I've only started flying Continental since 1999. From my first flight on CO, thanks to the priveledge pack, they upgraded me on my flights SFO-EWR-FLL. I was quite impressed. The BF cabin to EWR was much more than I expected since I've been a UA flyer until this time. In addition, I was able to use the PC. How nice, no other airline would give me these opportunities especially since I had no status and had 0 miles on CO.

I realize and understand that the recent "enhancements" and benefit reductions have been quite frustrating. Although I must admit that CO has different priorities at the moment, I am almost certain that they will realize their mistake and will make amends. (Hopefully soon!)

Even with these concerns, I still prefer CO's elite program over anyone else's. They can say that NW offers more upgrades. Yes, I must admit that I almost have a 100% upgrade success on NW compared to my 50% success on CO. However, unlike some of the FT'ers here, I would rather fly CO in coach than NW in First. Their planes are dingy, there's no IFE, and their food suck!

CO planes, from my experience, have been very clean, most of them have IFE, the food service is adequate and much better then NW's.

With comparison to UA, which I still have to fly since my company sticks me either on UA or CO due to corporate agreements, CO is 70% better. UA nickels and dimes you for any upgrade...whether it be domestic or international. I agree, UA gives you free upgrades from time to time, but these are limited and most are limited to certain amount of mileage. And besides, being just a premier on United almost means nothing. I've had a 25% upgrade success on them.

Another big plus for CO is that their planes are on time. UA has almost always been delayed. Which is quite frustrating.

Being a lowly silver, I get a 50% bonus on mileage rather than the puny 25% that you'd get on most carriers.

Bad customer service is also an issue that I agree is not acceptable. However, as with any service industry, I've seen the "bad apples" on UA, NW, CO, AA, and AS. I'm not saying that it's acceptable but I just don't think it's fair to assume that if you meet one "bad apple" that everyone is a bad apple. I've met some people with CO who went out of their way to accomodate my needs. Most of the agents I've met were extremely helpful and were happy to have as a CO customer. For people making very little money, I admire everyone at CO who has made my trip more tolerable. These agents have to deal with difficult passengers or situations all the time. Being able to treat me with respect and help me out with my travel issues just makes me respect them more.

Overall, since most FT'ers here are Platinum and 1K, I guess you have higher and different expectations. For me, I just want to say that even though I'm just a lowly silver, Continental has treated me well and I don't think I'll be switching airlines anytime soon. As long as they get me to my destination on time, and half the time with a free upgrade, I'm going to stick with them.

For those of you where CO has offended you, betrayed you, I'm truly sorry that happened. But if you want to switch, go ahead! , that's more elite upgrades for me!



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SFnFlaGuy