Wally flies Continental--A Report
Nov 13th, 2006, 09:06 AM
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Wally flies Continental--A Report
I arrived at the West Palm Beach airport 1 hour 20 minutes before the flight and used the automated check-in. I moved my assigned seats to the exit row with no problem on both the PBI to Houston and Houston to SFO flights. Only one person was in the exit row on the DEF side of the plane. I asked her when she moved her seat and she said this morning. No one can select these seats until check in, she said. I am surprised more people don't take advantage of this option. BTW, I paid $218 for this round-trip flight.
The plane looked much cleaner than the American Airlines planes. They played an actual movie on the dropdown screens and not just entertainment with tons of commercials. I liked the fact that they have the see-through curtains that separate First from Coach class. It wasn't necessary to say the American Airlines anthem, "Now we want you to use the bathroom in your ticketed cabin," three or four times on each flight. They also didn't say, "Now we don't want you to congregrate in the galley area . . ."
Unfortunately, the first and last 35 minutes of the flight seemed to be the least turbulence part of the flight so the "Fasten Seat Belt sign" stayed on for most of the flights. Yes, it was ok for the flight attendant to pour hot coffee, but the fasten seat belt sign was on. However, I did see about 40 people get up to use the toilet, including myself and the flight attendants did not say anthing--unlike on the American flight when both the male and female flight attendant said, "The captain has not turned off the Fasten Seat-belt sign . . ."
From Houston to SFO they served corn flakes with milk, a muffin (American wanted $2 for a muffin, but they didn't have any takers) and a banana. And it wasn't free, it was included in the price of the ticket.
I drove up to Harbin Hot Springs, just north of Calistoga. The drive took about 2 1/2 hours and my blood pressure was back to normal in an hour as I soaked in the hot, cold and meditation pools.
On the return leg, it was a red-eye out of SFO. The computers were down when I checked in so I was checked in manually and with people waiting, I didn't try for an exit row. I had checked the seats on the plane a week earlier and I had the entire row to myself. Things change and the plane went from 35% full to 95% full. Those seats in the back only have 30" pitch--not 31 I'm guessing. The elite seats in the front part of the coach cabin have much more room. I guess you could also call the elite seats, Economy Plus.
The fasten seat belt sign was turned off for only 5 minutes on the flight. My major complaint was when they turn on the fasten seat belt sign at 1:00 a.m., the flight attendants had to announce "the captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign, please check . . ." which woke everyone up. With so many signs in the cabin that say, "Fasten Seat Belt," why announce it, but then, the flight attendants wouldn't have anything to do.
On the Houston to West Palm Beach flight they used a commuter plane that only held 50 people. I got another muffin, and some coffee. It was nice having a window and isle seat. The one flight attendant was in the front of the plane and I was in the second to last row. I pushed my seat back for landing--it felt so good!
Would I fly Continental again? For that price in the United States, yes. However, for longer International flights I would not. The reasons: $5 drinks, coach seating is too tight for a long flight, Fasten seat belt sign on too much--I need to stretch my legs, and all movies are edited. Instead I would book a flight with Virgin Airways and give them my Continental frequent flyer number.
But it was obvious that Continental is spending more money on food and entertainment than what American Airlines is.
The plane looked much cleaner than the American Airlines planes. They played an actual movie on the dropdown screens and not just entertainment with tons of commercials. I liked the fact that they have the see-through curtains that separate First from Coach class. It wasn't necessary to say the American Airlines anthem, "Now we want you to use the bathroom in your ticketed cabin," three or four times on each flight. They also didn't say, "Now we don't want you to congregrate in the galley area . . ."
Unfortunately, the first and last 35 minutes of the flight seemed to be the least turbulence part of the flight so the "Fasten Seat Belt sign" stayed on for most of the flights. Yes, it was ok for the flight attendant to pour hot coffee, but the fasten seat belt sign was on. However, I did see about 40 people get up to use the toilet, including myself and the flight attendants did not say anthing--unlike on the American flight when both the male and female flight attendant said, "The captain has not turned off the Fasten Seat-belt sign . . ."
From Houston to SFO they served corn flakes with milk, a muffin (American wanted $2 for a muffin, but they didn't have any takers) and a banana. And it wasn't free, it was included in the price of the ticket.
I drove up to Harbin Hot Springs, just north of Calistoga. The drive took about 2 1/2 hours and my blood pressure was back to normal in an hour as I soaked in the hot, cold and meditation pools.
On the return leg, it was a red-eye out of SFO. The computers were down when I checked in so I was checked in manually and with people waiting, I didn't try for an exit row. I had checked the seats on the plane a week earlier and I had the entire row to myself. Things change and the plane went from 35% full to 95% full. Those seats in the back only have 30" pitch--not 31 I'm guessing. The elite seats in the front part of the coach cabin have much more room. I guess you could also call the elite seats, Economy Plus.
