to know was people's experiences with Continental Airlines. I didn't want people picking apart my travel plans as it was merely an option I was considering. Having never flown on a US carrier, I was merely looking for some people's experience with this particular airline. I don't care what you think about my flying out of the ISLAND AIRPORT or what you may think about my changing planes in Newark. I wanted opinions on Continental and what kind of service they provide. This will be my last post on both this thread and this board. You certainly haven't made my first few posts here worthwhile or made me feel welcome at all.

Bye bye.

PS - LOVED the ISLAND AIRPORT jab. Very classy.

 

[dburg30]

You know what, you guys can argue it out all you want. I don't care anymore about your 'opinions'. All I wanted to know was people's experiences with Continental Airlines. I didn't want people picking apart my travel plans as it was merely an option I was considering. Having never flown on a US carrier, I was merely looking for some people's experience with this particular airline. I don't care what you think about my flying out of the ISLAND AIRPORT or what you may think about my changing planes in Newark. I wanted opinions on Continental and what kind of service they provide. This will be my last post on both this thread and this board. You certainly haven't made my first few posts here worthwhile or made me feel welcome at all.

Guess you didnt read my post either. Oh well, as crash said.. cya... Still not sure why you are 'mad' at the advice you got. I'm sure you will find somewhere out there that will give you the information you want to hear..

I've found out LOADS about flying and stuff from some of the posters here, I always read their replies with an open mind and try to see why they are posting the info they do. When I start to think about it I get that 'AHA!' moment and see they were REALLY trying to save some headaches.

But you'll never see this so I really dont know why I'm typing it..

Oh and if you want all warm / fuzzy / huggie type posts / replies, there are PLENTY of other places on this forum that you'll get that from..

 

[goofy4tink]

The problem with discussion boards is that sometimes we get more info than we needed. I don't see where anyone was argumentative or nasty. Yes, the OP was perhaps given more info than was asked for. But, in the interest of being completely honest and aboveboard here.....the posters who came along and tried to give good info were also stating that it is hard to base info on something that isn't going to happen for almost a year. What is 'good' today, may very well be truly 'bad' in 6 months.
I'm sorry the OP has felt the need to delete all their posts..it's hard for me to get a sense of what happened here and what the answers given were in response to.

I don't think anyone meant to make a new poster feel badly or to run them off. And for that, I heartily apologize. Once again...the Transportation Board has come off as unfriendly and unwelcoming due to it's lack of pixiedust filled info. But I prefer it to be this way...good honest travel info. No, it most certainly does not have to be Disney related, not at all. Any and all transportation questions are welcome...it's just that the vast majority of posters here are most concerned with issues dealing with getting to, and from, Orlando.

For the record...Continental Airlines is no better, no worse than any other major airline. You will find those who absolutely love it and have never had an issue flying with them. On the other hand, you will also find those who have had less than stellar experiences with Continental. No airline is perfect.

 

[kaytieeldr]

All I know is, when Braniff was operating, Continental was better than Braniff. I only know because our plane was late leaving BOS and, despite what we were told, the connecting flight to Florida wasn't held. All passengers transferring to the Florida flight got rebooked on Continental. They fed us a real meal. Braniff didn't offer that perk.

This was back in 1991 or 1992; probably Continental has changed since then, but this is my experience (as apparently requested by the OP).

 

[jorose01]

Hi!

I am responding to the OP that wants reviews of Continental. I live in Houston and prefer to fly Continental whenever possible. I have flown it for bussiness, pleasure, and even an adoption to Russia! It is a great airlines. They have always been friendly and helpful. As a single traveler for bussiness its great, with a whiny husband - great, with a toddler and a newborn great! I cannot think of one time in the 30 yrs I have traveled with them that I thought NEVER again. In those 30 years (I am 34 and a seasoned traveler!) were there delays, cancelled flights, rude people...yes but overall a great airline. It has been mentioned that Newark as an airport is know for delays and that is true. It is also ture that non-stop is usual a preferred route. But I am not flying with you and do not know what route is best for you!! I hope this helps!

Have a great trip! BTW continental is one of the airlines that you can pre-check your luggage if using the Magical Express to return.

Also to address the carry on issue. I usually check a bag but carry on my kids lives in two tote size diaper bags. They are about the size of the canvas totes from LL Bean the large size. IF it fits all the way under the seat you are golden!

 

[dburg30]

Also to address the carry on issue. I usually check a bag but carry on my kids lives in two tote size diaper bags. They are about the size of the canvas totes from LL Bean the large size. IF it fits all the way under the seat you are golden!

But see, you dont have the whole story it appears. They were flying out of canada, and right now all you can have (I guess since the xmas attempt) is a 'small purse' size carry on.. That could change of course before the OP needed to fly, next December IIRC..

