R.I.P. Continental Airlines

[EZEtoGRU]

The Continental merger with United is complete now. Seems that Continental operated their last flight yesterday evening. CO1267 left Phoenix before midnight and arrived this morning in Cleveland as UA1267. They are transitioning the Frequent Flyer programs this weekend and also the website (which seems to be under the name United now). Continental is now officially gone. For better or worse, its all United now.

[+ Lucky]

And United, the one airline where I could count on getting a 25,000 mile seat award, now requires 50,000 on every route I checked yesterday.

[SteveEscort]

Aww, I liked Continental. I have flown with them many times, once on a plane that was so small I kept banging my head off roof of it LOL

[+ FreshFluff]

Aww, I liked Continental. I have flown with them many times, once on a plane that was so small I kept banging my head off roof of it LOL

 

Dammit, that's where my family's FF miles are!

[EZEtoGRU]

Dammit, that's where my family's FF miles are!

 

Not to worry. The miles all transfer into the United Mileage Plus program.

[EZEtoGRU]

Based on what have been reading on some of the airline forums I follow, the UA merger "go-live" weekend has been anything but smooth. The consolidation of the frequent flyer programmes and part of the reservations systems has been problematic. Many lost reservations, lost seat assignments, long wait times at airports and on the phone. Not a good PR weekend for United. Hopefully none of our forum family have been impacted this weekend.

[+ FreshFluff]

Not to worry. The miles all transfer into the United Mileage Plus program.

 

I know, but I hate United.

[Lankypeters]

United flights were one reasons I switched several years ago to Continental. Can I get away from them????

 

I just booked a flight to Europe for October and had sticker shock the fare came up. It was well over a thousand, for coach.

 

And I just returned from California on a United/Continental flight that offered food for purchase that was pathetic.

 

And so I wonder: will air service ever really get better, or be like it was 30 years ago?

[EZEtoGRU]

United flights were one reasons I switched several years ago to Continental. Can I get away from them????

 

And so I wonder: will air service ever really get better, or be like it was 30 years ago?

 

I hear what you are saying about United. I also gave up on them....about ten years ago.

 

As far as air service goes, coach definitely has declined to the bare bones now. I remember a coach flight on Eastern in 1984 from bogota to Miami. It's only about a 3.5 hour flight yet the lunch was surf & turf with steak and lobster served on china plates.....in economy!!! That flight on AA today probably serves no food in coach now.

 

I am fortunate enough to fly first or business most of the time and it is a more comfortable experience.....although also not like it used to be. I find that if I choose my airlines, routes, and type of aircraft carefully, it can increase the likelihood of a more pleasant experience.

 

Have fun with your travels!!

[Lankypeters]

I hear what you are saying about United. I also gave up on them....about ten years ago.

 

As far as air service goes, coach definitely has declined to the bare bones now. I remember a coach flight on Eastern in 1984 from bogota to Miami. It's only about a 3.5 hour flight yet the lunch was surf & turf with steak and lobster served on china plates.....in economy!!! That flight on AA today probably serves no food in coach now.

 

I am fortunate enough to fly first or business most of the time and it is a more comfortable experience.....although also not like it used to be. I find that if I choose my airlines, routes, and type of aircraft carefully, it can increase the likelihood of a more pleasant experience.

 

Have fun with your travels!!

 

Passengers boarding a recent flight to San Francisco trudged down the aisles like Siberian peasants headed to a gulag. They'd come to expect nothing.

 

And, yes, I can remember ninety minute flights from Cleveland to New York on which full meals were served in coach. Coast to coast coach was also comfortable with larger seats, wider rows, free wine and meals chosen from a printed menu.

 

Business is better. I can't find anything to criticize about the business flights I've made on Continental. I'll soon see what, if any, changes United brings to the Continental business experience.

[EZEtoGRU]

Hopefully the new United adopts allot of practices from the old Continental. American is my preferred carrier. I just hope they survive the Chapter 11 process and stay intact without merging with USAir. I have bad luck choosing airlines. At one time, both Eastern and Pan Am were my primary carriers....and we know what happened to them.

[+ glutes]

Mile High Club Glutes!

 

When my Facebook IPO money comes through, I am going to buy fractional time on a Cessna Citation X. If that is too much, call Memphis for a Richards Aviation Learjet, outfitted with a wet bar and rentboy!

[+ azdr0710]

here's a youtube of First Class cheeseburgers on Continental....

 

 

and here's a video of a dude taking a shower on Emirates.....

 

[Lankypeters]

here's a youtube of First Class cheeseburgers on Continental....

 

 

They used to serve food like that in coach. Forty years ago.

[EZEtoGRU]

here's a youtube of First Class cheeseburgers on Continental....

 

 

and here's a video of a dude taking a shower on Emirates.....

 

Emirates and Singapore Air first class are the way to go. Unfortunately they don't fly domestically in the US. I do want to shower in the air.....and Emirates stand-up bar is the bomb.

[Diverdan]

Nostalgia time... yes, other than Emirates, which is heavily subsidized (sic?) by the government, as is Singapore and Thai, the old first class service and amenities that some of us once enjoyed are long gone and will never be back. I do enjoy the lay flat seats on UA and some of the other airlines, both in business and FC for long hauls, such as Chicago-Hong Kong, LA or SF to Sydney, Frankfurt-Beijing on Lufthansa, or Lufthansa from Frankfort to Johanesburg. On the Lufthansa long haul FC flight, they used to have a chef on board to cook the meals to order. I too remember the stand up bar on the L10-11 airplane... (now how many posters remember flying that?) I guess I must be showing my age! Unless oil comes back to $50.00 a barrel, we will just have to adjust to the airplane/bus approach to travel, and some busses and trains are much better than some flights. I have flown almost 2 million miles on UA, and if I hadn't been flying TWA, Eastern, American and some others, I would probably be at 3M... but please feel sorry for me, as it is now almost impossible to use the many miles I saved up for some free travel around the world, as the seats are stringently controlled.