CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  5 July 2009 : by D Joyce   (Australia)

A hellish experience. Arrived LAX with 1hr 45 mins to connect to Houston. After 1hr in customs, checked bags with 49mins to flight. The inattentive check-in staff made no comment about any time urgency, nor offered assistance to get through security to gate. We made it to gate 10 minutes before flight to discover it closed with a message scrolling that we had to be there 20 minutes before flight time. No one told us previously, and this was the only time we saw this with 5 subsequent Continental flights. 3 other Continental "customers" also fell foul of this trickery. We then entered the airline standby merry-go-round, with up to 8 other people trying to get to Houston. The airport staff seemed not to care about our situation at all, obviously as the airlines policy of overbooking flights meant our plight was common. We missed our connection to Mexico, this costing us a day and a half in airports with the expense of the meals and a hotel stay. When we finally arrived at our destination in Mexico after 4 days travel, we found our luggage had gone to Mexico city, despite staff assuring us several times that it would not board a plane until we did. We were told we would have it the following day. When it arrived the day after that, the pull up handle was broken. Needless to say, we had no official sympathy from the airline, merely some staff empathy as we travelling to attend a family funeral. No official assistance.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  3 July 2009 : by Jonathan Earnshaw   (UK)

MAN-EWR-TPA-EWR-MAN. Checked in quickly at Manchester, fast-lane access and in the lounge in minutes. Welcomed warmly on board, Business Class was only half full, drinks provided before take-off. Amenity kit, newspapers and meal and drink orders taken before departure. Inflight, very personalised service - brunch tasty and good. Warm cookies, drinks and snacks provided throughout the flight. Ahead of arrival, a warm chicken and cheese sandwich with fresh fruit and chocolates. Transfer at Newark slightly long, but on board my flight to Tampa on time and airborne quickly - drinks and pretzels provided which seems little for a 3hr scheduled flight. Returning a few days later, a full meal was served from Tampa to Newark. Flight from EWR delayed by an hour due to weather, crew very friendly and excellent supper service provided.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  23 June 2009 : by Kevin Reid   (UAE)

Paris CDG - Houston - Tulsa. I don't know if Continental are typical of an American carrier, but all I can say is that if there was ever an advert for any other carrier then this was it. The entertainment system was terrible. I know that not every airline has a modern system that allows the passenger, to stop, start, choose what they want, but for the pre flight blurb to claim that they had a "State of the Art entertainment system" was maybe taking things a bit far. The choice of programming was also very poor, not a lot of variation at all. The food was very poor. I'm also not used to the bare faced cheek of a non budget airline charging for alcohol, what is all that about. It seems though that this is not just a Continental thing, but a US carrier thing, another reason to avoid US airlines in the future. The stewardesses took grumpiness, unhelpfulness and downright rudeness to a new level. Really, I think there is a need for some customer care refresher courses in the Continental offices, and quickly. For me, this was my first and absolute last experience in flying with Continental

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  23 June 2009 : by David Rabe   (USA)

TPA-HOU-HOU-SFO, PDX-HOU-HOU-TPA, paid first class. Snack and breakfast on way to SFO; lunch and Snack PDX to TPA. The food was quite tasty. Used the President's Club in Houston, nothing to be excited about - crowded and very warm. All in all the flights were pretty much on time and planes new.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  15 June 2009 : by T Furey   (USA)

LHR-EWR-GSP in Y.. Translantic segment uneventful. My connecting flight to Greenville was canceled due to weather and they put me in a hotel for free (almost an hour away) for the night. The next morning, upon attempting to recheck my bags, the bag drop staff wanted to charge me the $15 checked bag fee (which is not charged on international itineraries). After protesting to staff and explaining the situation, the fee was waived. Then came the fun part, my flight was delayed ten hours due to missing crew delayed on a flight from Toronto. No explanation, let alone meal vouchers or other compensation was given by CO, only the standard "we're working on it" speech over the intercom. By time our crew arrived at 8:45pm (for a flight that was supposed to leave at 1 in the afternoon), it was discovered that the crew reached their maximum hours for the day and a new crew would need to be located. At this point I lost it and attempted to deal with customer service, who offered no help whatsoever. My only saving grace was a kindhearted passenger on the same flight who offered to take me to the President's Club where I finally enjoyed a drink and relaxed. My flight to Greenville finally left at 11:45pm - my apology? A coupon for a free drink on a future flight. This is actually quite sad, my experience with CO in the past while growing up living in England had been quite good, it just isn't what it used to be.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  8 June 2009 : by A Blauch   (USA)

PBI-EWR-MDT return in Econjomy class. B757 with personal TV was nice, seat a little tight and hard. Arrived on time, nice crew. Connecting flight propeller plane - very tight, but short flight. Coming back to PBI on 757, I was lucky to snag exit row seat with online check in. First time flying coach on Continental and I was prepared for the worst with full, tight planes. But I was pleasantly surprised and will fly again.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  6 June 2009 : by A Lynch   (US)

