I agree that it is the passenger's responsibility to get to the airport on time. From that point on, I respectfully part company with a few of the replies.
Most of us that travel a lot are clear that EWR is a Continental hub. Because of this, and because of busy travel times, 90 minutes may be clearly insufficient. However, since I have no reason to doubt Mattkay's assertion that the eticket indicated 60 minutes, I have to question why they should be held responsible for missing their flight. Why should they be aware that Newark is a hub?
For the person who seldom travels by air, why should they not believe anything other than what is printed on their ticket? Why should they have to double check the website? It appears they showed even earlier than recommended.
I should not be interested that Continental has layed off workers. Not my problem. 2.5 hours is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for bags. Sorry, but my patience would have disappeared a bit before that amount of time had lapsed.
All that having been said...I can tell you that I do not go by what's on my eticket or on the website. I usually show at the airport much earlier than recommended, go through security, and sit in the airport coffee shop for a while. In a large city, I will just sit in Continental's Presidents Club and surf the web. As a result, I have experienced very few problems (other than a recent bag problem...GRRRRR). But the casual traveller has no reason to believe anything other than what they read on their ticket.
I am sure Mattkay (could that be Matt & Kay?) will arrive earlier in the future, but in the instant case, it is my opinion that Continental is responsible.
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