Mar 16th, 2010 at 1:00PM: The other shoe has finally dropped. Continental Airlines, the one domestic airline still proudly boasting free meals in coach just announced that they'll be eliminating the perk come fall 2010. They'll be joining the ranks of all other domestic carriers that currently charge for food, a move that they estimate will earn them $35M per year.
Eventually, we all knew that this had to happen. With ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
continental posts
Continental to charge for meals in coach
Mar 16th, 2010 at 1:00PM: The other shoe has finally dropped. Continental Airlines, the one domestic airline still proudly boasting free meals in coach just announced that they'll be eliminating the perk come fall 2010. They'll be joining the ranks of all other domestic carriers that currently charge for food, a move that they estimate will earn them $35M per year.
Eventually, we all knew that this had to happen. With ...Continental Airlines newest money making scheme: paid exit row seating
Mar 6th, 2010 at 12:00PM: The accountants at Continental airlines just announced their latest diabolical plan to squeeze more money out of us - paid exit row seating.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2010/03/06/continental-airlines-newest-money-making-scheme-paid-exit-row-s/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
On March 17th, passengers in coach can add 7 inches of legroom by purchasing an exit row seat up to 24 ...US Airways the latest to increase extra bag fee
Jan 16th, 2010 at 2:00PM: US Airways has joined the ranks of airlines increasing their fees for extra baggage. The low cost carrier is raising its extra baggage fees by $5 each way, which is comparable to the increases levied by Delta, Continental and United. With the new charge, US Airways will be charging $25 for the first bag checked, with a second bag costing you $35 each way. The new fee takes effect on February 1, ...Early Christmas gift from the airlines - no advance purchase surcharges
Dec 17th, 2009 at 3:30PM: After several years of adding additional fees and rules to our tickets, the airlines are finally giving us something back for the Holiday season.
Seven of the major carriers (American Airlines, United, Delta, Northwest, US Airways, Frontier, AirTran and Midwest) announced that they would waive all advance purchase rules for tickets between today and January 4th 2010.
What this means to last ...Continental Airlines selects Gogo for inflight Internet
Dec 16th, 2009 at 4:30PM: This morning, Continental Airlines announced that it has selected the Aircell Gogo Inflight Internet service to provide its passengers with wireless access in the skies.
Continental is the ninth airline to sign up with Aircell, previously Air Canada, AirTran Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines (and Northwest), United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America started installing the ...Airline secret societies
Dec 6th, 2009 at 1:00PM:
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/12/06/airline-secret-societies/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
There's a special type of membership level, but the airlines don't want you to know about it ... unless you're dropping an easy $50,000 a year on full fare tickets with the same airline. The topic, which comes up from time to time, is in the headlines again thanks to the work of George ...Are you planning a mileage run? Four reasons to rush to the airport
Dec 5th, 2009 at 12:30PM: There are only a few weeks left in 2009, and frequent travelers across the country are staring more intently at their mileage statements than Santa does at the naughty/nice list. The stakes are high: miss the elite cutoff, and a year of upgrades, accelerated check-in and other perks disappear. For passengers who see gold or platinum status levels within reach, year-end "mileage runs" can make a ...DoT gives airlines $175,000 reminder ahead of Thanksgiving
Nov 25th, 2009 at 1:00PM: Three airlines just scored a first with the U.S. government: they were fined for leaving passengers in the lurch. Continental Airlines, ExpressJet (a Continental affiliate) and Mesaba (part of Delta) racked up a total punishment of $175,000 when their combined efforts left fliers on a plane in Minnesota for six hours.
Continental and ExpressJet were slapped with a fine of $100,000, while Mesaba ...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 ...Congress to end long flight delays
Sep 9th, 2009 at 1:00PM:
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/travel_places/Congress_to_end_long_flight_delays'; The business travel community is siding with Congress on a new law that would address flight delays on the tarmac. The Business Travel Coalition, which represents the travel departments of 300 companies, is announcing today that it supports a new law that would give passengers some elbow room when a plane's stuck on ...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 ...Plane Answers: Pilot asks, "Is there anyone on board with internet access?"
Aug 21st, 2009 at 10:00AM: It just might surprise you to know that when sitting on the ground, waiting out a line of thunderstorms, we don't have access to depictions of real-time weather updates. We can fire up the radar and look ahead for 40 or so miles, but there's just no way to know if a re-route offered by ATC is going to keep us out of the weather or create more problems further into our flight. Cessna 172s have ...Few solutions offered for passengers trapped on plane overnight
Aug 10th, 2009 at 3:30PM: Even Gilligan used his creative wits better in crisis. The 47 people on-board a Continental flight last Friday night found themselves on their own "three-hour tour," a la Gilligan's Island. Rather than taking three hours to fly from Houston to the Twin Cities, they were stuck on the tarmac in Rochester, Minnesota for nine hours overnight, not even leaving the aircraft. The flight, operated by ...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 Airlines flies ten year old girl to the wrong airport
Jun 15th, 2009 at 1:30PM: About a month ago, we wrote about an airline serving an unaccompanied minor a large cup of coffee. If you thought that was reckless behavior, you are going to be outraged by what Continental Airlines did to a minor traveling under their supervision. The airline had been paid to accompany a ten year old on a flight from Boston to Cleveland, a pretty simple task, especially since this is just a 45 ...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, ...Wine flights taking off in Newark Liberty's Terminal C
May 5th, 2009 at 2:00PM: I tend to be a little anal-retentive when it comes to getting to the airport on-time for a flight. As such, I end up arriving a good 2+ hours before take-off. The upside is that, in all of my travels, I have only missed two flights because of my tardiness. The downside is that I've had to kill a tremendous amount of time in airports. Despite the fact that they are made for waiting, airport ...
