[shah121]

I am shocked that my confimed flights were tampered with by Continental employees. I was to fly out on CO29 from LHR to EWR at 10:30am on Nov 14th. I arrived at the checkin gate, flight was on time etc. Continetal admitted that someone in Continental changed my ticket from the 10:30am flight to the next 12:35pm flight. No reason was given, I complained that I was not informed in any way i.e.: email, phone call etc., and did not authorize it, they simply said sorry, someone at continental did change my itinerary a day before my flight and to call customer service. As a result, my wife who was travelling with me left on the 10:30am flight I had to take the 12:35pm flight which caused immense inconvienence.

Continental customer service could not offer an explanation and offered two thousand miles since Im a silver member. I am appalled that a now on Continental even a confimed flight that has not been cancelled does not guarantee a flight and changes to passenger flight can occur without informing the passenger for no reason.

[The_Judge]

You will never know the results or even if they do it but I would ask them to investigate this. When a res is changed, i.e., segment changed, cxld or added, information is stamped in the res to show who, where and what time this was done. Can be easily traced.

[PHXFlyer]

Did you check-in online? During online check in on Continental if there is available space on an earlier or later flight it will give you those options. Could something have gone wrong? If you did check in online do you remember seeing this?

Another question if I may. Was your wife's reservation under the same original confirmation as yours?

It could also be that the earlier flight was overbooked and there were some shenanigans going on behind the scenes to move you and possibly others to the later flight. Were there any others on the earlier flight that suddenly found themselves on the later one? This should be reported to Continental and as The_Judge said there is an electronic "paper trail" that can be followed to determine exactly when it was changed and by whom.

[Silent Bob]

I'm sure there has to be a reason. This could be a case of two different reservations, and two different bookings; one on the earlier, one on the later. The one on the later tries to get on the earlier, finds out there's a fee, doesn't wanna pay etc.

If you arrived on-time for the 10:30 flight, thinking you were on it, you could have asked if it was full, if it was an overbooked flight and they moved you, without your say so, then you should get more than just miles since this would be an involuntary change because you didn't agree to the change. if it was a schedule change they should have been able to tell you that. but of course you could have confirmed that before the trip started.

But if you ask me, I think it was a case of mistaken reservation 9what I mentioned in the first paragraph). Continental is usually pretty upfront about such things.

Also did you book through a travel agent or through the Continental website?

[Jetliner]

Keep in mind too we are talking about LHR. These would have been contract employees, NOT Continental. As such they may not be able to tell who made the change (they would see the employee number in the history of the reservation of who made the change, but no way to look that person up to see a name or where they are located).

I would call Continental reservations in the US and start from there as far as demanding answers.

[shah121]

Thanks for the replies. I have asked Continental to start an investgation. Their customer service said that they are swamped and it can take 10 days before someone can answer me, as to why my itinrary was changed. The customer service rep said that this occurs often and can be esclated upto customer service manager. Frankly Im mad at Continental to bump me off the flight, without asking me or compensating me. Thanks for the sugestions. Lets see what continental investigates.

[jimworcs]

Under no circumstances should you accept the 2,000 miles offered. You were involuntarily denied boarding on a flight which actually operated, and on which you had a confirmed reservation. This is covered by EU regulation 261/2004 which details your rights in this situation. It is irrelevant what the reason they did it was. They breached the rules by not seeking volunteers in the first instance. If it was done "in error", you are due compensation anyway.

You are entitled to €600, for a flight not within EU of greater than 3500 km in distance as compensation for your inconvenience. This is without prejudice to any other claim you may make.

I would not wait for the outcome of the "investigation". I would call Continental and tell them that you are pursing your rights under the EU regulation and that you believe you are entitled to compensation of €600 under EU law. Unless they make payment to you within 30 days you will file a claim in Small Claims Court. You can file your claim electronically and will not have to appear in court. The cost of filing your claim is very small, in your case a maximum of 10% of your claim, up to £120. You will get this back when you are successful.

You can file your claim at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk Write to Continental to confirm you are claiming your rights under EU 261/2004 immediately after talking to them on the phone and confirming your demand for compensation within 30 days. Send this letter by recorded delivery, which will cost you about £1. This requires them to sign for the letter and will act as proof in court that you exercised your rights under the regulation.

Good luck.

[PHXFlyer]

Let's not be so quick to call in the EU Cavalry, Jim. Continental needs to investigate just what happened first. My questions to the OP are still unanswered and I asked them for a reason. When one uses CO's website to check in they are sometimes offered alternate flights for no change fee. This often occurs when flights are overbooked. If the OP made a mistake during online check in and was put on the later flight at that point then CO doesn't owe him any compensation.

We'll see what happens when CO reports back to the OP.

[shah121]

I had booked the tickets online but under different reservation numbers as I bought tickets seprately due to vacation days uncertainity. I went online and got seats together. I did not check in online as "special handling" is almost always required when traveling from DXB to the US. I received the following reply yesterday from CO: Note that there was no aircraft change, delay or even overbooking, LHR gate staff said someone in their office changed my itinrary 1-2 days before my departure date. And YES, I am siged up for flight notification via US Cell # and Email both of which I checked and nothing.
LHR staff gave 2000 miles and now the following email says $100 credit, that Im saw in an email. This is ridiculous on Continentals part! Comments?

"Thank you for contacting Continental Airlines.

I understand your frustration as you were not provided your originally flight as a result of a smaller aircraft substitution or decommit on your recent Continental flight. In an effort to prevent delaying or canceling a flight, it is sometimes necessary for us to use an alternate aircraft. When these situations occur, our staff tries to locate the same type of aircraft originally scheduled to operate the flight. In the event that an alternate type of aircraft must be used, we try to accommodate our passengers with seating as close as possible to those originally assigned.

I regret you were not notified your flight was changed before you arrived to the airport. When maintenance problems are reported, our Maintenance teams work diligently to prevent any flight disruptions. The decision to change an aircraft is often made at the last possible minute. In the event a flight is changed in time for us to notify our passengers before their arrival to the airport, every effort is made to do so. I apologize again that this was not the case during your recent travel.

Continental offers a unique and free flight information update service called Flight Status Notification. When you use Flight Status Notification, Continental will send an e-mail to your pager, mobile phone, or e-mail inbox at the specified time prior to the scheduled departure or arrival. The message will include the current departure or arrival time and gate information (when available).

To sign up to receive flight status pages, please visit the Travel Information - Flight Status & Information - Flight Status Notification section on our Web site, www.continental.com, and provide the required information.

In addition to the 2000 bonus OnePass miles the London service desk added to your account I have forwarded an electronic travel certificate on your behalf as compensation for your inconvenience. The travel certificate will be delivered via e-mail. Please allow three business days for processing.

Mr. Shah we appreciate your business and look for to serving you on a future Continental Airlines flight.

Thank you so much for choosing Continental Airlines.

[jimworcs]

Ok, so they are now suggesting that they had to substitute the aircraft for an alternative one. This is good for you, because that is something that is within their control. You are entitled to the compensation under the EU directive. You should now write to Continental and tell them that you were denied boarding and that you wish to claim compensation under EU directive 261/2004. Specify what time you actually arrived, compared to the time you were originally scheduled to arrive.

Your rights under EU directive 261/2004 are without prejudice to any other claim for damages you may make.