Consumerist
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stranded on the tarmac
Transportation Secretary Would Like To Ask Continental A Few Questions
The horrific tarmac delay in Rochester, MN has come to the attention of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. LaHood apparently has a blog, and on it he's asking some questions about the delay. More » -
evil
47 Passengers, Including Two Babies, Trapped On Continental Flight For 11 Hours
When will airlines realize that when a flight gets diverted and things go wrong — you just should not force people to stay on an airplane for 11 hours with only a bag of pretzels to eat. What was ExpressJet's (operator of the Continental flight) excuse? The TSA screeners had gone home for the night, so they couldn't let anyone get back on the plane if they let them off. Oh no! More » -
customer service
Bank Manager Helps Thwart $25K Con Of 80-Year-Old
A manager at Chemical Bank in Midland, Michigan, grew suspicious when he saw Marion Case, an 80-year-old customer, withdraw $25k from her account last December. Case told him she was going to mail it to someone who would then pass it along to her son. The manager, Carl Ahearn, "remained suspicious. He followed her as she walked to the nearby post office, where Case bought an Express Mail envelope addressed to a man in New Jersey. Ahearn shared his concerns with postal officials, who opened an investigation and arrested a man Monday for fraud." More » -
scheduling
Persistence Convinces Continental To Abandon Impossible Itinerary
Continental thought 82 minutes was plenty of time for Chris to catch a flight connecting in Newark from Washington to Delhi. It might be, but Continental's own data show that the Washington flight arrives late 96% of the time by 103 minutes on average. Chris wanted to switch to an earlier flight so he could make the once-daily plane to Delhi, but Continental wouldn't let him switch unless he paid a $250 change fee. Unsatisfied with the answer, Chris hung up and kept calling back until he got the answer he wanted. More » -
tragic
Continental Pilot Dies Midflight, Crew Lands Jet Safely
CNN is reporting that the pilot of Continental Flight 61 from Brussels to Newark died midflight, forcing a relief pilot to take over the controls of the Boeing 777. More » -
continental
Continental Takes 2nd Child To Wrong Airport
Yup, you read the title right. Continental has taken a second child, within a week, to the wrong airport. In both cases a subcontracted regional airline called Express Jet flying under the Continental brand was at fault. Houston Chronicle reports: More » -
taking it seriously
Continental Offers Free Flights, Frequent-Flyer Status To Misrouted Child's Family
Continental Airlines has made a much more generous offer to the family whose ten-year-old daughter was accidentally flown to Newark instead of Cleveland while flying as an unaccompanied minor. Paterfamilias and blogger Jonathan Kamens wrote that a Continental rep "assured [him] again that the airline takes what happened very seriously." The details of Continental's offer, inside. More » -
continental airlines
Continental Puts 10-Year-Old Child On The Wrong Plane
UPDATE: Continental Offers Free Flights, Frequent-Flyer Status To Misrouted Child's Family
Sure, airlines misroute luggage all the time. But how about misrouting a ten-year-old girl to the wrong state?Yesterday, Jonathan's ten-year-old daughter boarded a plane from Boston to Cleveland to visit her grandparents. She flew as an unaccompanied minor, meaning that her family paid an extra fee for airline staff to keep an eye on her and make sure she was taken care of and ended up where she needed to be. They didn't. She ended up on a plane bound for Newark, NJ. More »
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bars
Continental's "General Vibe" Doesn't Include Black People
Laney went out for drinks after work with some co-workers. He changed out of his uniform, but they wore theirs. Soon after the group entered, Laney was asked to leave, ostensibly due to a dress code violation...but it became clear his outfit wasn't the problem. More » -
travel
Should A First Officer Make More Than $23,900 A Year?
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about the economics of regional airlines — the smaller companies that are subcontracted to operate the less profitable routes for major airlines. Some were stunned to find out that first officer on the flight that crashed in Buffalo, NY only made $23,900 a year. Is this too little? More » -
swine flu
Continental: No Refunds For Swine Flu Cancellations
The swine flu outbreak is making thing tough for people who had booked Mexican vacations. Reader Kurt is one such person. He got a full refund from the hotel, but is dismayed that Continental won't extend him the same courtesy. More » -
phone numbers
Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies
Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success.
More »
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continental
Continental Confuses California With NYC?
[Update: Several commenters have pointed out that "Ontario, CA" actually refers to Ontario, California, which is near L.A. And to be fair to the OP, we're the ones who misinterpreted Ontario, not her. We've updated the post. Also, check out Fly Girl's insider explanation as to what likely happened.] More » -
larry kellner
Continental's CEO Fixes Your Frequent Flyer Miles
The CEO of Continental Airlines called up reader Ben personally and fixed his frequent flyer miles for him... More » -
rule 240
The Ultimate "Rule 240" List
Some airlines still call it "Rule 240" and others a "contract of carriage" but no matter what the name, it still means the same thing: power to the traveler. But which airlines still use it and how much does it protect a traveler? More » -
recession watch
Oil! Airlines Issue Open Letter Asking You To Help Them Lobby Congress
In a letter signed by 12 CEOs, the US air travel industry has called upon you, their customers, to help them lobby congress. What's the problem that they need help solving? Oil speculation. Read the letter inside. More » -
mergers
United Airlines And Continental Partner Operations
Circling the winged wagons, United Airlines and Continental announced they're partnering up into something just shy of a full merger. Continental will try to join the Star Alliance Network and the airlines will begin code-sharing on some routes. Travelers will be able to spend frequent flyer miles earned with one on the other. Might want to avoid flying them for a while until we see how well they two manage to integrate their systems, because, if there's one thing airlines are good at, it's screwing up.
United, Continental Form Broad Marketing Alliance [WSJ]
Continental Airlines and United Airlines Announce Comprehensive Plan for Global Cooperation; Continental Plans to Join Star Alliance [Press Release](Photo: So Cal Metro)
continental
Continental has added a $15 charge on the first checked bag for some economy-class passengers, effective on tickets bought for travel on or after October 7. [
New York, 3:50 AM
Mon Nov 9
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