Hi Everyone,
I'm Kyle Tress, the passenger that experienced this in EWR last week. I want to first mention that I have had great experiences with Continental in the past. I don't know what happened last Sunday. I must have caught them on a (very) bad day. There are still a few things I want to clarify though.
I find his retort, “You are merging with United. United is an Olympic partner. I chose this airline for a reason" to be a bit weird. If that's the case, shouldn't UA be flying him (as opposed to him booking on his own)? Otherwise, since this isn't the Olympics, and he's booking in his own, why should any airline care
I wish UA would fly us. However as a small team, we typically book our own flights through a USOC agent. My current race circuit (intercontinental cup) is largely self-funded so we choose our own flights. I chose Continental based on my proximity to Newark and their recent merger with United. As an Olympic partner, UA (and by extension, CO) is aware of our travel needs and has agreed to assist us as they can, provided our gear is under 100 pounds. I flew CO in 2008 without incident, paying a baggage fee that was considerably less than what I paid this trip. It's frustrating when an agent actively tries to persuade her supervisor to max out the fees, particularly when the supervisor herself can't seem to settle on a price (the bidding began at $100).
My issue isn't with the fees. I'll gladly pay them and accept that it is a reality of traveling with a 70+ pound sled. However I take serious issue with the manner in which the agents handled the situation.