A couple of notes about the coach seats on Continental. Apart from the exit rows and a couple of the bulkheads, you will have 31" of seat pitch.

All the other airlines flying over the Pacific will provide you a minimum of 32" of leg room, while Singapore's Executive Economy has 37"

NW has seat pitch mostly at 32" but also some 34" depending on the seat.

That one inch of legroom may not seem like a big deal (and it won't be if you are not tall). But for anyone of a medium height or above, the lack of leg room on the 12 hour flight will be uncomfortable indeed.

Also, please note that the way CO installs its IFE is with a big box on the floor that will take up about a third of your space under the seat in front of you. On CO's 777 I believe these seats are under each window seat.

You mentioned that you are a FlyingBlue member. If you have primarily flown AF then they have 32" on their int'l routes, but if you have primarily flown KL, they also have 31" as does CO, and thus the tight squeeze shouldn't come as a shock.

Finally there is CO's actual seat. While seat types are a matter of individual taste, I find CO's thin seat rock-hard and the way it is designed it does not support my lower back. After a few hours, my legs are numb.

And, as a result of CO aggressive pricing approach, you will find that many flights are completely full. A coach seat may not be comfortable, but it's bearable if there is a little space around you. If your whole row is full, and the entire cabin is full, it just makes this kind of long flight painfully wretched.

Finally, a word about the need to clear customs at the entry point into the U.S. Technially this is not a TSA/Customs issue, it just boils down to the fact that U.S.airlines have not designed their international/domestic connections to service passengers arriving from international destinations.

In many other countries, passport control is a standard part of the boarding process so that the entire terminal area is "sterile." But with the vast majority of passengers in the U.S. flying only domestically this would not be feasible.