I'm in the same boat. I refuse to believe that there are that many Y fare customers (elites to boot) or other plats with higher fares on every single flight that I take. Something sure feels odd about it to me.

Well said!

I have to smile abit when I read this line. Because you're new here, you weren't around when almost everyone was foaming at the mouth when Continetal "Mullinized" itself and introduced EQMs. Pretty much everyone here went ballistic and swore to leave. We all projected a huge migration of customers away from CO using very similar language to yours.

Truth is: it never happened. There were (and are) some unhappy folks who left because they had to fly on sub-V fares and could not book online, but the rest of us sucked it up, directed our business to co.com and kept earning our status. The migration never happened, even though there are still quite a few customers out there who are clueless about EQMs and how it affected their qualification.

What *would* cause a migration? A similarly sized airline with a global route structure that offered better comfort, better service and a more generous FFP, including upgrades and award seats. Most of us here are still waiting to see such a thing materialize. Maybe UA will continue to reinvent itself to become that very thing, but for now, CO is pretty much the best option out there for *many* domestic non-transcon oriented customers who must travel on a variety of fares. It all comes down to one's routes, flights and spending patterns. What works for one customer might not work at all for another.

I'm new to the forum but not to CO (240+ flights now). The EQM thingy on CO.com is one thing, but continuing and hopelessly futile bait-and-switch tactics for upgrades, that's a bit further beyond the pail IMO. That, in essence, is the one truly desired perk for someone that flies at a plat frequency.

By the way, they have continually pulled back on the EQM issue because of backlash right? I hope the same is true when they see a cliff event (of unknown size) at the start of 2007.

Time will tell, but I can't imagine people sucking it up when there are truly other (and better) options out there.

I agree, CO may have some people pigeon holed due to their routes, especially global routes, but I don't think that holds true for alot of elites with predominantly domestic travel.

The 757's are narrowbody and all CO 757-200's are being configured to int'l. Only the 757-300 - the few CO already had and the extra used ones from ATA are for exclusive domestic use - now being upgraded from 12 to 24 F seats. So that leaves very few wide bodies for major international routes. And as Vincom says - the wide bodies domestically are mainly for rearranging aircraft and a 757-200 int'l used domestically (like EWR-FLL) is using up available time left over from the European runs.

CO used to have more widebodies - lots of DC-10s and a few 747s. But CO under Gordon took the task to move quickly to more efficient new planes with less maintenance costs, etc. as a way to make CO profitable. And it worked until all airlines suffered after 9/11 and high fuel costs.

Other airlines operating many of the old aircraft like NW, DL and previously UA are/were operating under bankruptcy. CO likely made the right decision to retire the old DC-10s. NW is still flying them.

You're upgrade COULD clear from 5 days up t'ill 10 minutes to departure. Keeping seats for revenue reasoning is perfectly valid. UPGRADES ARE ON SPACE AVAILABLE BASIS. No a Gold would not before before you even if they were ona higher fare. It's Platinums by fare class, the Gold by fare class, then Silvers by fare class.


http://www.continental.com/onepass/elite/upgrades.asp Notice how it says "Beginning 5 calendar days before departure"

Also notice under Elite Upgrade Term - "Elite upgrades are subject to capacity controls, which may limit the number of seats available. Also, certain fares such as industry discount, Hotwire and priceline.com are not eligible for Elite upgrades. Elite upgrades are not valid with reward tickets."

-Vincent

^ ^ ^ ^ Well said.

-Vincent

I've been on a CO 757-200 between EWR and SFO twice in the last month or so. You can view the details in the Continental timetable. It shows that CO1049, CO749, and CO348 as being operated most of the time by 757 aircraft. In reality, though, there is not much to differentiate the two. Aside from the number of rows, the cabin of a 737 is virtually indistinguishable from that of a 757. Continental does not fly two-aisle aircraft on these routes because they do not have enough of them. International service makes them more money. In addition, they know that passengers would rather have more frequency on a route than a bigger aircraft. I'm rather happy being able to choose between five or more EWR-SFO flights per day. Right-sizing your routes with the proper aircraft is a good way to fill seats and make money. Continental, unlike its competitors, is on the verge of making money.What program rules have changed in the last year or so? None that affect the number of upgrades. With regard to aircraft, they're using what they have (see above). The problem is that they are actually selling a lot of F seats these days. That didn't happen until DL lowered F fares to the point where people actually purchased them.I agree that an E+ would be nice. Continental, however, has told us that they can't justify the economics of that and that it will not happen. Look at other examples of this. AA's MRTC has quietly gone away and UA is in bankruptcy. That doesn't sound like a resounding vote of confidence in the idea.There are a lot of other factors that come into play. What you're complaining about with regard to aircraft choice and E- doesn't seem to be making the planes any emptier.It all depends on where you live and work. I'd have to pass EWR to get to JFK so JFK is a non-starter unless you just can't get there from EWR, ex: Icelandair. I once took the train to BWI rather than drive to JFK to take Icelandair Obviously your experience and mine differ. While most of my domestic travel is transcontinental, upgrades on other routes are still pretty good. I treat upgrades as unexpected perquisite of travel. If you really want to fly in F then you should buy an F seat.

