Continental - Delays

Consumer Complaints & Reviews

Dorothy of Pelham, NH on Aug. 24, 2011

Satisfaction Rating: 1/5

We travelled to North Carolina recently. The first flight on Continental was delayed by 10 minutes so we arrived to the next airport 10 minutes late. We had a customer representative call ahead to the next terminal so we would not lose our seat. When we arrived at the next terminal 14 minutes before departure, we were told very rudely that they don't seat 15 minutes before flight even if someone called ahead. At customer service, we were directed to express our complaints online.

After three hours, we were put on the next flight, which ended up being six hours later due to delays. We missed the conference and our $100 went down the drain. When we called to cancel our return flight, we were told that we could cancel but would not be refunded. If we wanted to change the flight, it would be $150 plus difference. I contacted Continental several times but there was no answer. What a horrible service. Our return flight would have been delayed 6 hours back also.

Kanda of West Lafayette, IN on Nov. 28, 2005

I was traveling from Orange County, CA to Indianapolis, IN. The flight from Orange Country to Houston was delayed because of a "mechanical" problem, which made me miss my flight to Indianapolis.

I asked the airline personnel to solicit a seat on the next flight. However, the lady refused saying that such a policy applied to only overbooking, not missed connections. This was not my fault. I did not miss my flight it was THEIR mechanical problem. Every customer service person I talked to insisted that I had to spend the night at Houston and wait to get on an afternoon flight the next day.

Damages: I had to cancel two lectures.

Amy of Orange Park, FL on Nov. 3, 2004

Alrighty then! I can understand an occasional mistake by any company, but what Continental Airlines and ATA did to my husband is absolutely INEXCUSABLE! His flight was delayed leaving Florida by 2 hours to Houston. No biggie, it happens. Once in Houston, his flight was delayed again because of weather, causing him to miss his final connection in San Francisco to Hawaii.
He finally arrives in San Franciso, where he has missed the last flight to Hawaii for the night. Questioning Continental, he asked what he was supposed to do for the night. They replied that they had no clue, but he was good for the first flight out in the morning through ATA. After searching for his bag for an hour, it was completely left alone in the baggage claim, where anyone could have stolen it. Then! It was completely soaked through from having been left outside in the rain at Houston! His laptop computer, and everything was wet.
Thankfully my sister lives in San Francisco, so he had a place to stay the night. But then... The next morning he was CHARGED by ATA to be a STANDBY on the first flight out! He was late checking into his command and was forced to PAY for a mess caused by the airlines. This should NOT have happened to him or any other person that uses the airlines. No compensation was offered nor the concerns acknowledged throughout the entire flight schedule.

THIS is how our men and women are treated when they arrive home from the East for a little rest and relaxation? Thats Just plain WRONG! Unless absolutley unavoidable, I will never use either company and I will deter anyone ever using these airlines! You can use my full name in this article if you decide to publish it! No shame here! Mahalo, Mrs. Amy Merchant

Mark of San Luis Potosi, SL on Feb. 9, 2004

Starting out in San Antonio, and due to a weather delay, I miss my connecting flight back home to San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Of course, I am not the only one on the flight that missed a conection. In talking to some of the folks that were on my flight, they all mentioned getting a voucher from Continental for a room at a Ramada Inn. I have a brother in Houson, so I figured I'd spend the night at his place. So I asked the Continental representative if they would pay for a cab.

I wasn't asking for cab fare out and back, just one way (it was now almost 11 PM). She went to her supervisor. Who was 10 feet away. He would not come over, just said, loudly so I could hear: NO! I don't care, NO. He also mentioned that they would have given me a voucher for a cab if I had been a domestic pasenger, but since I was headed for MEXICO, they would not. NOT THE SERVICE ONE EXPECTS FROM A "MAJOR" AIRLINE AFTER PAYING $700 FOR A BUSINESS CLASS TICKET.

Marc of New York, NY on May 22, 2000

My family and I were scheduled to fly from Newark International to Toronto on Friday May 19. My girlfriend and my sister's boyfriend were also with us. The plane's original time of departure was 8:10pm. There was a lot of bad weather in the tri-state area throughout the day so there were many delays at the airport.
At 12pm on Friday I started calling Continental's 800 number to get flight info. I was told by many different Continental representives that the flight was delayed from Austin and would be arriving from Austin at 9:02 and would then would depart Newark at 9:50. I kept calling back to verify this information just in case there was a change in status.
I was picked up at my apartment at 7:45 by car service. On the way to the airport I once again verified with Continental the flight would depart at 9:50. I arrived at the airport at 8:40. I quickly walked to the gate to check in an hour before takeoff. When I arrived at the gate I was told that the plane had already left for Toronto. They had decided to use another piece of equipment instead of waiting for the plane from Austin.
I feel that Continental Airlines should be liable for providing accurate information to their clients. I had called all day long confirming this information. The people at Continental never gave me the right information because they were unaware of what was going on.
My family and I were given the wrong information and our weekend trip was ruined. Continental put us on a plane the next day at 2:40pm, which ruined our whole day in Toronto. I also had to pay for transportation back into New York and back the next day. I was extremely stressed by the lack of help from Continental. They blamed me and told me that the 800 operators don't know everthing. I don't understand that answer.

Obviously, they not only don't know everything, they hardly know anything. Only an airline would come up with such a lame excuse for its own disorganization.

Marie of Marion, OH on May 20, 2000

On May 19, 2000 my daughter and granddaughter were to fly from Columbus to Newark N.J. on Continental Airlines. Her flight was to depart at 4:52 P.M. They were having bad weather in N.J. and by the time she would get there she would miss her connecting flight to Frankfurt, Germany. She went back up to the counter. She asked the girl there if they had another flight that she could take. The lady said yes, they had a flight going out of Columbus on United May 20, 2000 at 11:10 A.M. The lady told her that she had a confirmed seat since she had a baby (22 mos.old).
She gets off OK, she gets to Dulles-Washington and finds out that she along with 50-60 other people are on standby. Well, this was the wrong answer. The lady at Continental told her that she had a confirmed seat. First of all my husband and I flew them over here because my father had passed away a week ago but they were here for 2 weeks.
My daughter called me from Dulles and said mom I'm on standby. I would never have sent them on that plane knowing they were on standby. Would you send your daughter-granddaughter on a flight if they were going to be in an airport for God only knows how many hours? Well I don't think so.
I cannot tell you how many people I had to tell the same story to. I talked to customer service, supervisors, international people. And put on hold forever.

We didn't think about getting the woman's name at Columbus. We didn't think she would lie to our faces -- knowing that she was sending a young woman and her child to an airport that she might be in for hours.