Nov 1st, 2009 at 7:00PM: Continental Airlines finally made its big move to the Star Alliance last week, a long awaited, much talked about transition from its former partnership with Delta and Northwest Airlines. It's a move that will affect the way that you earn and spend frequent flyer miles across the board, but what does it mean immediately to the every day traveler?
On the surface, not much. Continental will remain ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
ContinentalAirlines posts
Continental moves to Star Alliance -- your impact as an everyday traveler
Nov 1st, 2009 at 7:00PM: Continental Airlines finally made its big move to the Star Alliance last week, a long awaited, much talked about transition from its former partnership with Delta and Northwest Airlines. It's a move that will affect the way that you earn and spend frequent flyer miles across the board, but what does it mean immediately to the every day traveler?
On the surface, not much. Continental will remain ...Continental sham divorces pass court test
Oct 21st, 2009 at 1:00PM: Back in May, Continental Airlines sued nine pilots for getting sham divorces. The marital splits were part of a play for pension benefits, with the "ex" collecting while the pilot keeps earning. It's good cash if you can find it, but Continental wasn't thrilled at having to bear that extra cost. On Monday, a federal judge told the airline to live with it, ruling in favor of the pilots. Regardless ...Airline fees continue, necessary evil
Sep 6th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Yes, you've heard about this all year, and you'll probably hear about it for a while to come. Airlines are still looking for ways to pull every dollar they can out of your wallets, but the reality is that they have no choice. Seven of the nine largest airlines in the United States had a rough time in August, making these measures more important than passengers might realize.
The second bag, ...Rochester tarmac delay: "lack of common sense"
Aug 22nd, 2009 at 3:00PM: "There was a complete lack of common sense here," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said in a statement released yesterday. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated."
When 47 passengers were stranded overnight on the tarmac in Rochester, Minnesota, the pilot repeatedly asked for permission to deplane them. All the pilot wanted was to get the passengers off the plane. ...Airlines and social media: dialogue waiting to happen
Aug 21st, 2009 at 4:00PM: Social media means that airlines just have another place where they can be raked over the coals. We complain to ticket agents. We complain to gate agents. We complain to customer service reps. And now, we can complain to the world, thanks to the likes of Twitter. I, for example, follow @DeltaSucks, though there hasn't been any action on it in several months. I don't just listen, though. When I'm ...26 hurt on turbulent Continental flight
Aug 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: On most flights, turbulence is a minor inconvenience. You have to return to your seat and buckle in, and you may have to wait a little longer to get your next vodka and cranberry (oh, is it just me that needs a cocktail, or three, to relax on a plane?). Planes are generally able to avoid the worst of the bumps, thanks to radar and reports from other planes in the area. But sometimes, turbulence ...Continental pilot pension scam, nine disappointed pilots
May 24th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Continental Airlines is looking to cash in on pilots who cashed in on a divorce scam. The pilots used sham divorces to divert more than $10 million to their ex-spouses. Post-divorce, the exes cashed in on retirement benefits, and the fliers could stay in the sky – and keep earning.
It's really pretty simple. A couple divorces. The pilot assigns all pension benefits to the ex-spouse. Then, ...Continental Airlines reduces flights to Mexico
May 1st, 2009 at 1:30PM: In response to the swine flu outbreak in Mexico, Continental Airlines is cutting the number of fights to Mexico by 40% and reducing the size of the planes making the trips. Because the demand for Mexico travel has gone way, way, way down, the airlines is taking these cost cutting measures.
The cuts are in effect starting Monday and are expected to be only temporary. Also, for folks who already ...Continental's Restaurant Week could increase revenue
May 1st, 2009 at 8:00AM:
On its face, Continental Airlines' participation in International Restaurant Week seems like just another promotion. Think harder, though, and you'll see that it's really a way for the airline to bring in a little extra cash. Since passengers with a bit of extra girth may be charged for an extra seat, it only makes sense to fatten up fliers and reap the rewards.
A dozen New York restaurants ...Extra seat charges: big bias or svelte snobbery?