The fasten seat belt sign was turned off for only 5 minutes on the flight. My major complaint was when they turn on the fasten seat belt sign at 1:00 a.m., the flight attendants had to announce "the captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign, please check . . ." which woke everyone up. With so many signs in the cabin that say, "Fasten Seat Belt," why announce it, but then, the flight attendants wouldn't have anything to do.
On the Houston to West Palm Beach flight they used a commuter plane that only held 50 people. I got another muffin, and some coffee. It was nice having a window and isle seat. The one flight attendant was in the front of the plane and I was in the second to last row. I pushed my seat back for landing--it felt so good!
Would I fly Continental again? For that price in the United States, yes. However, for longer International flights I would not. The reasons: $5 drinks, coach seating is too tight for a long flight, Fasten seat belt sign on too much--I need to stretch my legs, and all movies are edited. Instead I would book a flight with Virgin Airways and give them my Continental frequent flyer number.
But it was obvious that Continental is spending more money on food and entertainment than what American Airlines is.
Nov 13th, 2006, 07:52 PM
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Wally - think you've hit it bang on about how CO is trying to differentiate their domestic product - they pay attention to keeping the equipment clean and they serve food on flights where other carriers usually don't. And their fares are usually really competitive, too, so you will have extra funds left to pay for the booze ;-)
Nov 13th, 2006, 07:58 PM
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wally's experience is pretty representative of what one may find flying CO.
About the seat pitch, I've never used a tape measure to actually measure the seats, but my guess is that the actual legroom/kneeroom also depends on the thickness and design of the seats, and some variables among plane types. For me, the 31" on a 777 is much more "tolerable" than the 31" on a 757, for example.
As for the fastern seat belt sign, I hope wally will finally understand why it's never a problem for me flying CO all these years. It's because FA seldom scream at you for leaving the seats to use the lavatories. On my flight from Hong Kong last Sunday, there are often people standing at the back galley waiting to use the loo even when the seat belt signs were on. Nobody get yelled at about the sign or TSA "prohibition" on lavatory "gatherings", except for one time when there was really pretty severe turbulence and one guy was still trying to walk back to the lavatories. [I sat on the last row, so I had a pretty good tally of what's going on back there.]
About the seat pitch, I've never used a tape measure to actually measure the seats, but my guess is that the actual legroom/kneeroom also depends on the thickness and design of the seats, and some variables among plane types. For me, the 31" on a 777 is much more "tolerable" than the 31" on a 757, for example.
As for the fastern seat belt sign, I hope wally will finally understand why it's never a problem for me flying CO all these years. It's because FA seldom scream at you for leaving the seats to use the lavatories. On my flight from Hong Kong last Sunday, there are often people standing at the back galley waiting to use the loo even when the seat belt signs were on. Nobody get yelled at about the sign or TSA "prohibition" on lavatory "gatherings", except for one time when there was really pretty severe turbulence and one guy was still trying to walk back to the lavatories. [I sat on the last row, so I had a pretty good tally of what's going on back there.]
]
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:49 AM
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If you book a flight with Continental, you may want to try calling after booking to see if you can get your seats moved to an elite row. When I flew from Berlin to Newark 1 1/2 years ago, I was near the front on a 757 (in an elite row) on a Frequent Flyer ticket. The seat next to me was empty (as were most exit rows) and the seat pitch was good.
Nov 14th, 2006, 03:25 AM
#10
I changed planes at HKG last Sunday to continue UA 862 to SGN. Near the gate at HKG there was a manual baggage search. The guy confiscated the toothpaste and lotion that were in the biz class amenity kit provided on board by UA. I felt much safer.
Nov 14th, 2006, 04:42 AM
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Again, 44A/L are my favorite coach seats on the 777. I could get basically any seat on CO, but that's what I want! I used to sit in 17-19 D or F, but 44 A/L are better.
On other CO planes, I wouldn't sit in the back. On the 762s, for example, I always get something in the small cabin in front, row 16-18. 752s are tough, as the only good seats are the exit rows on row 16, but extremely tough to get unless one's platinum, and I'm not.
Anyways, I will have my flight report posted later. As for HKG, CO have secondary screening on the jetway. Just like how it was done in CDG when I was there in September. With a whole team of people doing the 2nd screening, it didn't add much time to the boarding process, and the full plane was loaded 10 minutes before scheduled departure. [We still got in late, but that has nothing to do with HKG.]
On other CO planes, I wouldn't sit in the back. On the 762s, for example, I always get something in the small cabin in front, row 16-18. 752s are tough, as the only good seats are the exit rows on row 16, but extremely tough to get unless one's platinum, and I'm not.
Anyways, I will have my flight report posted later. As for HKG, CO have secondary screening on the jetway. Just like how it was done in CDG when I was there in September. With a whole team of people doing the 2nd screening, it didn't add much time to the boarding process, and the full plane was loaded 10 minutes before scheduled departure. [We still got in late, but that has nothing to do with HKG.]
