Continental First(?) Class

I have made some comment about Continental being a "Second Rate"
airline. I recently had a couple of opportunities to fly Continental
First Class and after that experience it's clear that I owe someone an
apology.

First series of flights was from Lagos, Nigeria to Frankfurt to JFK to
Houston. Ticket was Business Class. The LOS/FRA flight was Lufthansa
Business Class FRA/JFK was Singapore upgraded to First and the JFK/IAH
was Continental First (narrow body with no business class - 737).
Second series was IAH to SFO (again, Continental First) and SFO to BKK
via Hong Kong (again, SQ upgraded to First).

LH business class had the old style seats that don't lay down all the
way. I didn't eat the meal (rarely do on an airline). 1 movie. Several
channels for music. LH doesn't have a lounge in LOS but they contract
with another airline to use their lounge. Arrived in FRA 30 minutes
early.

Lounge: B; Seats: C; Entertainment: C; on-time: A; overall: B.

SQ first has the seats that lay down into a bed. SQ adds a mattress
pad, gives you Givenchy pajamas, full size pillow, down comforter.
Selection of 60 movies to choose from and a couple of dozen TV shows
and other. They don't have a lounge in FRA but they contract with UA
and I got to use the Red Carpet First Class side. Arrived 40 minutes
early.

Lounge: A; Seats: A+; Entertainment: A; on-time: A; overall: A.

Continental was a domestic flight so you don't expect quite the same
level. Their First Class Seats recline about 3 inches total. Instead of
hinging at the bottom of the seat back they hinge in the middle of the
seat back so there's a big lump in the seat. No foot rest. No TV. No
music (thank god for my MP3 player). They don't have a lounge in
terminal 2 at JFK and would not allow you to use the Delta lounge.
Terminal 2 gates are not heated. Temperature in the terminal was in the
mid 40s. (see your breath kind of weather). Flight was nearly an hour
late.

Lounge: F; Seats: D; Entertainment: F; on-time: D; overall: F.

Left Houston after a couple of days. Continental has a loung there. BUT
(!) they don't allow domestic First Class passengers to use it! Only
Elite or international First Class. Same 737, same seats, no
entertainment, arrived on time.

Lounge: F; Seats: D; Entertainment: F; on-time: C; overall: D-.

SQ from SFO pretty much the same as FRA to JFK except that SQ has their
own lounge in SFO. I'm in HK right now but the experience has been the
same before from HK to SIN to BKK.

Lounge: A; Seats: A+; Entertainment: A; on-time: A; overall: A.

So, comparing Continental First Class to SQ First, LH Business, it's
clear I owe an apology so here it is:

To all the true Second Rate airlines in the world, I apologize.
Continental is not Second Rate. Continental is pathetic.

Tchiowa wrote:


So, comparing Continental First Class to SQ First, LH Business, it's
clear I owe an apology so here it is:

To all the true Second Rate airlines in the world, I apologize.
Continental is not Second Rate. Continental is pathetic.


CO doesn't have international first class.
They have a product called BusinessFirst, which is not the same as
International Business Class and is not priced as Firest Class.

Domestic First Class on CO is not different than other domestic US
carriers. You can not compare it to International First Class. It
doesn't pretend to be the same.

You are comparing Continental's domestic first class with business
class on other airlines' international flights. That is not a fair
comparison.

Try flying Continental's Business First on an international journey,
and you will find they do very well. Domestic First Class just gets
you a free drink and a larger seat.

Domestic first class is lame on all North American carriers. CO's
isn't any worse than anyone else's.

Left Houston after a couple of days. Continental has a loung there. BUT
(!) they don't allow domestic First Class passengers to use it! Only
Elite or international First Class.

In the US, you have to pay for lounge access unless you are flying
int'l business or first. Long ago it worked the way it does other
places, but several decades ago the CAB or someone insisted it be more
democratic and it has been, ever since. My US and AC gold elite cards
get me into lounges in Canada and Europe, but not here in the US where
I have to pay for membership.

