[vidalia]

After going through six months online trying to book a trip using ff miles, we called the OnePass Reservation center for help. There was still no seats available within that time. When looking at the seats available, there were always empty cabins or one seat taken. We were booking 6-8 months in advance. So we sent this letter to Continental's President:

Dear Mr. Smisek,

I would like to express my revulsion at CAL's policy toward the usage of frequent flier mileage. My wife and I have been trying to book a trip to Hawaii for late 2010 using our mileage. Even though the flights are wide open for first class seats, we are always told that no seats are available for mileage. Or we are told that a seat is available going, but not returning. Buying a one-way ticket is more expensive than a round trip! I understand that airlines have been suffering but I also understand that brand loyalty is also important. My wife and I have been reluctant but loyal customers, and it is frustrating to be constantly blocked from using our points. Finally we gave up and tried to use our miles for a trip to Tampa we are taking in July. Guess what? All of first class is open, but no seats are available for mileage!
I recently stopped using CAL on overseas flights as I was able to use lower cost carriers ( OpenSkies and others) who were much easier to deal with. CAL had been advertising 2 for the price of 1 business class tickets to Europe with the use of the affinity credit card. I called to book, but was told that the one ticket I had to buy was $9,000 to Paris when the price online was advertised at around $3,000! That's when I discovered Open Skies. Our next trip to Europe that fall ( Warsaw ) was on another carrier.

I have been emailing Dawn Segura about this issue but she has chosen to ignore me, so I have no choice but to express my concerns to you.

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Here is the reply from Jeff Smisek (Pres Continental Airlines)

Sorry that you are having trouble redeeming miles. If you want to give us another try, I suggest you go to continental.com, where we have an intuitive and easy to use redemption tool permitting you to redeem miles on us and our vast array of Star Alliance partners.

First class availability isn't correlated with FFP availability, as different value weighted variables are used in FFP availability algorithms. Although you may yourself be finding your precise choice unavailable, millions of our travelers every year do indeed find convenient redemption options on CO.

I regret that you feel you must switch to other carriers, but I respect your decision and it is with regret that we will lose you as a customer.

Best regards,

Jeff