CO, SEA-EWR-FLL F class
Mar 18, 2003, 9:10 pm
#1
Suspended
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 181
CO, SEA-EWR-FLL F class
March 17th
Continental Airlines 1280 SEA-EWR
Sch. Depart: 10:00 pm
Act. Depart: 9:57 pm
Sch. Arrival: 5:46 am
Act. Arrival: 5:59 am
Aircraft: 737-700 (73G)
Meal: Snack (or so it said)
Seat: 3E
Gate in SEA: B14
Gate in EWR: C-72
This red-eye flight would be my first in 2 years. I would be going to FLL to visit my dad on his birthday, and would return the next day. I guess you can call this a MR. For some reason; I was not upgraded automatically 3 days before on these flights. Thanks to ITN, I was able to check the F, and find availability.
At about 5 pm I tried checking in from my home at continental.com to no success. I called continental and the agent informed me that my record was out of sync, and that since the ticket was issued with NW, I had to call them. My next call was to the elite line, and was connected to an agent that sounded a bit impatient. She told me to hold on, and came back to say that there was nothing she could do. (I think she didn’t even try because it sounded like she was having a hard time) Ok, no big deal. We left at 8:15 pm for the airport. The drive on I-5 was uneventful.
We approached the ticket counter, which looked like a ghost town. I tried to use the kiosk machines, but it told me to see an agent. I approached an agent, who was busy taking care of something, but she said, in a very courteous tone, that she would be with me in a moment. I gave her my last name and she pulled it up on the reservation. She asked my age, and I told her 15. She seemed new, because she wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go on a red-eye flight, due to my age. She asked a supervisor, who said no. My heart sank. “But why not? I’m not going Unaccompanied minor.”
Supervisor: “Oh, your not?”
Supervisor: “Oh, I thought you were, your allowed to then.”
Phew! The agent who originally helped me apologized, and even offered to give my mom a gate pass to accompany me to the gate. After receiving my boarding passes, we were off for security. It was now 8:45 pm. Security was also a ghost town, and we went through without any problems. It was then off to the P-club. We were buzzed in, and we looked over the buffet. Crackers, packaged cheese, coffee, pretzels, and chips were offered. My mom had a coffee and a few packets of cheese, and I took water with a bag of pretzels. My mom said that the coffee was cold. We enjoyed the snacks, as we relaxed and read an article about Rachel Corrie.
I approached the P-club rep, and requested to change my connecting seat, 3F, to an aisle. She reported that the only aisle available was 6B, which I declined. Boarding was scheduled to start at 9: 25, so at 9:15 we left for the gate.
Boarding was late, as usual, and didn’t begin till 9:40. Has anyone else realized that Continental always seems to board later than they schedule to? I boarded and stowed my bag in the overhead bin as I found my seat 3E. CO configures there 73G’s first-class cabin with 3 rows and a 2x2 configuration. We were not offered a pre-departure drink, but I could understand why. Coach passengers have to walk through first-class to get to their seats, making it difficult for the F/A’s to make there way through the aisle. They did, however, take coats. Boarding was very quick, as the flight was only about 40% full.
Once everyone was seated, we taxied out for departure. We taxied onto the runway, and lifted off into the night sky. Soon after departure, the F/A (who did a marvelous job, Dave I believe his name was) passed out menus. I had not been expecting this, as Continental listed the meal as a snack.
THE MENU: (Please note, I didn’t save the menu, language may differ)
To Start
Warm roasted nuts served with your preferred cocktail or beverage.
Meal Options
You may choose one of the following entrée’s, or if you’d like, combine the two to make a full meal.
Salad
Fresh mesclun greens and frisee with buffalo mozzarella cheese, red tomato slices, chopped walnuts, and a Kalamata olive
Offered with your choice of peppercorn dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
Pasta Bowl
Tri-color penne pasta complemented by a marinara sauce, accompanied with fresh artichoke hearts, parmesean cheese, and olives..
If you would like, Chicken may be added to your salad or pasta.
Chocolate
Refreshments will be served prior to arrival.
As I read over the menu, I was very impressed, especially for a night flight. I decided to combine both to make a full meal, as I was very hungry. The F/A came around to take orders and I choose the salad, pasta bowl with chicken, and a coke. As I awaited the meal, I watched the in-flight movie, Barbershop. Hot towels were distributed, followed by linens. Linens were something I had thought CO got rid of, judging from my SEA-IAH flights. The linens were also some I had never seen before. I remember the lousy purple ones that barely fit on the tray table. These were blue, and covered the entire table. Nuts were served with my coke, followed by the salad.
