I’ve been reading daily all the threads regarding how CO is out of touch with their consumers via changes to OnePass, customer relations and pricing. I’m soaking it in and making my own observations and conclusions. Two items consistently gnaw at me regarding their future:

1) Honesty is a crucial link between a client and a customer. IMO, once you enter (either party) into the dishonesty arena, I’m sorry I have to take my business elsewhere. I believe it was either Venk or Snake stated (regarding the VS EQM Bonus Thread), “It’s completely acceptable to change rules or guidelines, but be honest, upfront and with notice.” I completely agree. If any of my employees treated our customers like CO treats their “customers” (or in Gordo’s eyes “passengers”) they would be standing in the unemployment line.

2) I’m not an airline executive, but as a consumer looking in, something is very wrong in Houston (especially in Revenue Management). I make a comfortable living, so I’m ecstatic when my RT fare to SEA is only $296, but will consider a B Fare of $600. To get to the point, last night I was considering a trip to SEA this weekend and executed an Orbitz search: AA $387; DL $472; AS $542 and CO $1,110. Huh? Every CO flight out of EWR priced $1,110. Will, I put my Plat Status aside for a savings of $723? “Hello AA”

Almost identical pricing from NYC to FLL (two months ago) for a trip over Thanksgiving. AA $302; DL (Song) $375; B6 $370 and CO $1,082. Will, I put my Plat Status aside for a savings of $780? “Hello AA”

I’ll stick to Diet Coke over Pepsi and will stand by my family and friends in any circumstance. But to save over $1,400 for a coach seat…..Sorry Gordo.

I’ve been a Platinum for several years and have exclusively flown CO in the bad times and good (1986 – ????), but the “Times are a changin’…”. So, it very well could be 1986 – 2004.

Honesty is everything!

As discussed at insane length, airline pricing on specific routes can't logically be explained.

Could it be that CO is selling more seats than the competition? Maybe. Could it be the "fortress hub" mentality that acknowledges there's very little competition NYC-SEA nonstop? Yup.

The "honesty" thing is a different issue - if you feel CO's shafting you, get out of there - there are too many other options in NYC. Crazy to give money to a company that you don't trust if you feel there are equivalent or better alternatives.

I agree that individual pricing is a completely different story, however I am pretty sure that several stupid comments by Gordo over the last years have shifted Continental in an unlucky position.

I don`t read about any cheap shots against the competition from other airlines`upper management, so I wonder why Gordo has to take on the competition again and again, not only the domestic competition, but also the international competition.
If Gordo feels that the A 380 is not an airplane designed for his ( obviously too small ) airline it is ok, but I don`t see any reason to critisize various high quality airlines worldwide and Airbus for building and buying the A 380...

I am quite sure that CO is suffering from that image.

Locally CO was a respected airline in the Dusseldorf market for quite some years, they had the courage to attact LH on their second largest base at that time and a lot of people still like Co for that and still travel to FRA, I should add , to fly CO.

Ok, they lost some serious $$$ in the beginning, cause they overestimated the quality of their BF cabin, but later on they created quite some competition on the DUS-NYC routes.

I will never forget the moment when I walked along the C concourse at DUS ready to board my KLM flight, when of all of a sudden a CO 757 come around the corner.Everybody laughed at CO, but at least they had the courage trying the keep the route alive...

OK, LH was smarter and survived with the BBJ on that route, but at least here at DUS CO still has the image of a quality carrier and to be runner up to LH is not a shame.If they could only get rid of their CEO...

What if I don't like Airbus or anything it makes?

I don`t think anyone in this position can afford to like or dislike a product, he gets numbers and has to rely on the basic facts.

Beside that I am pretty sure that nobody in the industry likes the competition too much, but one should show some respect anyway, right ??

His comments were simply stupid, especially if you consider the basic facts, CO was loosing huge amounts of money, while the competition was making money in the same markets...

Is "loosing" huge amounts of money the same thing as "losing" huge amounts of money?

[This message has been edited by AS Flyer (edited 11-06-2003).]

I wouldn't base a decision solely on data gathered from the Continental board. If all the negativity you see on this board were reality, CO would have lost all its customers by now. I suggest you use your experience flying them to make your judgments.

It helps to put the information in perspective. For example, if a Plat doesn't get his upgrade on an EWR-IAH (a hub-to-hub route, perhaps the most competitive domestic route in the system with a high percentage of Elites, on a flight number that continues from an international destination where people actually pay or redeem miles for F tickets), an ordinary person may expect to see a threat titled, "EWR-IAH: hard to upgrade" or similar. Instead, we get dozens of posts alleging conspiracy theory that they altered EUA, with not one single person who could validate it with real data (e.g., higher-fare Silver got upgraded and the low-fare Plat did not. All we have is a few Plats who didn't get upgraded on some competitive routes. Heck, I've seen OAK-IAH flights with only Platinum class on Friday at noon.

So, while I agree the VS bonus mileage change could have been handled better, I wouldn't rate it a fiasco or PR nightmare (a la Starwood retroactive program changes, or Bora Bora Nui).

Isn't Continental Integrity yet another gem of an oxymoron?

IMO, CO's integrity is derived from its performance in the marketplace, and the company has done a good job of maintaining quality Y, J, and F products that people are willing to buy and even pay a premium for.

Also, unlike most airline execs, Gordon doesn't cook up a new reason every 90 days as to why CO's numbers are as high as they should be; he has consistently said (and truthfully so, IMHO) that security hassles, a dropoff in high-yield traffic, and actions by competitors that make sense if you're bankrupt but are senseless if you're solvent are the reasons behind the depressed numbers.

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Has YOUR airline won an award lately?

So I assume you were a major stockholder in Enron...

Not in Enron, or in United either...

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Has YOUR airline won an award lately?

avek double 'aught, by his own admission, has one share of CO stock.

Has YOUR airline failed to win an award lately?

[This message has been edited by snake (edited 11-07-2003).]

integrity n
1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY
2 : an unimpaired condition : SOUNDNESS
3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS

Spiff, I'm sure, was referring to the first definition, while avek00, I'm assuming, was referring to the second and/or third.

The integrity that all of us (save one) have found sorely lacking in CO of late is the one defined first above.

One more thing...those definitions came out of Merriam-Webster's website.

BTW...

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Has YOUR airline screwed you over lately?

But you did own shares of TWA.

Don't make me go look up some old threads.