I read this on the frequent flier crier email i recently received.

"I have been flying Continental Airlines for almost 20 years, and from Houston to Washington Dulles every other week for the past 3 years. As a Platinum Elite, I have enjoyed the fact that I receive 1st class upgrades about 60% of the time.... well, all that has changed.

"The biggest change is that Continental, in an effort to increase the number of seats and thus revenue, have cut down the configuration of their 737-500 plane from 10 seats in 1st class to 6 seats, eliminating the 4 seats in row 3. As such, the chances of an upgrade have been virtually eliminated. I am not an expert of airline financials, but on the flight I take to Washington, and the flight I take home on Friday nights, the planes are always greater than 90% full... and making loyal flyers like myself angry by virtually eliminating the possibility of upgrades does not seem like a very strategic move as I am researching alternative flight and airlines.

"Right now, I am wishing that Gordon Bethune would come back to Continental out of retirement as he seemed to have more respect for airline loyalty." (Perry in Houston, TX)

Is Perry an active flyer talker also?