 

[bavaria]

I'm sorry the OP has felt the need to delete all their posts..it's hard for me to get a sense of what happened here and what the answers given were in response to.

To summarize, OP is flying almost a year from now, and proposed that in order to avoid the temporary measures implemented by Transport Canada on hand luggage that they fly Porter (a small, regional carrier) from YTZ (a very small airport with minimal infrastructure, subject to delays) and then connect overnight in EWR and continue to MCO via CO.

They were seeking feedback.

We could not see any measurable benefit from flying that route, and in fact had concerns about the added cost and time required, along with potential changes to CO based on the recent partnership with UA, and also cautioned that the temporary restrictions may well change in the near future. In addition, as you know, esteemed moderator, one of the biggest causes of confusion and misinformation here is the pre-clearance for Immigration at some Canadian airports, which is not in place at YTZ.

By the time the resident Porter and YTZ expert arrived on scene (most likely the ONLY resident Porter and YTZ expert on this website) it had deteriorated, and I am frankly not quite certain why.

However it was a fitting end to 2009 on the Transportation Board, which began in a similar fashion, and as a result lost a great number of rational, helpful posters.

Happy 2010!

 

[dburg30]

Yep that pretty much recaps it. The folks that travel for a living (not it!!), trying to give advice and getting their heads bitten off for it, which is really, really sad.

 

[TDC Nala]

well, they were asking what the check-in procedure was for Continental. I'm not aware that it's currently different from that of any other airline (depends totally on the amount of traffic going into that particular airport on that particular day which is really not all that easy to anticipate in the future).

 

[LBIJim]

All I know is, when Braniff was operating, Continental was better than Braniff. I only know because our plane was late leaving BOS and, despite what we were told, the connecting flight to Florida wasn't held. All passengers transferring to the Florida flight got rebooked on Continental. They fed us a real meal. Braniff didn't offer that perk.

This was back in 1991 or 1992; probably Continental has changed since then, but this is my experience (as apparently requested by the OP).

I don't know if you or anyone else remembers PeopleExpress Airlines which flew out of the old North terminal at EWR. When they finally went kaput and Continental more or less took over EWR, it was quite a pleasant change. Continental was vastly superior in every way. Even in their dark days of bankruptcy in the early 1990s, I thought Continental did the very best they could. They were always my preferred airline, and even though I don't live near EWR anymore and I don't travel for business anymore, I try to fly with them at least a few times a year. (Have lots of FF miles to use up.)

I'm wondering which incarnation of Braniff existed in 1991 or 1992. Certainly not the "original".

Jim

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm wondering which incarnation of Braniff existed in 1991 or 1992. Certainly not the "original".

Nope, not even close to the original . Same name, sure - but based in Texas (wasn't the original Braniff based in Great Britain?). They started up with a really good fare to Tampa, and I had a friend living in the water place... um, Zephyr Hills - so I went for a long weekend. It almost took longer to fly there and back than I spent on the ground. First there was that delay in Boston, where we ended up having to board through the back of the plane... then, of course, the TPA-bound flight left EWR before we even took off... I know we were bused from the Braniff terminal to Continental's, while all the passengers bound for other locations were able to make Braniff flights. On the way back, again changing planes in Newark - surprise! Delayed connection. We were told it was snowing in Boston (no, and it hadn't snowed for several days) so we weren't taking off yet, so we wouldn't be boarding until the plane was definitely going to take off... finally boarded and had to gate-check all 'overhead' luggage because there were no compartments - just shelves - and were assured the luggage would arrive in Boston on our flight... ha!

 

[dudspizza]

You know what, you guys can argue it out all you want. I don't care anymore about your 'opinions'. All I wanted to know was people's experiences with Continental Airlines. I didn't want people picking apart my travel plans as it was merely an option I was considering. Having never flown on a US carrier, I was merely looking for some people's experience with this particular airline. I don't care what you think about my flying out of the ISLAND AIRPORT or what you may think about my changing planes in Newark. I wanted opinions on Continental and what kind of service they provide. This will be my last post on both this thread and this board. You certainly haven't made my first few posts here worthwhile or made me feel welcome at all.

I flew a 1 way trip on Continental 1 time about 4 years ago. They were fine....... got me to where I wanted to go, though the flight was late departing...... well, the connection out of Houston was late........ but that doesn't help with EWR...... but the flight on Continental was fine...

 

[snowbunny]

trying to give advice and getting their heads bitten off for it, which is really, really sad.

Oh come on, it's not sad, everybody loves it. Happy new year.

 

[dburg30]

Oh come on, it's not sad, everybody loves it. Happy new year.

huh?

 

[snowbunny]

huh?

The transportation board is probably the most entertaining area of the Dis.