Not anymore - UA is out of BK court. ^

Hey, kid -- get back to class


Regarding the comment that CO would see a mass exodus of elite flyers in 2007, the problems discussed here are not new. I submit that the same doom and gloom being predicted should be hitting right about now, if it is going to. The new OnePass program year just started. I don't see much of a change in the number of elites, and I don't see any exodus. if anything, CO claims to now have too many elites -- thanks to the 150% EQM rules for high fares. Continental aircraft seem to be pretty full these days. Having them full of passengers willing to pay more makes perfect business sense.

Also thanks to CO continuing to give out elite status like candy during halloween to any business traveler with a pulse. A targeted "Be an Elite for a Day" thingie would be fine to introduce new customers to CO, but this giving away of silver, gold and plat status for a whole year really needs to be curtailed.

It should be done via challenges, like AA. If someone wants it, let them work abit for it. Asking someone to take 4 roundtrips of at least 10K miles total or 8 roundtrips of at least 25K miles total in V or higher fares within 90 days is not alot to ask to make someone's temporary Gold or Plat status permanent.

... disregard the previous post here... client nixed for next week...

(This is subject to change though, as my UA flight is on 24 hr hold pending client signing an extension of the contract on which I am working - the joys of consulting)

Personally, I find the 757 quite a bit more pleasant than the 737. Of course, it's just a psychological thing since the width of the fuselage is the same.

Regarding E+ I know that CO doesn't want to spend the bucks or, conversely, give up the revenue that lost seats would represent.

But with upgrades now essentially unavailable (& I agree with you that no one who buys a coach seat ought to feel automatically entitled to an FC upgrade) I look at the quality of the CO coach cabin product and the JetBlue cabin, and JetBlue wins by KO in the 1st round with its 34" seat pitch (FC on some CO 737's is less than 40" btw), comfy leather seats and TV at each seat. And it's much cheaper.

I understand that for you EWR is more convenient than JFK. But otherwise what is the point of remaining loyal to CO to the point of plat? I think most of the perks of OP are now acquired at the 25k level.

The implication for CO? They're eroding their loyal customer base, people such as myself and IndyMan and others who don't perceive any tangible benefits of loyalty.

And who is replacing us? The predatory commodity-conscious traveler who is only looking for the cheapest seat. Do you really think those consumers care about the warm sandwich or the plastic pillow? They just want cheap. And as soon as the competition is cheaper, they'll be ready to jump ship.

And so the race to the bottom is in fully engaged with the result that all will be badly bruised, especially the image of the wonderful airline that is CO which once held high the principle of making money by delivering value, not just by cutting costs.

The consumer is also getting feed up with getting nothing from airlines and thier travel expereince degrading - of the legacy carriers Continental offers the most of the little things that make people happier or make the travel expereince more pleasent - people don't forget that either.

-Vincent

Agreed 100%. But remember, consumers don't care if an airline is a legacy carrier or not, they just want a more pleasant travel experience, i.e. more value for their travel dollar.

If JetBlue is providing that greater value for the vast majority of consumers for whom the only feasible option is flying coach then Continental will fall into the same trap of proclaiming its "legacy of service" while providing less value for the dollar.

One of the greatest appeals of CO has been its OP Elite perks. Those are fast disappearing because all the seats needed to reward these passengers (whether FC upgrades or reward seats in coach) are now being sold at firesale prices to shore up the bottom line.

A fine strategy in the short term but one that could have dire, long-term implications as the erosion in customer loyalty becomes a tangible issue.