Co express
 

Does Continental plan to change every flight to CO EXPRESS and must they all fly out of Terminal A at EWR - its the PIT of Newark the only nice thing is security is shorter.. No Food, its always packed, its loud and my opinion is 3+ hours is too long on those little planes.

http://www.c-cproductions.org/sa/what.jpg

I'm not entirely sure what you post is attempting to communicate. With that in mind, no, CO is not becoming express-only and yes, everyone dislikes RJs flights, especially those that are 3+ hours.

CO flight 2999 EWR to LHR now boarding.....in a special ERJ 145XXR, with inflight refueling performed about half way from a specially configured CO ERJ135 that was pulled from the desert and modified with fuel ballders, hereafter known as a KC135mini.

Really? Will these be replacing the Saab 340XR?

[QUOTE=Mackieman;[/QUOTE]

Love the pic!

Why wouldnt CO just use their re-fueling base at Goose/Gander, you know, the place where all of the distance-disadvantaged 757's stop daily....

no good for a 145XXR(extra extended range)

The ones which rarely stopped in Winter 09-10?

The numbers don't support the claims.....

Nothing wrong with RJs.

The RJ issue is exacerbated on CO because 1) they only have 50-seaters; and 2) they don't have first class.

Having flown on CRJ-700's, 900's, and EMB-170/175/190's, mostly with, and in F, I don't mind RJ's. Sure I prefer a mainline plane over and RJ, but I don't have a problem with them.

We flew a nice 1,200-mile segment on a DL RJ just last week. F upgrades cleared, breakfast was served on china, drinks in proper glasses, and it was a nice ride. I have a similar such 1,000-mile ride in a few days.

Agree. Unfortunately, in a week I have a 1,200-mile/3-hour flight (ORF-IAH) on a CO RJ. :td:

So why do you put up with it? Your profile says you're from Louisiana, so presumably you're connecting.

ORF is a mainline station for DL, US, and AA, as well as an Explus station for UA.

It's because if you live in Louisiana and not New Orleans, Houston and CO are incredibly convenient, yet all the connections are with those freaking RJs. To take a 8, 10, or 12 hour transcon in beautiful BF, and then to connect to one of those pieces of junk, hoping you'll be in seat 12A. Really, it's a disgrace and frustration to everyone in the state.

It is a short hop to IAH....I have a 1 hour prop flight at the start and end of every one of my trips, I enjoy it and sleep through them now. the buzzing engines and swaying of the low altitude flying is just a cradle :D

Especially when the kids flying the SOB up front are jinking around thunderstorms and the Cajun folks in the back are nervous & restless.......

Not all are RJs. If you really screw up and don't pay attention to the equipment when booking, you'll wind up on the Saab 340. Which makes the ERJ look really space age in comparison.

But it's a short flight from IAH to anywhere in Louisiana. If your flight weren't operated with an ERJ or a turboprop, it probably wouldn't exist.

See, Steph3n can do it! ;)

Now here's where I have a beef with CO. As I've stated many times, I'm cool with Q400s on routes like EWR-ALB and with ERJs on routes like EWR-GSO. But when CO puts Q400s on longer routes (EWR-RDU, EWR-MYR) and ERJs on really long routes (like the aforementioned IAH-ORF), that's when I have a problem. Perhaps we'll get some good news in this department with the merger, a new contract with the pilots, etc...

Airbus says they can do it with their A330 tanker at the same cost and their system is ready to go RIGHT NOW......

Personally, I actually prefer the ERJ 170-195 series to the mainline single-aisle planes, because FC is very intimate and comfortable, while there is never a middle seat in Y.

The overhead bins are large enough for any reasonable carry on and, because most of these flights operate as RJ's, in most cases you can still do gate check.

If you're flying an ERJ 175 or 190 on AC, you will also get AVOD and USB at every seat.

Vermando is correct.

CO has as many flights each day into AEX (my home airport) as AA and DL combined.

I will go out of my way to not fly DL. I even fly CO to ATL even though I could fly nonstop to ATL with DL. Twice in the past year DL has cancelled their flight from AEX to ATL approximately 5 - 10 minutes after a CO flight left with available seats. This has resulted in me cancelling one trip and having a seven hour delay on another. To me this is unacceptable and I'm voting with my wallet.

That leaves AA and CO for me. I am unable to leave ORF prior to 5:00 p.m. AA cannot get me to AEX the same day so I'll be taking CO and the RJ to IAH and another RJ to AEX. Yes, I don't like the RJs but as cjgibson said if it weren't for RJs and Saab 340s we wouldn't have any service in many locations in Louisiana.

Same thing with DL Connection/ASA LFT-ATL. They simply are not as reliable as COEx.

I disagree on the food issue. I certainly don't prefer A to C, but there's a Grain Station in the middle of the gate A20-A28 terminal that sells healthy food options (sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, snack bars). In many cases, the food I've picked up there has been better than meals I've been served in F.

Well, there's hope then.....;)

Yes, but as has been said, there are ERJs and there are ERJs. I was not in favor of the merger with United until I flew one of their ERJs - more comfortable seat, first class, E+. It was heaven.

I don't expect a lie-flat seat and steak au poivre, but I don't think a first class option and an aisle I can stand up in are too much to ask.

On longer routes, or on routes that link hubs to important business markets, I agree with you.

But from IAH to anywhere in Louisiana-- except New Orleans-- I think it probably is too much to ask. There probably just isn't enough traffic from places like BTR, AEX, SHV, etc. to support using E-Jets or CRJ-700s/900s. And FWIW, United doesn't offer F or E+ on its CRJ-200s or ERJ-145s either.

In the coming years, however, you might see some of these routes switched from ERJs to Colgan Q400s. And in my opinion, you'll be missing the ERJs.

You're quite right. I doubt we would see E-Jets/CR7s/CR9s here in LFT and we had CO 737 service at one point to IAH. As mentioned previously, I've also heard (unofficially) that Colgan intends to introduce the Q400 for at least some of the IAH short haul feeder routes this fall. The thought did cross my mind that they may try to replace ERJs. And if that does indeed happen and we lose COEx ERJ service completely, I would then seriously consider switching airlines with AA being my most likely choice (the AA Eagle turboprops that were based in DFW are long gone).

Sweet goodness are you serious?

NWA/DL here I come!

No, they are not. The just switched to ATR slaveships.

in addition the Q400 is way better than a Saab or a ERJ145 anyday. one may gripe about colgan, but the Q400 is a great plane.

My reaction was to Colgan more than the plane. I'd switch to NW or DL before I flew them as my primary connecting carrier.

Whoops! You are correct, sir! AA had sent me an e-mail awhile back announcing that "all the Saab 340s are gone" having been replaced by ERJs. I see now that announcement was route specific (LFT-DFW). It appears the AA Eagle ATRs in DFW are all the newer -500 models. I flew on a new ATR-72-500 operated by Air Tahiti PPT-RFP r/t and was actually impressed with this turboprop. And I agree with you concerning the Q400 having flown with Horizon. Colgan is another story.....

P.S. - I will still take an ERJ 145 operated by ExpressJet over a Q400 operated by Colgan any day - for a number of reasons.