I’m not a big fan of fancy greens because of the bitter taste, but the mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes went well together. During this time the F/A brought around a breadbasket and I chose a sourdough roll. The pasta bowl then followed, served a tray with a little box of fancy chocolate. The chocolate impressed me because it looked expensive, and it wasn’t a pecan delight! (YAY!). The pasta was very good, and the chocolate to follow ended the meal quite nicely. I would rate the catering a 9 out of 10.
My coke was re-filled without my asking. The F/A up front did an exceptional job. He made very cute comments over the P.A. like; “I’m now going to come back to the passengers seated in the exit rows to inform them of safety procedures. I will also be looking in your eyes for confidence.”
After the meal, I got my eyeshades out, earplugs, and went to sleep till descent. The F/A then offered muffins. I accepted with an Orange Juice. The muffins were warm, and were the same as the ones that they offer in the P-club. Landing was smooth, and our taxi to the gate was short. I now had till 7:25 am for my connection.
Unfortunately, my connecting gate was right around the corner. When I arrived at the gate, it was still 6:15 am. It seems as though whenever I have a short layover, my connecting gate is never near by. But when I have a long layover, the gate seems to be right next door. I just walked around terminal C, and observed flights departing to different cities.
March 18th
Continental Airlines 1201 EWR-FLL
Sch. Departure: 7:25 am
Act. Departure: unknown
Sch. Arrival: 10:24 am
Act. Arrival: 10:10 am
Aircraft: 757-300
Meal: Snack
Seat: 3F
Gate in EWR: C-74
Gate in FLL: C-2
Boarding began promptly at 6:55 am. It was suppose to be 6:40. Once on board, I was offered a drink. I chose an ice water, and relaxed in my seat. The captain came on to inform everyone that this was a rush hour time at EWR for airplanes. He continued to say that there would be a long line for departure. Unfortunately, he was correct.
Once airborne, the snack was a fruit plate with a croissant. I decided to take it, with an OJ. Hot towels were handed out, followed by the trays. No linens on this flight. The fruit plate was rather small consisting of, orange slices, grapefruit slices, strawberry, melon, and pineapple. A warm, fluffy croissant accompanied the plate. The fruit was fresh and tasted good. The croissant was by far one of the best I had ever had. It was very good, especially with jelly. I wasn’t very hungry because of the last flight, but judging from the time of day, and duration of the flight, this was pretty cheap for a breakfast time flight.
The staff, as far as I could tell, did a good job. I really didn’t need much because I mostly slept. I believe they showed Continental visions while I was snoozing. Descent was announced, and we touched down early. I de-planed and met my 2 sisters outside security. They were going to take me home to surprise my dad on his 60th birthday (he had no idea I was coming). He nearly had a heart attack when he saw me.
[This message has been edited by NWgoldelite (edited 03-18-2003).]
[This message has been edited by NWgoldelite (edited 03-22-2003).]
Continental Airlines 1280 SEA-EWR
Sch. Depart: 10:00 pm
Act. Depart: 9:57 pm
Sch. Arrival: 5:46 am
Act. Arrival: 5:59 am
Aircraft: 737-700 (73G)
Meal: Snack (or so it said)
Seat: 3E
Gate in SEA: B14
Gate in EWR: C-72
This red-eye flight would be my first in 2 years. I would be going to FLL to visit my dad on his birthday, and would return the next day. I guess you can call this a MR. For some reason; I was not upgraded automatically 3 days before on these flights. Thanks to ITN, I was able to check the F, and find availability.
At about 5 pm I tried checking in from my home at continental.com to no success. I called continental and the agent informed me that my record was out of sync, and that since the ticket was issued with NW, I had to call them. My next call was to the elite line, and was connected to an agent that sounded a bit impatient. She told me to hold on, and came back to say that there was nothing she could do. (I think she didn’t even try because it sounded like she was having a hard time) Ok, no big deal. We left at 8:15 pm for the airport. The drive on I-5 was uneventful.
