Observation - Southwest v. Continental
 

My wife and I flew to California yesterday where we will board our cruise ship Sunday (Read: I allowed four days for delays! :D). It is interesting to note the differences in onboard experience of Continental and Southwest. Our Southwest flight last month, both ways, was full. It was a 2 1/2 hour flight and the flight attendants were constantly in the aisle offering refills on soft drinks, etc. Plus, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Yesterday's Continental flight was a tad over 3 hours with the airplane only half full. They made their obligatory service, then spent the remainder of the time sitting in the galley. They only came through to collect trash a couple of times and once did carry a tray of water. No one with Continental was rude at any time, but they sure had the plastic smiles. I have to wonder if this attitude is caused from management and the way they treat their employees. The flight was OK...no problems...it's just interesting to note the difference in carriers.

That is a good description of the difference in corporate cultures.. and Southwest have one of the best. Delta management on the other hand....

It is exactly that ... management. SouthWest employees are treated better, and the corporate culture is about embracing, and caring for the employees. At Continental, and many other major airlines, labor, unfortuantely, is looked at, and often times, treated as, a cost, rather than an asset. It is ashame, but does lead to the different experience you will have, and the attitude you perceive from one airline's employees, to the next.

Money and happiness. And, Continental Air
 

The phrase "money can't buy happiness" may not apply to the business of commercial aviation. Southwest, for the last 2 to 3 DECADES, has been a member of that exclusive club of those airlines, thoughout the world, that manage to--CONSISTENTLY--show a profit--albeit a neglegable one. Thus Southwest has kept company with such international heavy weights as Lufthansa and Singapore. By contrast, I have yet to find an airline, that has to deal with today's economic realities, that is able to operate in the red, and provide customer service and reliability on a par with the aforementioned profit makers.

AS TO CONTINENTAL AIR: There are circumstances where I would consider travel in Continental First Class/Business. Continental Express flights, operated by ExpressJet, I refuse to take in light of an incident, at Houston Intercontiental, a few years ago involving an ExpressJet flight attendant who abused her authority, and threw a mother and her 6-year old child off the flight simply because the 6-year old would not stop talking. Generally, airlines that think the Constitutional rights of their customers are little more than a big joke should be avoided like the plague!
Finally, care should be exercised when travelling with Continental to, from, or through, their Newark (EWR) hub:
(a) Weather, in EWR, should be checked BEFORE boarding your originating flight.
(b) AVOID travel during Christmas, college breaks, etc.
(c) If you will be making an "on-line" Continental connection in EWR, determine whether your arriving flight, and the departing flight are in the same terminal and, if different terminals are involved, insist on a minimum connecting time of 2 hours, or plan for an overnight stay in EWR. One must clear a TSA security line in the departing (second) terminal.
(d) The location of the Continental "airside" (inter-terminal) shuttle is, evidently, a state secret since signage is limited to non-existant.

Agreed! But sometimes it's unavoidable. Lately I've been flying either Delta or Northwest into Stewart (SWF) in Newburgh, NY. It is often a bit more expensive but worth it. If your final destination is in the Hudson Valley region of NY or Northern NJ it is very convenient and just off the NY State Thruway (I87) which connects to I287 and the Garden State Parkway in NJ. With a boarding pass printed online I can get through TSA in under 5 minutes. Parking is cheaper there (although not plentiful) and it isn't a mile walk from the chec-in counter to the gates. JetBlue and USAir (express) also serve Stewart however JetBlue only has service to Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale and USAir only flies turbo-props to Philadelphia which is really an airport to be avoided at all cost!Westchester County airport (HPN) is also a good alternative if your origin or destination is east of the Hudson river.

Quote:

(c) If you will be making an "on-line" Continental connection in EWR, determine whether your arriving flight, and the departing flight are in the same terminal and, if different terminals are involved, insist on a minimum connecting time of 2 hours, or plan for an overnight stay in EWR. One must clear a TSA security line in the departing (second) terminal.

Actually the signage has gotten better since the gate in terminal C from which the inter-terminal shuttle operates is also the gate for US Helicopter flights to/from NYC. Before the shuttle it was a pain changing terminals outside security. They have also done some shifting of flights so that ALL mainline CO flights (on a 737 or larger) operate from terminal C and Expressjet flights are in A. There are times (like when I arrived Dec. 21 after EWR had some snow) when things can get shaken up and an express flight willl arrive/depart from C. Always double-check those monitors!

Unfortunate, the experience that was had with the ExpressJet flight attendant, but ExpressJet is actually a really good airline. It has a corporate culture a lot like SouthWest. Most employees really love working for the airline. There will always be bad apples, and I am sure that employee has been "taken care of" -- (I used to work for ExpressJet). I don't think you would be disappointed flying on ExpressJet. Their quality of service is far better than many other "regional" airlines. ExpressJet did a short stint for Delta, out of LAX, and Delta's CEO actually said that ExpressJet's quality of service is the standard that all regional carriers should be based. I know many pilots, and flight attendants of ExpressJet, and they are class people. They also have a very high standard for training their employees, from pilots, down to the people working the ramp. It is by far, the best company I worked for. Sadly, they were contracted out, to an, "underbidder", at my airport, and thus I no longer work for them. Obviously, it is up to you, but I would give ExpressJet a chance. I can tell you, they have dealt with that flight attendant. I worked for them, during the incident, and it was big news around the company.

As per EWR --- avoid EWR, like the plague, regardless of the airline. It is a congested airport, with frequent heavy delays, and often has weather and ATC issues -- which, of course, means the airlines will be of little help.

I loved flying ExpressJet...but, unfortunately, they are no longer in the scheduled airline business. They fly corporate charters. Their jets went back to Continental and are now flying as Continental Express.