What? A Flying Bunny?! (Continental Airlines)

Member Name: chugglebunny

Product:	Continental Airlines
Date:	27/04/09 (323 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Overall Service

Disadvantages: None for me

As I have gone on about numerous times, I have recently returned from a nice trip to Houston, Texas with my fiancé. As we went for WrestleMania, all of our accommodation and bits were included. The only additional we had to arrange were our flights.

Booking and Price
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Now after spending probably way too much on this holiday, I am not ashamed to admit that after a few flight comparison sites, I went with Continental because they were cheapest at the time. Our direct return flights to George International Airport, Houston, from London Heathrow were a little over £300 per person.

The website is easy to navigate with a clear search facility which allows you to browse flights on the selected day you have chosen and allows you to make all the usual amendments including which class, if it is a refundable ticket or if you will be flying with children etc. I found it very easy to book and was provided with a confirmation number as well as receipt for my payment. I like the fact that there is no trouble obtaining a phone number for Continental, unlike some airlines, if you have a question or need to amend a booking they are available 24 hours a day.

Checking in
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As well as receiving all confirmations and receipts electronically through my email, we also had the option to print off our boarding passes and check-in online to save time at the airport, unfortunately you only get this option 24 hours before the flight, as we flew on a Saturday and I had the Friday off work to sort myself out (clever me booking it with my work email address) I didn't get a chance to use this feature, but think it would have been a nice little touch and helped cut down the time spend checking in.

As we arrived at Heathrow and joined our check in line the old fashioned way, we were approached by a member of Continental staff who asked if we had already printed our boarding passes etc online, after saying we hadn't we were shown to a smaller queue to use the self check in machines they have there and then in the queue. Obviously not everybody in the whole queue could use this service, especially if they have specific needs etc, but we found it straight forward and it did save a little time.


The Actual flight
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We boarded after a small delay (30 minutes due to a medical emergency on the flight before) and my initial impression was a good one. To me, all planes look the same, some are slightly smaller etc but all the seats and facilities I have encountered (in economy class of course) have been pretty standard. So I was surprised by the size of the seats which were actually a little bigger and comfier than good old Easyjet or the like.

We were provided with blankets, pillows and earphones free of charge and had full use of the in flight entertainment system which included over 350 movies, lots of TV shows, games and music. It was enough to keep me from thinking about flying for the 10.5 hours so I was happy.

I have eaten a fair bit of plane food in my time and again it has always been pretty standard. Continental meets this standard and if anything exceeds it slightly. I was not expecting anything too gross or anything too fantastic but was actually happy with our lunch and dinner choices on the way out and enjoyed the dinner and breakfast on the way back. All food was a reasonable size portion. If my memory serves me right, we had chicken and mash with vegetables for dinner, with a turkey sandwich and crisps for lunch on the way out and chicken and pasta in a nice sauce for dinner and various fruits, bread and croissants for breakfast on the way home. All way cooked properly and served with real metal cutlery!

We were given a choice of refreshments throughout the flights which came with some very nice pretzels too.

I honestly wasn't expecting much at all from the food, but really was happily surprised, for a 10.5 hour flight it was nice to know we were looked after and had nice full stomachs. I can just about deal with flying as a necessary part of my holiday, but not being hungry the whole time too!

Staff
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All of the staff we encountered were professional and polite. I know after at least a ten hour shift I would be tired and moody, but none of the Continental staff showed it, again, not like other staff I have met on various other airlines.

Upon landing the planes air conditioning system leaked slightly, straight onto my lap due to the condensation. I jumped up and shifted over to the spare seat next to myself and my fiancé, no big deal, but the cabin crew immediately came over to check everything was ok, stop it leaking and apologise nicely while helping me dry off a little. I know little things like that happen, I wouldn't have minded, but to have such nice staff show that they cared was a pleasant surprise.

Additional Info
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Continental have a 2 bag allowance if you are flying to the USA from Europe, I was expecting one as per my usual flights, although I have only been to the USA once before and didn't need more than one bag, so this may be a standard, but it was very useful on our return flight. As part of our WrestleMania packages, we were lucky enough to be allowed to take our chairs we sat on for the event home with us! Great, a commemorative WrestleMania 25 steel folding chair...but how do you get it back in one piece and safe in the knowledge it won't be stolen? (Ok it's not made of diamonds or anything but a lot of people wanted them and even offered us a lot of money for them at the event!)

Continental helpfully packaged these and labelled them up for us to check in as our second bag. I was a little concerned about these getting home in one piece and even more concerned about all the people we shared the plane with who had been to the event pinching our chairs, but it was nothing to be concerned about. The staff waited till all other baggage was off the planes and wheeled our items through separately and lastly, so no one else was around.

Overall
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As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this airline, the staff, the flight, the facilities and the price.

We were treated well and it did make a difference. It was a nice start to a great holiday and a lovely flight home when we were tired and homesick. I think that flying is one of those things that is part of the holiday. Although usually it's something I don't look forward to, all the queues and snotty cabin crew, with boring average food and of course I'm generally not a great flyer...I hate heights! But Continental made everything a bit easier. I relaxed a lot more and felt comfortable for the whole flight. That's what was important to me. The fact they have great rates and were a cheap option too really made the holiday and made me smile.

I would fly with Continental again if heading back to the USA and I would recommend them to anyone.

Thanks for reading :)

Summary: Worth a go!