We approached the ticket counter, which looked like a ghost town. I tried to use the kiosk machines, but it told me to see an agent. I approached an agent, who was busy taking care of something, but she said, in a very courteous tone, that she would be with me in a moment. I gave her my last name and she pulled it up on the reservation. She asked my age, and I told her 15. She seemed new, because she wasn’t sure if I was allowed to go on a red-eye flight, due to my age. She asked a supervisor, who said no. My heart sank. “But why not? I’m not going Unaccompanied minor.”
Supervisor: “Oh, your not?”
Supervisor: “Oh, I thought you were, your allowed to then.”
Phew! The agent who originally helped me apologized, and even offered to give my mom a gate pass to accompany me to the gate. After receiving my boarding passes, we were off for security. It was now 8:45 pm. Security was also a ghost town, and we went through without any problems. It was then off to the P-club. We were buzzed in, and we looked over the buffet. Crackers, packaged cheese, coffee, pretzels, and chips were offered. My mom had a coffee and a few packets of cheese, and I took water with a bag of pretzels. My mom said that the coffee was cold. We enjoyed the snacks, as we relaxed and read an article about Rachel Corrie.
I approached the P-club rep, and requested to change my connecting seat, 3F, to an aisle. She reported that the only aisle available was 6B, which I declined. Boarding was scheduled to start at 9: 25, so at 9:15 we left for the gate.
Boarding was late, as usual, and didn’t begin till 9:40. Has anyone else realized that Continental always seems to board later than they schedule to? I boarded and stowed my bag in the overhead bin as I found my seat 3E. CO configures there 73G’s first-class cabin with 3 rows and a 2x2 configuration. We were not offered a pre-departure drink, but I could understand why. Coach passengers have to walk through first-class to get to their seats, making it difficult for the F/A’s to make there way through the aisle. They did, however, take coats. Boarding was very quick, as the flight was only about 40% full.
Once everyone was seated, we taxied out for departure. We taxied onto the runway, and lifted off into the night sky. Soon after departure, the F/A (who did a marvelous job, Dave I believe his name was) passed out menus. I had not been expecting this, as Continental listed the meal as a snack.
THE MENU: (Please note, I didn’t save the menu, language may differ)
To Start
Warm roasted nuts served with your preferred cocktail or beverage.
Meal Options
You may choose one of the following entrée’s, or if you’d like, combine the two to make a full meal.
Salad
Fresh mesclun greens and frisee with buffalo mozzarella cheese, red tomato slices, chopped walnuts, and a Kalamata olive
Offered with your choice of peppercorn dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
Pasta Bowl
Tri-color penne pasta complemented by a marinara sauce, accompanied with fresh artichoke hearts, parmesean cheese, and olives..
If you would like, Chicken may be added to your salad or pasta.
Chocolate
Refreshments will be served prior to arrival.
As I read over the menu, I was very impressed, especially for a night flight. I decided to combine both to make a full meal, as I was very hungry. The F/A came around to take orders and I choose the salad, pasta bowl with chicken, and a coke. As I awaited the meal, I watched the in-flight movie, Barbershop. Hot towels were distributed, followed by linens. Linens were something I had thought CO got rid of, judging from my SEA-IAH flights. The linens were also some I had never seen before. I remember the lousy purple ones that barely fit on the tray table. These were blue, and covered the entire table. Nuts were served with my coke, followed by the salad.
I’m not a big fan of fancy greens because of the bitter taste, but the mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes went well together. During this time the F/A brought around a breadbasket and I chose a sourdough roll. The pasta bowl then followed, served a tray with a little box of fancy chocolate. The chocolate impressed me because it looked expensive, and it wasn’t a pecan delight! (YAY!). The pasta was very good, and the chocolate to follow ended the meal quite nicely. I would rate the catering a 9 out of 10.
My coke was re-filled without my asking. The F/A up front did an exceptional job. He made very cute comments over the P.A. like; “I’m now going to come back to the passengers seated in the exit rows to inform them of safety procedures. I will also be looking in your eyes for confidence.”
After the meal, I got my eyeshades out, earplugs, and went to sleep till descent. The F/A then offered muffins. I accepted with an Orange Juice. The muffins were warm, and were the same as the ones that they offer in the P-club. Landing was smooth, and our taxi to the gate was short. I now had till 7:25 am for my connection.