In article , John R. Levine
wrote:

€ Domestic first class is lame on all North American carriers. CO's
€ isn't any worse than anyone else's.
€
€ Left Houston after a couple of days. Continental has a loung there. BUT
€ (!) they don't allow domestic First Class passengers to use it! Only
€ Elite or international First Class.
€
€ In the US, you have to pay for lounge access unless you are flying
€ int'l business or first. Long ago it worked the way it does other
€ places, but several decades ago the CAB or someone insisted it be more
€ democratic and it has been, ever since. My US and AC gold elite cards
€ get me into lounges in Canada and Europe, but not here in the US where
€ I have to pay for membership.
€
€

Not exactly. If you're Star Alliance Gold (except, interestingly,
United Premier Executive/1K), you can use any United Red Carpet or US
Airways lounge if you're flying any class on United or US Air.

Not exactly. If you're Star Alliance Gold (except, interestingly,
United Premier Executive/1K), you can use any United Red Carpet or US
Airways lounge if you're flying any class on United or US Air.

That doesn't match my experience. I am gold on US and AC, and they
always want to see my US airways club card, not my gold elite cards.
The US club card is somewhat less expensive if you're gold elite, but
it's still far from free.

R's,
John

You are comparing Continental's domestic service to several top-flight
companies' international. Thats an apples-to-oranges comparison. Compared
to any of the other domestic U.S. carriers, I think CO will compare much
better. None of the other U.S. domestic carriers (except for America West
and maybe US Airways now that America West in essence owns them) offer
lounge access to domestic FirstClass passengers, and no U.S. carrier has
international style seating on domestic narrow body aircraft. Frankly since
IAH-SFO is 4 hours, and SFO-SIN about 20, I would expect more on that
segment.

And since Continental has maybe one flight a day at JFK, don't blame them
for not having a lounge or for using Delta's terminal.

I think you're a bit unfair to Continental.
"Tchiowa" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have made some comment about Continental being a "Second Rate"
airline. I recently had a couple of opportunities to fly Continental
First Class and after that experience it's clear that I owe someone an
apology.

First series of flights was from Lagos, Nigeria to Frankfurt to JFK to
Houston. Ticket was Business Class. The LOS/FRA flight was Lufthansa
Business Class FRA/JFK was Singapore upgraded to First and the JFK/IAH
was Continental First (narrow body with no business class - 737).
Second series was IAH to SFO (again, Continental First) and SFO to BKK
via Hong Kong (again, SQ upgraded to First).

LH business class had the old style seats that don't lay down all the
way. I didn't eat the meal (rarely do on an airline). 1 movie. Several
channels for music. LH doesn't have a lounge in LOS but they contract
with another airline to use their lounge. Arrived in FRA 30 minutes
early.

Lounge: B; Seats: C; Entertainment: C; on-time: A; overall: B.

SQ first has the seats that lay down into a bed. SQ adds a mattress
pad, gives you Givenchy pajamas, full size pillow, down comforter.
Selection of 60 movies to choose from and a couple of dozen TV shows
and other. They don't have a lounge in FRA but they contract with UA
and I got to use the Red Carpet First Class side. Arrived 40 minutes
early.

Lounge: A; Seats: A+; Entertainment: A; on-time: A; overall: A.

Continental was a domestic flight so you don't expect quite the same
level. Their First Class Seats recline about 3 inches total. Instead of
hinging at the bottom of the seat back they hinge in the middle of the
seat back so there's a big lump in the seat. No foot rest. No TV. No
music (thank god for my MP3 player). They don't have a lounge in
terminal 2 at JFK and would not allow you to use the Delta lounge.
Terminal 2 gates are not heated. Temperature in the terminal was in the
mid 40s. (see your breath kind of weather). Flight was nearly an hour
late.

Lounge: F; Seats: D; Entertainment: F; on-time: D; overall: F.

Left Houston after a couple of days. Continental has a loung there. BUT
(!) they don't allow domestic First Class passengers to use it! Only
Elite or international First Class. Same 737, same seats, no
entertainment, arrived on time.

