Trip report 1

On one return trip from USA to Bristol UK, our first flight was delayed due to weather problems at the destination airport. Air traffic were simply not allowing aircraft to take off for that destination.

After several further delays they decided to let us board for a possible slot. When we finally got the go-ahead, the aircraft powered down with a fault. It was only a few minutes until a spare part was fitted but that was enough for air traffic to introduce a further long delay.

Eventually the pilots ran out of flying time and the flight was cancelled.

So what did Continental do ?

They offered us almost any route/airline we wanted either to our original airport or to another one with ground transport home. We opted for an earlier flight the next morning that took us a different route but back to the correct airport as we had a car in the car park there.

They gave us 3 rooms in the Hilton for the night (which was on the airport) and vouchers to pay for dinner and breakfast.

We were very happy that Continental had done everything possible to get us home as quickly as possible and had paid for everything despite the main problem being weather which was beyond their control.

One cautionary note - those that had checked luggage at the aircraft gate because it was a small aircraft and they had rolling cases, had their luggage sent through the baggage claim with the rest of the suitcases.

Trip report 2

This time another internal flight to Newark intended to get a connection to Bristol with 1 1/2 hours connection time.

We were informed of a delay at checkin due to runway work at Newark. They still thought we would get the connection.

Later at the gate, it became obvious we might miss the connectiong flight. We were called to the desk and given the new plan. They hoped we would make it but just in case, they had reserved seats on a flight via France which would only add a couple of extra hours. If we missed the connection we were to get boarding cards at the desk in Newark.

In the end, we arrived a few minutes after the departure time of our transatlantic flight. They had held the aircraft for us and moved the arrival gate so it was the gate just across the way instead of over the other side of the airport.

Remarkably, they had also kept our luggage separate and that made the flight too.

All my other Continental flights have passed without incident although there were a few problems with the new entertainment system not having enough volume [July 2008]. I hope this is just a teething problem as its a really good system otherwise - and nice to see mains power in economy class too.

Trip report 3

On a flight from Orlando to Newark, the overhead lockers were full by the time I got on the aircraft. They were tagging and checking bags at the door. After explaining the problems with insurance and stating that my bag could not be checked, they re-arranged some of the 1st class bags to fit mine in (I was flying economy).

This flight was again delayed as were most flights to Newark that day. They held the connecting flight from Newark to Bristol.

One problem with these new touchscreen seat-back displays is that if someone behind you is playing games, you get continual banging on the seats. Even if you try to be gentle, it is not possible to oeprate them properly without annoying the person in front. I do prefer the hand controls due to this.

Trip report 4

There seem to be a lot of problems with the entertainment system - keeps freezing and resetting making it almost impossible to watch a movie from start to finish.