Continental
UNITED/CONTINENTAL NAVIGATES CONVERSION
Millions of booking records were merged into a single United reservations system this past weekend as the final stage of combining United and Continental into the world’s largest carrier went into effect. Some passengers who traveled during this process experienced longer check-in times due to technical glitches and did not receive timely assistance from customer representatives. United anticipated some passenger inconvenience citing on-time stats which fluctuated over the weekend but quickly recovered to 90% by Monday. (Travelmole.com, March 8)
NAVIGATING AROUND BAGGAGE FEES
credit card machine
Continental and Delta Airlines will waive the fee for your first checked bag ($50 roundtrip) when you use their airline credit cards to purchase your ticket. This applies to all members of your group traveling together for up to 9 people. But, there is a caveat. Those credit cards come with annual fee: $85 for Continental’s and $95 for Delta’s. (Detnews.com, June 14)
CONTINENTAL AND UNITED MERGE TO MAKE WORLD’S LARGEST AIRLINE
CONTINENTAL AND UNITED MERGE
Two U.S. legacy carriers plan to merge forming the world’s largest airline. United will buy Continental through an all stock deal and combine the Continental logo and colors with the United name. It will begin servicing about 144 million passengers through coordinated international route networks. The new carrier will emerge with much needed cash reserves and the potential to save over $1 billion in annual operating costs. (Travelweekly.com, May 3)
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES TO CHARGE FOR FOOD
Continental Airlines
FIRST FARE HIKE OF 2010 FAILS
FARE HIKE
American Airlines, Continental and Delta have reversed their attempts last week to increase fares $6 to $16 on domestic routes system wide. With seat demand down and the economy still struggling, the carriers have acknowledged that the time is not right for a price hike. (Eturbonews.com, Jan. 25)
PERKS
PERKS
In this highly competitive atmosphere many business travelers have been successful in negotiating free, in-room Internet access at upscale hotels. Opportunity abounds in the current market. Ask and maybe you’ll receive . . . Effective March 1, you will no longer be able to earn frequent flier miles by grocery shopping with an airline affinity credit card. Alaska, American, Continental and United will be the first to discontinue this means of mileage accrual
