[Candy]

I am truly appalled by the level of unprofessionalism displayed by your staff. This is the first time I have traveled with Continental airlines and NEVER again !! The horror started when your flight was delayed for two hours for absolutely no apparent reason. And I say this because none of your staff were courteous enough to mention over the public address system that the flight was delayed, but instead had passengers sit in Pearson International Airport (YYZ) wondering what was going on and constantly approaching the desk looking for answers.

Now it is obvious that all the passengers on this initially late flight missed their connecting flights. Low and behold I arrived 4:30pm at New Jersey Airport to embark on my connecting flight (which had obviously departed already)to Miami to be greeted by personnel who obviously are overworked and underpaid. Your New Jersey staff continued the obvious trend that was also displayed by your Toronto staff: lack of care and lack of empathy.

I had to assume duty at work early the following day and the continental staff advised me that they could not do anything to assist me and the next available flight was at 11:30pm to Fort Lauderdale, not my initial destination
of Miami. Asked if the airline will provide me with a room to stay and freshen up, the response was "We don't do that at this airline!" Even though your airline makes millions of dollars in profits, you can't afford to accommodate
e circumstances like this? That alone speaks for itself.

After speaking to one of your representatives by the name of Debbiesha and advising her that I paid for a flight to Miami, she told me that the only flight available was a Fort Lauderdale flight and that I would have to catch a bus to Miami at 1:00am. So to add insult to injury, not only can your company not accommodate my original flight which I paid for, but you also want me to now have to pay an additional amount of money to get to my original
destination !!?? I asked her where I can collect my luggage from the Toronto flight and she advised that my luggage will be collected and sent to my new final destination of Fort Lauderdale.

When I finally arrive at Fort Lauderdale airport at 1:15am, my luggage was not there for collection. I then proceeded to inquire at baggage claim about the whereabouts of my luggage, and they advised that it was never taken off the
flight and arrived in Miami as originally scheduled. I spoke to the baggage claim representative at Miami International Airport via telephone and advised her that I needed my luggage as I had to report to work and all my work material was located therein. They advised me to pay $45.00 (for myself and my husband ) to catch a bus and I would be able to pick up the luggage at baggage claim upon arrival at Miami International Airport.

When I arrived at Miami Airport a short time later, the Continental baggage claim office was locked as the final flight for the night had been processed and the office personnel had gone home. I would think that having to pay an additional $55.00 for luggage due to a missed and delayed flight on your airline's part would have guaranteed that I receive my luggage when I needed it !!! So now I am out of an additional $100.00 due to your airline's ridiculous and unnecessary mistakes no luggage or change of clothes. No work material and possibly out of a job !!!

When I contacted the baggage Claim office at Fort Lauderdale they told me that I had to wait for the Miami office to re-open again at 5:30am but that is not a certainty as they sometimes do not arrive until 8:00am. I was forced to sleep on a chair in the Airport until your office personnel 'decided' to show up for work. My job was affected by your lack of sound protocol and horrible company ethics. I would hate to think of a person who had no extra money having to pay additional travel funds to get to a place that they initially trusted (and paid) the airline to originally take them.

The amount of mental duress endured by your company is ridiculous and I cannot believe that an airline operates in such a way. I am certain your Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers do not endure such MADNESS !!! So why do you subject the paying public to it ?

[jimworcs]

Utterly disgraceful. The common thread in these complaints is the hostility and unhelpfulness of staff.. what is it about airlines and bad attitudes? Do they train staff how to shrug, roll their eyes and ask you to stand aside?

The fly in your ointment is that you don't say why the original flight was delayed. If it was the weather.. they will use it as a battering ram to beat you, but there really is no excuse for the pathetic, sloppy and often nasty attitudes of some of these "customer service" representatives.

[abutterfinger25]

I would wager good money that your flight was delayed for weather reasons. Flying in and out of Newark is a crap shoot. The design of that airport is such that any strong winds cutting across the main runways will shut down operations, even while other NY airports are operating. Avoid Newark like the plague.

The constant delays and cancellations out of Newark puts even more strain on the tempers of the agents at that airport. However, that is no reason for them not to be helpful to you.

[Gromit801]

Nice to know! We're flying out of Newark early Monday morning! lol. Chances are that early, no wind issues.

[jimworcs]

Trouble is, if the weather is perfect in the entire USA, Continental will cite monsoons in Bangladesh as the reason. There is always weather somewhere and the airlines are adept at making a link, however tenuous. That loophole is the biggest loophole ever.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

Trouble is, if the weather is perfect in the entire USA, Continental will cite monsoons in Bangladesh as the reason. There is always weather somewhere and the airlines are adept at making a link, however tenuous. That loophole is the biggest loophole ever.