Unfortunately, my connecting gate was right around the corner. When I arrived at the gate, it was still 6:15 am. It seems as though whenever I have a short layover, my connecting gate is never near by. But when I have a long layover, the gate seems to be right next door. I just walked around terminal C, and observed flights departing to different cities.
March 18th
Continental Airlines 1201 EWR-FLL
Sch. Departure: 7:25 am
Act. Departure: unknown
Sch. Arrival: 10:24 am
Act. Arrival: 10:10 am
Aircraft: 757-300
Meal: Snack
Seat: 3F
Gate in EWR: C-74
Gate in FLL: C-2
Boarding began promptly at 6:55 am. It was suppose to be 6:40. Once on board, I was offered a drink. I chose an ice water, and relaxed in my seat. The captain came on to inform everyone that this was a rush hour time at EWR for airplanes. He continued to say that there would be a long line for departure. Unfortunately, he was correct.
Once airborne, the snack was a fruit plate with a croissant. I decided to take it, with an OJ. Hot towels were handed out, followed by the trays. No linens on this flight. The fruit plate was rather small consisting of, orange slices, grapefruit slices, strawberry, melon, and pineapple. A warm, fluffy croissant accompanied the plate. The fruit was fresh and tasted good. The croissant was by far one of the best I had ever had. It was very good, especially with jelly. I wasn’t very hungry because of the last flight, but judging from the time of day, and duration of the flight, this was pretty cheap for a breakfast time flight.
The staff, as far as I could tell, did a good job. I really didn’t need much because I mostly slept. I believe they showed Continental visions while I was snoozing. Descent was announced, and we touched down early. I de-planed and met my 2 sisters outside security. They were going to take me home to surprise my dad on his 60th birthday (he had no idea I was coming). He nearly had a heart attack when he saw me.
[This message has been edited by NWgoldelite (edited 03-18-2003).]
[This message has been edited by NWgoldelite (edited 03-22-2003).]
Mar 18, 2003, 9:52 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: New York
Posts: 7,348
Wow, I am impressed with CO's transcon redeye service. I think the service is a bit better because it is a transcon flight. The warmed muffin is a nice touch. Unfortunately, both AA and UA stoped serving warmed muffin prior to arrival on redeye flights earlier this year.
Great report!
Carfield
PS. Great to see the tricolor pasta... Gordon just love these tri-color pastas.
Great report!
Carfield
PS. Great to see the tricolor pasta... Gordon just love these tri-color pastas.
Mar 18, 2003, 11:44 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 818
Very good report! BTW, what is tri color pasta? My mother flew to GUM from HNL last week in BusinessFirst and ordered that pasta as her entree. She said it was really good. Is it really that good? I just can't see how pasta could possibly be good, but if you agree that it is, I'll try it out as I'm going to GUM from HNL in BusinessFirst this Saturday.
Mar 19, 2003, 8:20 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Washington, D.C.
Programs: DL GM, UA 1P, AA GLD
Posts: 1,963
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by trust77:
BTW, what is tri color pasta? My mother flew to GUM from HNL last week in BusinessFirst and ordered that pasta as her entree.</font>
BTW, what is tri color pasta? My mother flew to GUM from HNL last week in BusinessFirst and ordered that pasta as her entree.</font>
Mar 19, 2003, 11:43 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Programs: AA PLT, SPG GLD, PC PLT SPIRE
Posts: 4,531
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NWgoldelite:
...It seems as though whenever I have a short layover, my connecting gate is never near by. But when I have a long layover, the gate seems to be right next door...</font>
...It seems as though whenever I have a short layover, my connecting gate is never near by. But when I have a long layover, the gate seems to be right next door...</font>
Thanks for the trip report.
Mar 19, 2003, 11:51 pm
#7
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 818
Thank you NWgoldelite and sowalsky for your comments on the pasta...I wonder if I order the pasta and request a chicken to be added on to it the flight attendants will do it...let's see how much of my premium dollars will actually work on this flight.
[This message has been edited by trust77 (edited 03-19-2003).]
[This message has been edited by trust77 (edited 03-19-2003).]
Mar 25, 2003, 5:54 am
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 818
Well NWgoldelite I ended up choosing the fish entree (I think it was Halibut) and don't regret it at all. The fruit cart had strawberries this time around...something this particular route lacked for a good 3 months. I ate it with the fresh wipped cream and topped that off with my caramel sundae...it's a real blessing to fly BusinesFirst. :-)