Continental Airlines
Jun 15, 2005 | 4:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 1
Continental Airlines
Although this happened to me several years ago, it still sticks in my "caw" and I wonder if there are any others who had a simular experience with Continental. I live in Amman, Jordan and on the evening of April 13, 1999, I received a phone call from my sister in the United States telling me that my father was seriously ill and that I needed to come as quickly as possible. Because it was late, all the airline offices in Jordan were closed and the only way my husband was able to get me a ticket was by going directly to the airport. Thankfully he was able to book me on a Royal Jordanian flight leaving Amman at 7:50 a.m. the next morning, April 14. Because it was impossible for me to book any internal flights in America, I phoned my daughter in Washington DC to get me a ticket from New York to Allentown PA, the closest airport to my sister. After consulting with her travel agent, she presented me with 2 options: I could fly from LaGuardia to Allentown via Philadelphia for over $250 or I could get a direct flight from Newark to Allentown for $44. Although I certainly, after a 13 hour transatlantic flight, didnt want to have to go all the way to Newark to take my next flight, the difference in the cost made it the only sensible choice.
Because of the efficiency of the transportation desk at the TWA terminal, it was easy to make my arrangements to go to Newark. Upon arrival there, I checked in my one suitcase, picked up my Continental
Airlines ticket flight 4331 which my daughter had booked for me and rearranged my seat on the plane from one next to the window to an aisle seat, 3B. The man at the check-in counter was very nice and very
helpful and when I asked him my one question, that being, Can you tell me why it takes 1 hours to fly from Newark to Allentown Pa? he looked at his computer and said, It looks like it is a very small prop plane, so I guess that is why. I had over a two-hour wait so I bought a sandwich and then went down to gate C132 to await my flight. At 8:00, exactly on time, it was called. I presented my boarding pass and was
directed to a small bus. By this time I had been traveling a total of 20 hours since leaving Amman.
There were only about 6 passengers on the bus. The driver started up and proceeded to drive out to where dozens of commuter planes were lined up. I sat wondering which one was mine, when he pasted all of them, exited the airport and turned onto the highway. In my head I questioned where he was going and thought that there must be another runway down the road, or a different terminal for my flight, and waited for an explanation. After about 10 minutes, when there was no sign that we were going to another airport, I turned around to the person sitting behind me and said, I dont understand, where are we going?" It was only then that the man sitting across the aisle from me said, "This is the shuttle to Allentown. Continental has found that it is cheaper to send its passengers by bus than to fly them." I guess that one can imagine how I was feeling about now. I was absolutely speechless. At no time was there ever any indication from anyone at Continental Airlines, that flight 4331 was a shuttle BUS.
My destination in Pennsylvania was not Allentown, it just happened to be the closest airport. My father was in a hospital in East Stroudsburg, 45 minutes north. Had I known that my Continental flight was a bus and not an airplane, I would have arranged from JFK with the TWA transportation desk, transport directly to East Stroudsburg, the city where I really wanted to go. Instead, my sister and brother in law had to leave my fathers hospital bedside, with my niece in charge, and drive to Allentown airport, a total round-trip of
1 hours. I had arrived from Jordan at 4:00 p.m., my Continental shuttle got into Allentown at 9:30 p.m. Had I traveled directly from JKF, I could have been at my destination several hours earlier without inconveniencing anyone. By the time I arrived at my sisters home, I had been traveling a total of 23 hours. I was far too exhausted to visit my father that night as I was both emotionally and physically drained, a state which was, more than anything else, caused by the fiasco of my Continental Airlines flight.
The day following my arrival, I phoned my daughter to tell her about my experience. She immediately phoned the travel agent that had booked my flight and he assured her that on his computer there was nothing which indicated to him that flight 4331 was a shuttle bus. He had been surprised at the cheap cost of the ticket but at nothing else. I have no reason to disbelieve him as I think that there was nothing on the computer at the Continental check-in counter which indicated that flight 4331 was not an airplane to the ticket agent either. Had he known, would he have gone through the process of changing my seat assignment from the window to the aisle, and why, unless there is a blatant policy of deception, would he have told me that it was a small prop plane? I feel that during this whole experience Continental Airlines deceived me and caused me stress and unnecessary delay in reaching my father who was gravely ill and who subsequently died.
I sent this letter to Continental and I got a very lame reply and I didn't pursue it as I should have at the time. Now, using this forum, I have the opportunity to share this nightmare with others who might have experienced the same thing. I welcome any comments or suggestions!
Because of the efficiency of the transportation desk at the TWA terminal, it was easy to make my arrangements to go to Newark. Upon arrival there, I checked in my one suitcase, picked up my Continental
Airlines ticket flight 4331 which my daughter had booked for me and rearranged my seat on the plane from one next to the window to an aisle seat, 3B. The man at the check-in counter was very nice and very
helpful and when I asked him my one question, that being, Can you tell me why it takes 1 hours to fly from Newark to Allentown Pa? he looked at his computer and said, It looks like it is a very small prop plane, so I guess that is why. I had over a two-hour wait so I bought a sandwich and then went down to gate C132 to await my flight. At 8:00, exactly on time, it was called. I presented my boarding pass and was
directed to a small bus. By this time I had been traveling a total of 20 hours since leaving Amman.
