ElieW

I recently flew CO from DEN-EWR on a 737-800. I lost my elite status back in March, since I didn't fly much in 2009 (Thankfully I'm just about there again, but really having some poor experiences with CO this time around.), and decided it was worth purchasing an Extra legroom seat in row 8 for $39. The seat was up against a lav, so I figured that accounted for the lower price.

Before purchasing I Googled some, but didn't find any bad reports about this row. Well, boy was I surprised to find out that this row does not have ELR!!! It is bulkhead, but actually reduced leg room! I am fairly short and can usually stretch out completely under the seat in from of me, but in this case, my feet hit the wall before barely extending!

I called Continental to complain and as for my money back and was told "tough luck". The agent claimed that ELR is defined as "Extra legroom or no seat in front of you". She said I should write a letter suggesting they clarify the seat labeling as they do with the limited recline seats. Note that the CO website states: "When checking-in during the normal check-in period 24 hours prior to your flight, you’ll have the choice to purchase a seat offering a minimum of seven additional inches of legroom." (http://www.continental.com/web/en-us...y/legroom.aspx).

Short of disputing the credit card charge, anyone have any ideas how I can get my money back?

Thanks,
Elie.

ElieW

Just as a follow up... Continental never even responded to my email. I'm thiclose to moving over to EL AL now that they have the new deal with Jet Blue. Continental customer service has absolutely been dreadful lately.

Lesson learned: Don't take the seats labeled extra legroom if they are by the lav, or if they are cheap. There is probably good reason.

CLEHillbilly

Maybe it was row 7?

Check out this site....SeatGuru.com

docr775

Could have been row 7. However CO still sells it as an ELR seat, even though Seat Guru states that leg room is restricted. I think the OP has a legitimate claim.

pptp

I depends on how you describe 'leg room'. For tall people, anything where your knees aren't painfully smashed against the seat in front of you is legroom, even if you can't extend your feet. Apparently for you, it has nothing to do with knees, it's means being able to stretch your legs out.

Every AC and every type of seat has their little nuances. Experienced fliers, over time and many miles, learn what they like and don't like about certain seats. You might just chalk this up as a learning experience and not worry about it because according to CO's definition, you got what you paid for.

Hartmann

While I agree with you, I think the definition that CO has on their website for Extra Legroom seats needs to be changed. All it says is that they are seats with at least 7" of extra legroom. To an everyday flyer, that sounds good, but what I interpret that as is 7" of extra pitch, meaning there are 7 extra inches between one spot on your seat and the same spot on the seat or bulkhead of you.

I don't think it's deceptive, it's just a poor choice of words.

cjgibson

If you were not satisfied with your purchase and you've made a good faith effort to resolve it with the merchant, but the merchant hasn't budged, then yes, you should definitely dispute the charge.

PS: CO will respond to your e-mail, but I think WeCare is taking about 2-3 weeks to respond. I'm not saying that's right, just telling you FYI...

chasbondy

""I called Continental to complain and as for my money back and was told "tough luck". ""

You fell for the typical "racket job" these airlines are jamming down your throat. The king of the racket, is UA, but its not taking long for CO to join the fray. I think you should reverse the CC charge for the whole flight and call as many regulators as you can to make them spend 100's of hours on your case. I'd even take them to small claims court to rattle their cages. And as much as I hate attorneys, call that 1-800- bottom feeder number and see if you can get a class action claim going. As an individual, you are nothing to them, but as a class, it might get their attention

channa

I don't know what you mean by lately. They've been like this for a while now.

The upside of CO is that you don't run into problems much, so the don't often have a chance to demonstrate this, the dark side of their organization.

vicarious_MR'er

Wow, I would totally be angry, too, and I would also consider disputing the charge like you are thinking about.

...that is saying A LOT to consider moving to El Al over CO due to customer service issues. You must be experiencing some serious hassles!! to CO. The TLV route is a huge moneymaker for them. They shouldn't act this way about $39, which is total peanuts for them, and from what you describe, they absolutely are misrepresenting it int he advertising language.

cjgibson

Seems a bit overkill, no? I'd wait (and wait and wait) for WeCare's response. It will come, it just might take a few weeks. If the response is not to the OP's liking, then dispute the $39 ELR charge.

Laughable

I may make on more attempt out of goodwill...yeah I have goodwill too, to call CO and point out the absolutely deceptive language in the marketing materials. And if they wouldn't move, I would challenge the charge. Remember, under $50 for a charge, most banks generally write it off as part of the cost of doing business...so if you're not a habitual charge challenger, it may be over with one phone call to the bank.

MileHighGuy

No need to call a 1-800 bottom feeder number, several of them are flyertalkers

zoegksf

Wrong, UA actually has ELR or in UA's case E+ and there is additional legroom. CO is solely exit room and bulkheads with the buckheads being a "racket".

LAX1K to AmWest

As annoyed as you are, I found proposing a solution may help. If you email/call give them some options, or if nothing is good, ask "what can you do to make me whole". They may be able to give you a $50 coupon to upcoming flight, some other coupons.. maybe some miles... you figure out and that may solve it for you.

Just an idea...