Continental Airlines Passenger Reviews and Continental Airlines Customer Trip Reports

SAN-IAH-LHR, AMS-IAH-SAN return. Domestic segments on B737-900, transatlantic segments on B777-200ER to LHR and B767-400ER from AMS. Planes clean, food above average, service friendly and professional, flights on time, and my baggage arrived with me. Enjoyed DirectTV on domestic flights and audio-video on demand on international portions. Lie-flat seat in BusinessFirst very nice.

EWR-PBI return both on the 757. Everything went smoothly at EWR and Terminal C is the best terminal at the airport. The 757 had the New United Economy Plus seats with PTV's that has AVOD. Being 6'4, the Economy Plus seat was comfortable and is up there with Jet Blue's seat ( A very positive feature to the United merger). The AVOD was great with a long list of movies and I prefer it to the Direct TV option. The Crew on both legs were professional and attentive. I will fly Continental more often.

LHR-IAH-LAX. The only real redeeming feature was the price. Inflight service was everything I expected. One flight attendant brushed off my attempt to hand him a used cup while his colleague nonchalantly kicked my bag into position beneath the seat in front of me for landing. That bag only there because there was no space left in the overhead bins - the result of lax enforcement of cabin bag size rules. Meals were half- decent, even if presentation ought to be improved. Entertainment was almost monolingual, and the range of audio programmes narrow. Most crucially, late departure from LHR meant I missed my connection. The same thing happened with my United IAD-FRA-LHR trip in August. As the wording on the coffee cups suggests, "different name, same values". I've probably learnt my lesson and will stick to European airlines for my next journey.

LHR to IAH, an enjoyable experience and I'll use again. Seat was comfortable, but I made a mistake of giving up my aisle seat so a couple could sit together and found it hard to get past my neighbour from the window seat. Food and IFE were good, with a choice of films and a system that was easy to use. Attendants were professional. Not quite the same for the onward internal CO connection (2 hours). Tired seats and cold meal only.

AMS-LAD-BOS. Smooth check-in at the airport, because the flight was not fully booked they changed seats for us so we had the middle seat free. We flew the good old 757, seat was ok. Food nowadays on those intercontinental flights is below average. Crew were friendly and attentive. IE system average with enough movies to watch. We arrived 20 minutes early. On the leg to BOS everything went smoothly. We arrived a couple of minutes early and for the money paid I would do it again.

PDX-ATL round trip. Very uncomfortable seats, poor food offered, flight attendants acted like they were doing passengers a favor. Had to wait forever to use to toilet. Since Continental merged with United they have sunk to an all time low. In the past they allowed upgrades for a reasonable fee - not anymore! They let premium seats go empty, even when the plane was on its last segment and airborne, the flight attendants would not let anyone sit in an area with more leg room. They said it was "reserved". I simply refused to upgrade to first class for $619 and they had empty seats there also. In the past before they merged with United I could upgrade for around $100 if seats were available. I simply don't understand the cost/benefit ratio of letting seats go empty instead of making them affordable, or allowing someone to use coach class seats with more leg room once the aircraft is in flight. My ticket wasn't cheap to start with, and the service I got was terrible from start to finish. This merger was not for the better!

Minneapolis-Chicago-Houston-Bogota. The booking appeared as United but in reality the flights Chicago- Houston-Bogota are Continental. When in Bogota I called the Continental line to check about possibility of return date change. The Customer Service rep said my flights were book through United so I would have to contact them for any changes. The problem is they do not operate in Colombia so did not know how to contact them. Aircraft's covering this route are uncomfortable 737-800 for a 4.5 hr international flight, the return flight did not have TV or music options. I was used to AA broad body aircraft's for international travel which are more appropriate. I guess for the fare paid, I could not ask much, but I would not repeat the trip.

Flew non-stop from San Francisco to Newark, NJ. My complaint concerns insufficient overhead luggage space. As you know, the passengers board from the back of the plane. I was in aisle #23, about mid-way on the plane. Yet, by the time I boarded, all the overhead space was taken. This is due to the incompetence of airline personnel who routinely allow people to take luggage on the plane that clearly exceeds the size limits. I flagged down a flight attendant and insisted that she find room for my luggage. Of course, the airline is ultimately to blame for charging people to check luggage, the first piece should be free.

Dulles to Houston and the crew did a great job. Regional jets are not comfortable for flying half way across the country, there is very little room for carry on luggage, mine had to go in the cargo area. For the prices we pay for flights the airline needs to at least provide a sandwich for an early morning trip. I have flown many times in the past, and am getting to the point that I would rather drive.

Heathrow to Newark. Check-in was impersonal and the few people that were available to help when my passport would not scan were ill informed and were unable to answer questions. Outbound flight was acceptable although food was cold. Our return flight, which was a night flight was atrocious! As we had not reserved seats on our outbound flight, we were advised to reserve them 24 hours prior to departure for our flight home. We duly did this and foolishly moved seats from those that had been allocated for us. The seats that we booked were in row 14 and we were unaware until we boarded the plane, that these were non- reclining seats. Had the online booking system made this clear, we would never have booked these seats. My husband is 6'2" and had to attempt to be comfortable in his seat, with the seat in front reclined on top of him and his TV screen about 10" from his face. Flight attendants were extremely apologetic and said that we could move seats but that we would have to sit separately. Once again, my food was cold and this time inedible. We also struggled to put our 'carry-on' luggage into the overhead storage as many people had stowed suitcases. Whilst we cannot fault the flight attendants for their service, my husband was knocked by one or the other of the ladies each time they came past him. Overall, our experience of Continental Airlines was very poor and we will not use them again. It is all very well to provide cheap flights but value for money should also imply customer satisfaction.

EWR to BOM return. The flight attendants seemed rude and apathetic to passengers' needs. Instead of trying to make the 15 hr flight tolerable, they tended to add to the stress level of passengers. In fact, soon after boarding, I remember the flight attendants screaming at passengers to sit down. They seemed annoyed when requested for even minor help, like requesting an extra blanket and looked at you with disdain if you dared to ask whether they carried a certain newspaper.

We just completed a so-called Business/First Class trip to and from India, and the only thing "first class" about it were the new bed seats. For the most part, flight attendants seem 'tired' of their jobs - when I asked to be shown how to use the lighting, the stewardess replied that she was not familiar enough with it to be of help. In previous years, food service was exceptional, this time, there was no liquor cart and you had to ask for a drink. Breakfast was thrown at us in the last 45 mins of the trip. The overall quality of the food was very poor, overcooked and not very well presented. Continental used to do a lot better. Hopefully their merger with United will help put them back on track.

LHR-EWR-PHX Business 1st. Check-in at LHR T4 was ok, at best. Not a huge line, but not tightly run. Will say they were informative about lounge and gate area. Same person that checked me in came on the plane to address each 1st pax. Seats comfortable and well appointed. IFE was good, managed to keep my attention, but not the most up to date. Food was very good. Have to say service was spotty depending on who was serving. FA forgot drinks / what was ordered throughout flight, but noticed the FA for the other aisle was spot on. Appetizer cart, then main. Followed by ice cream dessert. EWR-PHX leg in 1st - again comfortable. Direct TV was nice to have, but nothing to watch! Have to say, again, meal was very good. Having transited to Europe on another carrier CO will be merging with, hope the level of service and quality skews to CO as they offered a better product.

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