New Orleans (MSY)-San Francisco (SFO) via Houston (IAH), Memorial Day weekend. Came prepared for the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. All flights left and arrived on or even a bit ahead of schedule. Voluntarily bumped off IAH-SFO flight; flew into San Jose (in First Class) four hours later, which didn't conflict with plans too much. Gate agents were very pleasant to deal with. Returned on red-eye flight, which was a bit uncomfortable; couldn't get much sleep even with exit row seat. Cabin crew courteous, but more so in first-class. Good experience overall.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  5 June 2009 : by C Peabody   (USA)

RSW to LHR. At RSW assured would make connecting flight to LHR. On arrival at Newark rushed to gate, plane still there but not allowed to board. Continental staff eventually rebooked us on a later flight but were completely disinterested in the delay and our problems caused by their late arrival into Newark. On arrival at LHR could not get bags because freight hold was jammed shut. LHR to RSW. At LHR assured that we would make connecting flight to RSW. On arrival at Newark rushed to gate, plane still there but not allowed to board. Continental staff eventually rebooked us on flights to Miami, and then to RSW but were completely disinterested in the delays and problems caused by their late arrival into Newark. On eventual arrival at Miami found that connecting flight to RSW had been cancelled. A total nightmare.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  5 June 2009 : by Douglas Shemin   (USA)

PVD-EWR-PVG return. Newark to Shanghai packed, but all things considered I thought Continental did a good job. The inflight entertainment was quite good and the meal service was fine - a choice of Chinese or Western food, with two hot meals, both tasty enough and a snack served in each direction. FAs were efficient and passengers served rapidly. Flying across the Pacific in economy is not fun but the flights were fine and good value.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  1 June 2009 : by C Kerr   (USA)

DFW to Houston to London. Flight canceled 8 hours before take off due to weather. Offered to leave next day. Then advised to go to Love Field, catch plane there. Plane left 4 hours late, missed connection. Got free toothbrush and a flight the next day. Cabin crew was rude and unhappy to be at work and have to deal with customers. Since we make this trip every few months, we will go back to British Airways for their service. Continental will never get our business again, domestic or international.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  29 May 2009 : by Greg Zarelli   (USA)

PDX - ATL via EWR. Overnight flight PDX - EWR on new 737-900 with Direct TV. Very good meal and entertainment. Easy connection in EWR. Flight on time with good service.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  27 May 2009 : by Christina Lynn   (UK)

One of the worst experiences of my life, I still have nightmares about how my husband and I were so badly mistreated by two cabin crew onboard our flight from Cancun to Newark. We checked in 3 hours before takeoff and were assigned front row seats. However, upon boarding we found a woman in one of our seats. We informed an air steward who appeared indifferent to the situation and told us to just sit down as quickly as possible so they could take off, then he would deal with it once we were in the air. We protested, but he became very aggressive. So we sat apart for takeoff. Once in the air, nothing was done about the situation. A stewardess got involved, but just to make the situation worse. I overheard them laughing at how we wanted to sit together and how it was "pathetic". From then on they did everything to make our flight miserable. When my husband came over to speak to me he was ordered to sit down "Because of 9/11". No one else on board was asked to sit down. And in the hours that followed we were subjected to treatment that amounted to nothing more than bullying. When my husband asked the male crew member for a drink and what they had to offer, he replied "I don't have time to discuss it with you." We reported the cabin crew's behaviour, but received a letter not even of apology, let alone compensation. And was this a one-off incident? No. The flight from London to Houston was also fraught with curt, unhelpful cabin crew. At least we were able to sit together. I can only assume Continental does not pay its staff enough money for them to come with manners or respect.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  13 May 2009 : by Fredric Kludy   (USA)

Madison, WI to Ft. Myers, FL roundtrip via Cleveland. Trip down was uneventful but did have a tight connection at CLE. Return trip was delayed out of Ft Myers due to problem with aircraft. Flight attendants quick to supply water, and pilot kept us informed. We were given the option to deplane, as we hadn't left the gate. Finally departed about 2.5 hours late. Missed our connection at CLE, so checked with customer service rep. She was able to schedule us on a Midwest flight leaving in an hour, with a connection in Milwaukee to Madison. Arrived 5.5 hrs later than original time at Madison, but surprised to find our checked luggage arrived with us. Continental crew and staff were pleasant and offered many options at each stage of our return trip. Made what could have been a bad ending to our vacation far more pleasant.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES review :  12 May 2009 : by Catherine Emmett   (USA)

Flights are constantly cancelled or late which makes you miss next flight, even when you give plenty of time between flights to accommodate any little hiccups. Customer service - rudeness does not even enter the dictionary of words to describe these customer service reps. Would never fly this airline again. If I were to state everything that happened I could go on forever, but there is one thing I would like to state, when you book a one stop flight, lets say it is $400 more expensive that a two stop flight, Continental ultimately ends up putting you on the two stop flight - but will not reimburse the $400.