The "What Could Continental Improve?" Thread
 

Overall, I think CO fields a solid product. However, we're FTers, and nitpicky about flying to the point of borderline neurosis. From your perspective, what is it that CO could do that would make a large (or small) positive difference to you when traveling with them? Doubtless, many of these complaints or suggestions have been fielded before. However, certain bones of contention here on the CO Forum (filling middle seats from the rear of the Y cabin, for instance) have been trotted out again and again, seemingly without meaningful action/response by CO. Here's my impromptu list of suggestions/peeves/what-have-you:

1. Fill those middle seats from the rear. Do whatever it takes training and operations-wise to get it done.

2. How much longer will we have to wait for Elite-prioritized standby? We've heard it's coming for some time, and this is a no brainer.

3. Thin the herds within the President's Clubs (am at C South IAH right now, and it's a total zoo). Dump Amex Plat admission, add more clubs at hubs, increase the membership fees even more...do something! (but don't charge for booze, as that would be ridiculous)

4. Bombay Sapphire and Jack Daniels (or real Bourbon such as Knob Creek) at the President's Club. If not free, at least offer a premium booze program like the premium wines.

5. Carry at least one decent micro-brew aboard CO aircraft (and in the PCs). How is it that NW can carry Firebrick Ale, and CO can't manage more than Heineken and Fosters?

6. Allow one-way reward redemptions.

7. Footrests (not legrests, as they're likely too heavy) in the domestic F cabin.

8. Better integration of CO & Skyteam partner computer systems for the purposes of easier searching and online booking of partner award inventory.

9. Elite luggage tags (perhaps for Golds & Plats only)

10. A meaningful incentive to continue flying CO beyond 75,000mi in a year.

11. More reward availability.
12. Waive change fee for elites.

13. Seats in coach with more than 1mm of padding.

Fill the middle from the rear

Offer a product similar to E+ that United offers in the economy cabin

Better award availability

I have been happy with CO for the most part,but when upgrades don't clear domestically and all international,it's hard to argue with the advantages of UA,especially for those of us who must travel in coach due to employers constraints

1. BF check in at EWR is not up to snuff. The lines can be waaay too long for a $7k ticket, and the reception/ treatment from the staff should be much warmer. for me, it's the worst part of the trip.

2. offer a separate BF lounge at EWR, IAH and CLE. even US does this at PHL, for crying out loud.

3. improve wine selections on BF flights. It ranges from p*ss poor to passable.

4. BF concierge service should be a lot more interactive and consistent. some are great, and some are invisible.

What could CO improve?
 

...the attitude of many of its EWR staff.

coach seats are miserable

BF checkin looks like an afterthought - still

food in the PC is terrible. Bring back the good donuts. how much of that crummy cheese can you eat?

plat awards with no capacity control

Agreed!

235. Post-75k incentives.

236. Lifetime recognition (i.e. "million miler")

237. Dump that really gross "cheesesteak pizza" fat delivery device.

238. Put more than iceberg lettuce in the Y salad.

(I actually don't mind the Fosters. Beats the heck out of Miller or something like that.)

Some kind of economy plus (especially on transcons and long haul TATL and transpacific).

More pitch (1-2" would be nice)

Pasta in Y. Sounds like a strange request, but they have so much bread already (cheesteak, pizza, chicken sandwich, etc.) why not give us something that does not contain grade F+ or soy meat.

Fix the "elite" lines at EWR. Don't merge them on "slow" days.

More than 31" pitch in coach. I hate to say it, but even WN has MUCH more comfortable seating in the non-exit rows on its 737 fleet than CO does. Less firm seat cushions would help, but figuring out how to put in even one extra inch of pitch would be wonderful.

And my own personal gripe, which has caused CO to lose some business from me... a LBB-IAH flight that leaves at 6:00 PM or later. 4:07 PM doesn't cut it for those of us who have to work until nearly 5:00. Even places like TYR, CLL, AEX, and BPT have later connections to IAH. I'm sure the Hampton Inn Lubbock appreciates the fact that I frequently have to spend Thursday night there, but I'd much rather get home from my frequent Lubbock trips on Thursdays without resorting to flying WN or AA. I'd be willing to fly a Cessna on that route if CO flew it around 6:00 PM.

Y product:
- The seats need serious help. As it stands they could be used as
part of the CIA’s “advanced interrogation methods”
- I like the pasta idea for Y meals
- E+ type product would be great. In lieu of this, an extra inch of
seat pitch would be great (and easier to implement).

F product
- I’m pretty happy here

OnePass
- Incentive for flying over 75k (a new “level” to increase upgrades,
not just incremental SWUs)
- Dump the “service charge” for international mileage upgrades (or
perhaps reduce it based on elite status)
- Allow mileage transfer between accounts
- Delta upgrades

Presidents Club
- Food (CO owns a catering company, you’d think someone would find
a way to get some of that food into the PC)
- More clubs or less people

Routes
- ONT – EWR
- ONT/SNA – CLE
- So Cal Asia hub

1) Rather than ban Amex Plats, expand existing clubs or add new clubs in hub airports to allow greater capacity and maintain profitability for CO.

2) More comfortable seats in coach - do something about the lack of padding, at least. Another inch of pitch would not hurt, either, but we all know that will never happen.

3) Re-introduce higher-quality liquor at the Presidents Clubs. Presidents Club membership rates are increasing, yet CO has reduced the quality of beverages being served. (I'm not a big liquor drinker; it just irks me that quality has gone down while prices have gone up).

4) Offer some food options in Presidents Clubs other than cheese and crackers.

5) Dedicated BusinessFirst lounges, or at least dedicated areas of P Clubs for BusinessFirst passengers.

6) Improve BusinessFirst wine selections.

7) Some sort of post-75k EQM incentive.

1-10: 100% EQM's on DL and NW discounted flights.

11: Ear wings in all Y configurations.

12: Please lower the fees for BF upgrades.

13: Increase the maintnence on planes, it seems every flight I have been on has had a broken tray table, or recline function.

I think the thread wants things that are realistic :) Folks in that part of the world simply are not very "Southern" :)

1) Improve PC's in the ways mentioned previously.

2) Improve partner integration

3) Improve website to include connections to other airlines, to allow for travel to currently unavailable destinations