There were only about 6 passengers on the bus. The driver started up and proceeded to drive out to where dozens of commuter planes were lined up. I sat wondering which one was mine, when he pasted all of them, exited the airport and turned onto the highway. In my head I questioned where he was going and thought that there must be another runway down the road, or a different terminal for my flight, and waited for an explanation. After about 10 minutes, when there was no sign that we were going to another airport, I turned around to the person sitting behind me and said, I dont understand, where are we going?" It was only then that the man sitting across the aisle from me said, "This is the shuttle to Allentown. Continental has found that it is cheaper to send its passengers by bus than to fly them." I guess that one can imagine how I was feeling about now. I was absolutely speechless. At no time was there ever any indication from anyone at Continental Airlines, that flight 4331 was a shuttle BUS.
My destination in Pennsylvania was not Allentown, it just happened to be the closest airport. My father was in a hospital in East Stroudsburg, 45 minutes north. Had I known that my Continental flight was a bus and not an airplane, I would have arranged from JFK with the TWA transportation desk, transport directly to East Stroudsburg, the city where I really wanted to go. Instead, my sister and brother in law had to leave my fathers hospital bedside, with my niece in charge, and drive to Allentown airport, a total round-trip of
1 hours. I had arrived from Jordan at 4:00 p.m., my Continental shuttle got into Allentown at 9:30 p.m. Had I traveled directly from JKF, I could have been at my destination several hours earlier without inconveniencing anyone. By the time I arrived at my sisters home, I had been traveling a total of 23 hours. I was far too exhausted to visit my father that night as I was both emotionally and physically drained, a state which was, more than anything else, caused by the fiasco of my Continental Airlines flight.
The day following my arrival, I phoned my daughter to tell her about my experience. She immediately phoned the travel agent that had booked my flight and he assured her that on his computer there was nothing which indicated to him that flight 4331 was a shuttle bus. He had been surprised at the cheap cost of the ticket but at nothing else. I have no reason to disbelieve him as I think that there was nothing on the computer at the Continental check-in counter which indicated that flight 4331 was not an airplane to the ticket agent either. Had he known, would he have gone through the process of changing my seat assignment from the window to the aisle, and why, unless there is a blatant policy of deception, would he have told me that it was a small prop plane? I feel that during this whole experience Continental Airlines deceived me and caused me stress and unnecessary delay in reaching my father who was gravely ill and who subsequently died.
I sent this letter to Continental and I got a very lame reply and I didn't pursue it as I should have at the time. Now, using this forum, I have the opportunity to share this nightmare with others who might have experienced the same thing. I welcome any comments or suggestions!
Jun 15, 2005 | 1:55 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: BRS
Programs: BA GLD
Posts: 1,927
Disclosure law ... in the US
Here in the US, we have a law that requires us to disclose to the customer if their flight is operated by another carrier as a codeshare, or if there is a change of equipment for a through flight number. This applies to airlines and all sellers of travel here in the USA. It probably does not apply to Jordan. Airlines drill this into their reservations employees since check calls are made to ensure that the disclosure requirements are being enforced, and fines can be levied for not doing so. Our computer system flags any segments that are booked as a codeshare when we sell the flight, and it also prints on the itinerary we send to the customer. In your case, the bus service is clearly stated in the availability display as well as when the segment is sold:
01SEP THU EWR/EDT ABE/EDT0
1CO/** 3300 Y7 H7 K7 N7*EWRABE 945A 1115A BUS 0 XS DCA /E
1 CO3300Y 01SEP Q EWRABE SS1 945A 1115A /DCCO /E
OPERATED BY EXPRESSJET AIRLINES INC DBA CO EXP BUS
So you can see that the availability shows the equipment type as BUS, and when we sell the segment, the computer flags it as being operated as a codeshare ... in this case Expressjet Airlines, doing business as Continental Express Bus.
It's pretty hard NOT to disclose it.
That being said, it still confuses passengers. I try to be as clear as possible, but there are still people who check in at the wrong airline, are surprised when they connect to a turboprop plane, or have to get off and change planes at an intermediate stop when their ticket has a through flight number.
You should have been told, but unfortunately were not. I see that this happened to you in 1999, and enforcement has become much tighter since then with the proliferation of codeshare operation around the world.
01SEP THU EWR/EDT ABE/EDT0
1CO/** 3300 Y7 H7 K7 N7*EWRABE 945A 1115A BUS 0 XS DCA /E
1 CO3300Y 01SEP Q EWRABE SS1 945A 1115A /DCCO /E
OPERATED BY EXPRESSJET AIRLINES INC DBA CO EXP BUS
So you can see that the availability shows the equipment type as BUS, and when we sell the segment, the computer flags it as being operated as a codeshare ... in this case Expressjet Airlines, doing business as Continental Express Bus.
It's pretty hard NOT to disclose it.
That being said, it still confuses passengers. I try to be as clear as possible, but there are still people who check in at the wrong airline, are surprised when they connect to a turboprop plane, or have to get off and change planes at an intermediate stop when their ticket has a through flight number.
You should have been told, but unfortunately were not. I see that this happened to you in 1999, and enforcement has become much tighter since then with the proliferation of codeshare operation around the world.
outch