CONTINENTAL AIRLIINES (Continental Airlines)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	Continental Airlines
Date:	26/03/09 (313 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great flight

Disadvantages: None for me

Having read a few reviews on dooyoo and similar sites where many people have been whole-heartedly unsatisfied with Continental Airlines, I was totally surprised at this, as I couldn't really fault them when I flew with them on a return flight to NYC in January of this year.

The check-in was very quick and painless, if a little strict, but we knew to expect this (most flights to USA have stricter check in and immigration stuff to sort out these days we have found!) The counter staff at the check-in desk were polite and friendly and our baggage was boarded (and subsequently collected in NYC) with absolutely no problems.

The flight itself was comfortable, and the hostess staff were all extremely polite and courteous with the exception of one older lady who we nicknamed "the dragon". At one point I had to ask a (nice) hostess lady for an extra blanket as I was so cold, and she got it for me immediately, (two in fact), offered to get me a hot drink if I wanted it, and assured me that if there was anything else that I needed I was to call on her. Suitably impressed, I snuggled into my blanket(s) and even managed a nap as I was so comfortable (it is unheard of for me to be able to sleep on planes!!)

There was a fantastic range of complimentary soft drinks which were served throughout the duration of the flight... everything from mineral water, herbal tea, fruit juice and cappuccino. You could purchase alcohol if you preferred, but I can't comment on this as we didn't have any.

We were served food twice throughout our 8 hour flight. The first time was a main meal (I think it was a sort of curry and rice if I remember correctly) with a side salad (gorgeous dressing), a roll with butter, and a cake thingy. The second time was a snack, which was a kind of hot roll, and a portion of fruit salad. The food was by no means the best meal i've ever had, but I've certainly had a lot worse on other airlines. Also, the meals were included with the flight, and there was no extra charge for them.

The in-flight entertainment that we had on board our plane was fantastic! Each seat had a sort of wee tv built into the headrest so that the person sitting behind had a screen to watch. Continental provided each passenger with a pair of complimentary headphones, and we were invited to take these with us when we left the aircraft. The headphones could be plugged into the armrest to allow you to hear the programme or film that was showing on the screen.

The wee tv screen was one of those "touch" screens, which made it easy to select what you wanted to listen to (there was lots of radio stations and a selection of music that you could scroll through and select - everything from Pink, to Westlife, to Pavarotti.)

If you prefer to watch tv (like me) then there was a brilliant choice of programmes to pick from, some examples that I can remember are (one episode each) Will and Grace, Everybody loves Raymond, and Desperate Housewives. There was also a selection of films to choose from, although I can only remember two of these... Spiderman (with Tobey Maguire) and Toy Story.

The TV entertainment also had an option to go into a games menu and had a selection of puzzles and games to keep you amused. Some of the games that I can remember off hand were Suduko and wordsearches, although there were some more junior games to choose from too - ideal if you had young ones traveling with you. (or if you are a big kid like me!!!) :-D

Having used lots and lots of different airlines over the years, I have a fair amount of flight experience to compare Continental to. Granted, the staff on our flight were providing a service which is what they are paid to do, but that could also be said for other airlines where I've had to pay for a snack, ask several times for a drink of water, been snapped at by hostess staff, or just had mediocre service as a whole. I can honestly say that none of these flaws were evident on the continental flight (apart from that one "dragony" lady, but lets not tar them all with the same brush eh?)

I felt that the airline (and the staff for that matter) catered to our needs and provided us with "better than average" customer service, food, entertainment and comfort. I would have no problem recommending them.

All in all, we had a fab flight, it was a great start to our holiday, and I would definitely use Continental again.

Summary: I'd use them again :-)