[Zucks]

On February 17, 2009, I purchased a one-way ticket from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad to Newark, New Jersey. I have been travelling back and fought from New Jersey to Trinidad for several years now with Continental Airlines using the same schedule they’ve had from the inception of these flights to Trinidad.
During my visit to Trinidad, I received a call from my wife informing me that our infant son was admitted to the hospital, I was originally scheduled to return to Newark, NJ on Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 1:56PM, unaware that Continental Airline had changed my return flight (Confirmation # D71M4P) to depart POS on Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 12:30AM instead, I placed three calls to the airline on Monday trying to get a flight out to be with my family.
I spoke with three different Continental Airline Customer Service representatives on Monday July 13, 2009 at various times trying to change my flight, none of which had the courtesy to inform me that my flight schedule was changed and I was actually due to fly out on the next available flight to Newark, NJ. Instead, they told me there was no available flights in coach and they only had First Class which I know to be a lie because my niece flew out on that same flight and she told me that there we quite a few available seats.
I have several people who witness and can verify my calls to Continental Airline on Monday July 13, 2009. After several attempts to get a flight to Newark, NJ and speaking with my wife, we both agreed we simply couldn’t afford to pay $964.76 for a one-way ticket and that our son was in stable condition, we agreed for me to fly out on the Tuesday July 14, 2009.
I arrived to the airport, only to find out that I was scheduled to fly out the day before and I was left with no choice but to pay $770.66 for a first class ticket back home.
I arrived to Newark, NJ on Wednesday July 15 at around 6:30AM – I then placed two calls to Continental C.S to question their ethics and as to why when I called on Monday July 13, why any one of the three customer service reps couldn’t have told my flight had been changed and I was flying out on the same day that I was trying to get a flight home (sounds confusing, but I have documentation to prove all of the above).
Calls were placed on 7/15/09 around 2:50PM, spoke with someone by the name MEHTA, was assigned a case number 4126295, I later followed up with another call at 5:00PM and spoke with ANN, she told me that they will look into the matter and get back to me.
I also sent a complaint on 7/15/09 via Continental Airline Online service
On 7/15/09, my wife followed up with a call at 2:30 and spent 1 hour and 7 minutes with David Williams, who said he was a Customer Care Manager, he said that based on what his colleagues had in the system and from what he can see and what he believes is that I missed my flight and didn’t have to fly first class. He went on to confirm that there were AVAILABLE seats in coach on MONDAY July 13, 2009, the day I called trying to get a flight home, he still has not verify why wasn’t I told that I was schedule to fly out that day, why was I lied too? Why was I told there were no available seats in coach and they were? What is up with all these lies? Is this how Continental Airline trains their customer service? David Williams told my wife that he would give her a $100.00 Electronic Travel Certificate, my wife said she didn’t want any and she would prefer the money be refunded back onto our credit card, she was told no that’s not how Continental works.
My point is I was lied to, Continental used my grief, knowing I was desperate to get back to my son; they used that to their advantage. They conveniently forget to mention that I could have flown out earlier or that my flight was changed. They said they sent an e-mail notifying everyone that there flights were changed, I never received mine and so did many others, I told them the e-mail could have very well gone into my spam folder.
Prior to e-mail, how did Continental communicate with travelers? They contacted us via phones and or send out NEW itinerary with updated. Continental had all my telephone contact information, you mean to tell me, no one saw it fit, to reach out to the travelers other than relying on an e-mail.
I think this entire transaction was unethical; I was lied to just so that Continental could make extra money off my desperation. I have no intention of using this voucher and I would like to request a proper investigation into this matter.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Unfortunately, it looks like you don't have anything in writing you could use against Continental in Small Claims Court. Even if you provided Continental with an e-mail contact they, obviously, are not going to incriminate themselves in writing.

New Jersey is one of the states that allow recording of phone calls. Only one party to the call need be aware the call is being recording, and that one party can be yourself, again, as long as you're participating in the conversation. The point is Courts, sometimes, will allow recordings to be admitted as evidence. So, recordings of any calls placed from within New Jersey MIGHT be admitted as evidence in a New Jersey Small Claims Court. Continental, or any other major US airline, would be hard-pressed to object since they record calls on their end.

Unless you're willing to endure multiple connections Continental is the lesser of two evils to Port of Spain. The other option is American Air, and they can make any problems you've had with Continental look like nothing.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

This is the only other option I could find. They operate, non-stop to Port of Spain, from New York--JFK and from Fort Lauderdale. US Helicopter flies between Newark and JFK, and Southwest Air flies between Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale. If you went through Fort Lauderdale, via Southwest, you would need to claim your baggage in Fort Lauderdale, then re-check your baggage at the Carribbean Air counter. Since Carribbean is based in Port of Spain you probably know someone who can tell you if this airline is better, or worse, than Continental.

[justme]

Why is this in DELTA complaints?

[PHXFlyer]

Flight availability can and does change frequently. If the flight went out with empty seats then of course an agent will be able to tell you that after the fact. You were inquiring about the status of the flight prior to departure. It's very likely the flight was sold-out in coach when you called but at the airport there were no-shows which resulted in a less than full flight. That's just the nature of the airline business. They know historically that a certain percentage of confirmed reservations will be "no-shows" which is why they overbook. Also keep in mind that they will oversell the coach cabin but not first class. This gives them options as they can give discretionary upgrades to first class to alleviate the oversale in coach.

As for the schedule change was your ticket booked through Continental.com or a third-party? If you booked through a travel agency or website such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. then it was up to the agency you booked through to inform you of the schedule change. The Continental agents you spoke with probably just assumed you were aware of the change. You say in your post you have been booking the same flights for some time now. Guess what...times are changing. Airlines have over the last several months made major adjustments to their overall capacity and flight schedules. In the end it's your responsibility to re-confirm your flights before you travel.

[Zucks]

Thank you all for your advice and recommendations basically, since I can't afford to go after CO, I have to absorbed the fee.

[EXCO]

I would suggest at the very least you write Continental explaining in detail what happened. Continental today is nowhere near what Continental was back in the 1970's; but I guess that applies to all other carriers, huh?

[Zucks]

I have written up a letter to Continental, not sure what good it's going to do at this point. It's seem that the CS dept. is trained to cheat and deceive innocent people out of their hard earned money. This guy thought I didn't even deserve the $100.00 voucher. Thanks for the feedback.