Although this happened to me several years ago, it still sticks in my "caw" and I wonder if there are any others who had a simular experience with Continental. I live in Amman, Jordan and on the evening of April 13, 1999, I received a phone call from my sister in the United States telling me that my father was seriously ill and that I needed to come as quickly as possible. Because it was late, all the airline offices in Jordan were closed and the only way my husband was able to get me a ticket was by going directly to the airport. Thankfully he was able to book me on a Royal Jordanian flight leaving Amman at 7:50 a.m. the next morning, April 14. Because it was impossible for me to book any internal flights in America, I phoned my daughter in Washington DC to get me a ticket from New York to Allentown PA, the closest airport to my sister. After consulting with her travel agent, she presented me with 2 options: I could fly from LaGuardia to Allentown via Philadelphia for over $250 or I could get a direct flight from Newark to Allentown for $44. Although I certainly, after a 13 hour transatlantic flight, didn’t want to have to go all the way to Newark to take my next flight, the difference in the cost made it the only sensible choice.

Because of the efficiency of the transportation desk at the TWA terminal, it was easy to make my arrangements to go to Newark. Upon arrival there, I checked in my one suitcase, picked up my Continental
Airlines ticket flight 4331 which my daughter had booked for me and rearranged my seat on the plane from one next to the window to an aisle seat, 3B. The man at the check-in counter was very nice and very
helpful and when I asked him my one question, that being, “Can you tell me why it takes 1 ˝ hours to fly from Newark to Allentown Pa?” he looked at his computer and said, “It looks like it is a very small prop plane, so I guess that is why.” I had over a two-hour wait so I bought a sandwich and then went down to gate C132 to await my flight. At 8:00, exactly on time, it was called. I presented my boarding pass and was
directed to a small bus. By this time I had been traveling a total of 20 hours since leaving Amman.

There were only about 6 passengers on the bus. The driver started up and proceeded to drive out to where dozens of commuter planes were lined up. I sat wondering which one was mine, when he pasted all of them, exited the airport and turned onto the highway. In my head I questioned where he was going and thought that there must be another runway down the road, or a different terminal for my flight, and waited for an explanation. After about 10 minutes, when there was no sign that we were going to another airport, I turned around to the person sitting behind me and said, “I don’t understand, where are we going?" It was only then that the man sitting across the aisle from me said, "This is the shuttle to Allentown. Continental has found that it is cheaper to send its passengers by bus than to fly them." I guess that one can imagine how I was feeling about now. I was absolutely speechless. At no time was there ever any indication from anyone at Continental Airlines, that flight 4331 was a shuttle BUS.

My destination in Pennsylvania was not Allentown, it just happened to be the closest airport. My father was in a hospital in East Stroudsburg, 45 minutes north. Had I known that my Continental flight was a “bus” and not an airplane, I would have arranged from JFK with the TWA transportation desk, transport directly to East Stroudsburg, the city where I really wanted to go. Instead, my sister and brother in law had to leave my father’s hospital bedside, with my niece in charge, and drive to Allentown airport, a total round-trip of
1˝ hours. I had arrived from Jordan at 4:00 p.m., my Continental “shuttle” got into Allentown at 9:30 p.m. Had I traveled directly from JKF, I could have been at my destination several hours earlier without inconveniencing anyone. By the time I arrived at my sister’s home, I had been traveling a total of 23 hours. I was far too exhausted to visit my father that night as I was both emotionally and physically drained, a state which was, more than anything else, caused by the fiasco of my Continental Airlines “flight”.

The day following my arrival, I phoned my daughter to tell her about my experience. She immediately phoned the travel agent that had booked my flight and he assured her that on his computer there was nothing which indicated to him that flight 4331 was a shuttle bus. He had been surprised at the cheap cost of the ticket but at nothing else. I have no reason to disbelieve him as I think that there was nothing on the computer at the Continental check-in counter which indicated that flight 4331 was not an airplane to the ticket agent either. Had he known, would he have gone through the process of changing my seat assignment from the window to the aisle, and why, unless there is a blatant policy of deception, would he have told me that it was a small prop plane? I feel that during this whole experience Continental Airlines deceived me and caused me stress and unnecessary delay in reaching my father who was gravely ill and who subsequently died.

I sent this letter to Continental and I got a very lame reply and I didn't pursue it as I should have at the time. Now, using this forum, I have the opportunity to share this nightmare with others who might have experienced the same thing. I welcome any comments or suggestions!