Patrick

My wife was presenting at a conference in New Orleans last weekend so I decided to tag along. She was flying on USAIR but in my ever-expanding quest for miles, I booked a flight with Continental as I am getting close to an award with them and I had some upgrades and club passes courtesy of the Prestige Pack.

My flight to MSY via IAH left DCA at 7:45am last Saturday. I got to the airport at 6:00am to try to upgrade. The agent took my upgrade coupon and gave me seat 2A all the way to MSY. I then went to the President's Club to wait for my flight.

I entered the club and gave the attendant my free pass. She was extremely nice to me and showed me around. The club is big with lots of windows looking out onto the runways. Lots of free breakfast food and drinks. I was the only one in the place until about 7:15. At 7:30, I left to board my flight.

Boarded my flight and got comfortable on the MD-80 (I think). We actually left the gate a few minutes early and were on our way to IAH. Pretty empty flight. 4 first class seats were empty. Good breakfast of an omelette, ham steaks, fresh fruit (that was actually good!), croissant, and OJ. No inflight entertainment, though. Very attentive FA's. Overall, a very pleasant flight. Landed at IAH about 20 minutes early.

Flight from IAH to MSY was very quick and uneventful, but pleasant.

Stayed at the Marriott Canal Street in New Orleans. Huge hotel. Amazingly crowded. Woke up Sunday morning to the sounds of a helicopter flying up and down right outside our window. Seems they were replacing the airconditioners on top of the building and were hauling pieces from the street to the roof. Quite a commotion!

We did the usual New Orleans stuff and had a great time.

Flew home and Monday. Flight from MSY to IAH was pretty empty but I decided against upgrading on such a short flight. We left the gate on time but a warning light came on as we were heading out to the taxi way so we went back to the gate. The pilot was great and kept us informed on the status about every 5 minutes. The FA's were busy working with the passengers on connections, gates, alternatives, etc. They even let one woman off the plane so she could try to catch a different flight.

Problem was fixed in about an hour and we took off quickly. I figured I would not make my connection in IAH. It was an uneventful trip. Crowded, but comfortable.

We arrived at the gate at IAH 5 minutes before my connection to DCA was to leave. As I left the jetway, I noticed my DCA flight was at the next gate and the agents were rushing us on to the plane. They actually waited for us! I couldn't believe it. They closed the door behind me and off we went. Unfortunately, 1st was full so I had to fly coach.

Uneventful trip to DCA. It was very crowded but the FAs were pleasant and cabin service was pretty good. Arrived in DC only about 5 minutes late. I went to the baggage claim thinking that there was no way my bag made it from my first flight. To my surprise, the bag made it. I don't know how since there was only about 5 minutes between my first flight landing and my connecting flight leaving the gate.

Overall, it was a good trip. I was very happy with Continental. I have flown them about 5 times this year and have been pleasantly surprised every time. Plus, I got to use some of my coupons from the prestige pack!

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-25-1999).]