Continental is actually very transparent when it comes to letting you know where your aircraft is coming from. If you go to Continental.com and look up any flight's status there is a link to click telling you where the aircraft is coming from, it's flight number, etc. Give it a try.

[jimworcs]

That's helpful, but I await the invention of a lie detector, fitted to each employee.. and then when they start lying, a red light goes off and alarms start ringing. The airport would be lit up like a Christmas tree.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

That's helpful, but I await the invention of a lie detector, fitted to each employee.. and then when they start lying, a red light goes off and alarms start ringing. The airport would be lit up like a Christmas tree.

Only if the same lie detectors were hooked up to passengers as well!

[jimworcs]

Yeah, love to see how sympathetic the airlines are when someone is late at check in and says it is not their fault as they were delayed due to the weather... you think Continental would be as understanding as the passengers are supposed to be?

[Silent Bob]

Actually Jim, Continental does a better job than most other airlines (United being second) in that if you calmly explain why you're late they will put you on the next flight at no charge. I've never had a problem in that area as do most my friends and coworkers, and that's usually the biggest fear when running late, paying the change fee.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Silent Bob

Actually Jim, Continental does a better job than most other airlines (United being second) in that if you calmly explain why you're late they will put you on the next flight at no charge. I've never had a problem in that area as do most my friends and coworkers, and that's usually the biggest fear when running late, paying the change fee.

Continental is extremely lenient in that regard. Especially at Newark where many use the NJ Turnpike to get to the airport. One minor accident on that highway or even a small construction zone can cause horrendous delays.

[jimworcs]

Leniency and the rapacious attitude of US airlines don't go together...maybe for you exalted Platinum FF's, but the average Joe gets the rolling eyes, stand aside treatment.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

Leniency and the rapacious attitude of US airlines don't go together...maybe for you exalted Platinum FF's, but the average Joe gets the rolling eyes, stand aside treatment.

No. My brother has missed several flights out of EWR because he was late. Some because of traffic issues and others because he simply didn't allow himself enough time to get to the airport. (He's one of those people who'll be late to his own funeral!) He has no status with Continental and yet they've re-booked him on the next flight no questions asked and no fees.

[jimworcs]

Is he particularly good looking?

[The_Judge]

Interesting question and a good point. I may have, a time or two, over the years, bent the rules or went the extra mile for a, in my eyes, good looking girl. It's not right but I'll admit it.

[jimworcs]

I don't mind whatever advantage the customer gets... but if being good looking in the criteria... I will never get any service!

[Gary Kritz]

I had been sitting at Gate E21 at Houston Bush Int. Airport for 90 minutes when out of nowhere, the gate agent told us that we had to switch gates, 5 minutes before boarding. The new gate, C30, was all the way at the other far end of the airport. The E21 gate board still said to Philadelphia on-time, scheduled to leave at 7:05PM. We all started running as fast as we could to get to the new gate, which put us in the middle of boarding. It took me 15 minutes to get there walking at a very fast pace since I am a power walker. I felt bad for all of the old people who couldn’t make it. No one was boarding at Gate C30 when I arrived. We sat down and waited. At 6:45PM, we were told there was a mechanical problem with the plane, and the next update was at 7:15PM. We all ran for nothing, sweating and out-of-breadth. The plane had been sitting at Gate E21 since 6;10PM. We were never told of the problem, and we ran for nothing! There is no excuse for that. Continental knew there was a mechanical problem at 6:10PM, long before we were running for our lives to make the flight with the gate change. At 7:16PM we were told it was an air-conditioning problem and that we would leave at 8:15PM because the plane had to be cleaned and serviced. Since when does it take 60 minutes to clean and load the plane?! I’ve seen turnarounds in 15 minutes. There are connections made within 30 minutes. Why couldn’t the plane be loaded and serviced while we boarded like on any other flight? The C30 gate agents were belligerent and bewildered. They were told nothing or why. Even our pilot told us that he did not understand why the plane was switched from E21! No communications to the passengers or agents. We were kept in the dark.

I’ve had these frequent flyers miles since the mid-80’s. I had stopped flying Continental for this exact reason- being manipulated and lied to with omitted communications. Nothing has changed in 20 years. I’m done with Continental. And I know it is the “operations crew on the ground” who are responsible for NOT communicating to the gate agents and for making the gate change. How do I know this? It was these “Lack of communications problems” that led me to stop flying Continental. You should take a look online at all of the customer complaint sites on your airline. It is pathetic.