Apr 28th, 2009 at 8:00AM: As airlines are scrambling for any shred of extra revenue they can find, some policies are getting more attention than others. The so-called "fat passenger policies," which govern the accommodation of passengers who require more than one seat, have attracted the ire of the NAAFA. Never heard of it? It's a new one on me, too: the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. On the other hand, ...Making sense of the airline industry
Apr 27th, 2009 at 4:00PM: The situation is currently grim for airlines, having gone from "bad in January to ugly by March," according to USA Today, mirroring the U.S. economy as a whole. But, some feel that the worst is behind us. At the same time, a decline in business traveler traffic may suggest that we have a long way to go.
That's why I love USA Today ... two perspectives for the price of one!
Let's make one thing ...Continental #1 in Fortune mag
Mar 3rd, 2009 at 4:00PM: Okay, the competition couldn't have been all that stiff. Continental Airlines was rated the top airline in Fortune magazine's annual list of most admired companies. Its score of 7.71 was not good enough to push the company into the top 50, though. This is the sixth year in a row that Continental has taken the lead spot in the airline category. Somehow, Southwest is listed as #7 on the full list, ...Man who can't work cell phone sues Continental Airlines
Feb 26th, 2009 at 2:00PM: Saquib Fatah of Houston, Texas, is suing Continental Airlines because he can't work his cell phone. Confused? I'll break it down: 1. Fatah gets on airplane in London with his new cell phone. 2. Captain makes the usual "turn off all electronic devices" announcement and the plane begins to taxi. 3. "BEEP BEEP BEEP!" from Fatah's phone. 4. A stewardess asks Fatah to "kill the phone." He appears to do ...9/11 widow dies in Buffalo plane crash
Feb 13th, 2009 at 5:30AM: Beverly Eckert, widow of 9/11 victim Sean Rooney, perished on Continental Airlines Flight 3407 last night. She was on her way to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her husband's 58th birthday. While in town, she had also planned to participate in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School. She had created the scholarship in honor of her late husband.
The crash of ...Continental Airlines to drop out of SkyTeam alliance on October 24th
Jan 30th, 2009 at 3:30PM: Back last June, Grant first reported the coming alliance between Continental and United Airlines, which also means that Continental will be dropping out of its current SkyTeam alliance network, which includes Delta, Northwest and Air France, and joining up with the Star Alliance network, which includes United and US Airways. Now there is a little more information available about when this move is ...Free flight ploy ends in jail
Jan 25th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Some people will do anything for a free flight. Instead of waiting for the airline to screw up, Arthur David Proskin used a bump by the beverage cart as his ticket to glory ... and hopefully anywhere in the continental United States. He used what was probably an accident to shout obscenities at the flight attendant who so egregiously wronged him (hint for the tone-deaf, this is sarcasm) and other ...Continental Airlines experiments with algae jet fuel mix
Jan 10th, 2009 at 1:00PM: On Wednesday, Continental Airlines flew a Boeing 737 from Houston in a circle over the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing too special about that. Except that this flight was a test of a new 50/50 jet fuel/biofuel mixture, powering one of the engines. The bio portion of the fuel was a mix of algae and jatropha oil, an alternative fuel that can be grown in poor soil, yet is able to produce more yields than ...The flight from hell involves a passenger covered in poop
Jan 1st, 2009 at 2:30PM: There have been plenty of stories in the past year involving passengers going berserk and attacking the crew and others on their flight. But every now and then I read a new one, and just can't help think "what the hell?". Such is the story of a Continental Express flight from Houston to Omaha last week. Halfway during the flight, a middle aged man left the lavatory covered in his own fecal ...Get more mileage out of your miles: upgrade
Dec 23rd, 2008 at 12:00PM: Before you book your next award ticket, think about what you're giving the airline. Yeah, you read that correctly; think about what you are giving them. In the Wall Street Journal, that font of all things financial, the secret to screwing the airlines a little harder is revealed: upgrade. Apparently, the most common use of miles is the bland, vanilla domestic coach ticket. That's it. While you ...Continental plane slides off runway in Denver, catches fire
Dec 21st, 2008 at 8:00AM: A Continental 737 aircraft taking off from Denver yesterday either slid or crashed, according to reports, into a ravine off the runway before catching fire, injuring nearly 40 people. The Associated Press is reporting that the 107 passengers on board the Houston-bound flight were evacuated via emergency slides. Thirty-seven were rushed to area hospitals with a variety of injuries, none of which ...