Lounge: F; Seats: D; Entertainment: F; on-time: C; overall: D-.

SQ from SFO pretty much the same as FRA to JFK except that SQ has their
own lounge in SFO. I'm in HK right now but the experience has been the
same before from HK to SIN to BKK.

Lounge: A; Seats: A+; Entertainment: A; on-time: A; overall: A.

So, comparing Continental First Class to SQ First, LH Business, it's
clear I owe an apology so here it is:

To all the true Second Rate airlines in the world, I apologize.
Continental is not Second Rate. Continental is pathetic.

In article , John R. Levine
wrote:

€ Not exactly. If you're Star Alliance Gold (except, interestingly,
€ United Premier Executive/1K), you can use any United Red Carpet or US
€ Airways lounge if you're flying any class on United or US Air.
€
€ That doesn't match my experience. I am gold on US and AC, and they
€ always want to see my US airways club card, not my gold elite cards.
€ The US club card is somewhat less expensive if you're gold elite, but
€ it's still far from free.
€


I have no experience with US Air lounges (I've avoided flying them
since long before they joined the Star Alliance), but from their
website they say they accept SA Gold cards for admittance. However, as
I mentioned, if your SA Gold qualification is United Premier Executive
or 1K, this does not give you lounge access to United Red Carpet clubs
when flying domestically in any class, so it wouldn't suprise me if US
Air had the same restriction.

(note I'm responding to Jeff's post just because it was the last on the
list. Comments are not necessarily to him but to all the posts)

Jeff Hacker wrote:
You are comparing Continental's domestic service to several top-flight
companies' international.

That's true. But Continental's First Class service is a joke. No TV at
all? No music stations at all? Seats that only recline a couple of
inches?

Thats an apples-to-oranges comparison. Compared
to any of the other domestic U.S. carriers, I think CO will compare much
better. None of the other U.S. domestic carriers (except for America West
and maybe US Airways now that America West in essence owns them) offer
lounge access to domestic FirstClass passengers, and no U.S. carrier has
international style seating on domestic narrow body aircraft.


I have, at various times, flown First Class domestic on TWA, Delta,
United, Pan Am, Continental. Continental is the only one that did not
allow domestic First Class passengers to use the lounge. I was not
surprised that they didn't have their own lounge at JFK. But I was
surprised that they didn't contract with another carrier to use their
lounge. Quite common. But in IAH Continental definitely does have a
lounge and I tried to use it and was turned down.

Frankly since
IAH-SFO is 4 hours, and SFO-SIN about 20, I would expect more on that
segment.

JFK/IAH is nearly 4 hours. Continental had the same plane, same
seating, same lack of entertainment on both JFK/IAH and IAH/SFO.

And since Continental has maybe one flight a day at JFK, don't blame them
for not having a lounge or for using Delta's terminal.

I think you're a bit unfair to Continental.

That's true. But Continental's First Class service is a joke. No TV at
all? No music stations at all? Seats that only recline a couple of
inches?

That's domestic first class these days. CO's is no worse than anyone
else's. I flew across the country on AC and back on US in first a few
weeks ago, and they wre equally mediocre. I walked through the F
cabin on a connecting UA flight (not long enough to matter) and it was
just the same.

I have, at various times, flown First Class domestic on TWA, Delta,
United, Pan Am, Continental. Continental is the only one that did not
allow domestic First Class passengers to use the lounge.

TWA? Pan Am? Pan Am doesn't have a lounge at their hub in Portsmouth
NH. Oh, you mean the old Pan Am that died 15 years ago? Any chance
that perhaps your info is a wee bit out of date?

I don't know any airline that gives domestic passengers lounge access
unless they have a paid membership. See for example American's rules
on their web site:

http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...Policies.jhtml

International passengers can get in if they're in F or C or they're
elite frequent flyers. Domestic passengers can forget it except as a
special case, trans-con domestic F and P passengers on the extremely
competitive NYC-SFO and NYC-LAX routes can get in.

R's,
John