/ / / / / / /

Goodbye to Continental, As the Airline Fades Off Into the Sunset

March 5, 2012 at 9:21 AM | by | Comments (0)

Well that’s it—Continental Airlines is officially gone forever unless it's eventually reincarnated as some kind of low cost carrier long into the future. There’s still plenty of stuff to be done as United and Continental celebrate their newlywed stage, but this weekend was kind of the official end of the airline from Houston.

Sure there are still Continental planes flying around the globe, but they’ll eventually be heading into the hangar for some new United paintjobs. You can only buy tickets for a United Airlines flight moving forward, and if you head over to Continental’s website you’re just forwarded over to the new United website—which is kind of the former Continental website with a few different clip arts.

You’re probably getting a new frequent flyer number, but your frequent flyer miles are now being combined into a jumbo account. Hopefully the combination of your United and Continental points can now get you to your ultimate award flight redemption.

more ›

/ / / / / / /

How to Possibly Grab a Seat on United's First 787 Dreamliner

February 21, 2012 at 9:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

The airline newlyweds over at United and Continental are still waiting for one of their best wedding gifts, as it’ll still be a little bit of time before Boeing hands over the keys to the airline’s very first 787 Dreamliner. The new plane is still rolling—slowly but surely—down the assembly line as engineers and workers finish adding wings, tails, bits, and bolts to ensure that each and every piece of the plane is ready to head up into the air. Things are progressing pretty well, and even President Obama got to swing by recently to check out United’s new bird; he thought the auto-dimming window shades were pretty nifty.

United’s first plane is expected to be delivered during the first half of 2012, but in the interim it’s time to start topping off your inaugural flight savings account. It sounds like United is already thinking about ways to cash in on its delivery flight, as the airline plans to auction off seats to the highest bidder for those wanting to sniff the new airplane scent in person. The flight won’t be the very first commercial flight, but rather will be the short and sweet delivery flight between Seattle and San Francisco.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Back in the Day: Airline Websites as They Looked in the Year 2000

February 15, 2012 at 9:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

It's hard to imagine, we know...but a whole 12 years ago the internet did exist. It not only existed, but it was hot enough at the time for airlines to take notice, and begin shifting focus to things like online bookings, flight status, web specials and—we laugh now—pager alerts.

Last week, we gave you a peek at JetBlue's first functioning website from 2001, but today we're taking it back to 2000, the good old days before we had a laptop, before the TSA, and most definitely before September 11...

more ›

/ / / / /

When One Airline Loves Another Airline Very Much...

February 2, 2012 at 4:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

Last one to a newsstand to buy this week's issue of Bloomberg Businessweek is a rotten egg!

The cover you see above is not the only highlight of the current edition of the magazine; it precludes a full article exploring the finer details of the United/Continental merger. We especially love that the cover promises "a look at the complexity and the absurdity of making the world's largest airline." Face it—the "absurdity" is what will sell this issue, once you get past the risque airplane coitus front and center.

UPDATE: We just checked the Barnes & Noble newsstand to see that this issue, with the United merger cover and story, is from January 15 and already off the stands of course. BOOOO.

[Photo: BusinessWeek/Twitter/Flickr]

/ / / / / /

Strong Winds Could Cause Your Flight to Stop for Gas in Canada

Where: Canada
January 13, 2012 at 9:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

It’s already going to cost you a little more to fly to Europe, but it also might take a little extra time on the way back. This week there have been plenty of reports about transatlantic flights back to the nifty fifty taking a little detour to our pals up north in Canada.

The problem has been some crazy intense headwinds that have caused certain airplanes to burn way more fuel than usual, making a stop in spots like Newfoundland and Labrador necessary to pick up a little more jet fuel. Obviously this is a huge inconvenience for everyone involved, but especially the passengers who kind of thought it would be a nonstop affair all the way to the eastern coast of the USA.

more ›

/ / / / / /

The Newest United 'Hub' Calls the World Wide Web Home

December 20, 2011 at 8:24 AM | by | Comments (0)

The newly combined United is adding a few hubs here and there—like the ones in Newark and Houston that used to belong to Continental. However, their newest hub is one that lives entirely on the internets.

United just launched UnitedHub.com in order to provide plenty of answers, information, and other handy facts about the airline, the merger, and the joys of flying around in economy class. The future promises to bring more about their travel apps, check-in process, and how to interact electronically with the jumbo-airline, but for now most of the stuff has to deal with what’s coming and what’s changing.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Gift These: Annual Memberships to Your Favorite Frequent Flyer's Airline Lounge

December 13, 2011 at 9:51 AM | by | Comment (1)


What's shaking at the Delta SkyClub...

Frequent flyers in your family don’t want one of those inflatable neck pillows, and they especially don’t want anything from the SkyMall catalog—well, probably. However, what they do want is access to an airline lounge, so they can think of you each and every time they escape the madness of the terminal in favor of a comfortable chair and an adult beverage. Sure, there's a significant annual admission to what lies beyond the automatic doors, so maybe you should just get it for yourself instead of asking Santa.

Here's a quck rundown of the pricing and features of the four major US carriers' lounges, just in case you're feeling extra generous:

· American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge
If you’re a big fan of American Airlines and their shiny planes, there’s no better lounge to access. Membership gets you free beverages—both boozy and not—as well as some snacks, WiFi, and access to computers and printers. There’s 40 clubs across the airline’s network with the majority in the nifty fifty. Getting in will set you back a cool $500 for the year, but if you just want to test things out before committing it’s $50 per visit. That way you can check out their additional food offerings, as select clubs have a little bit of a restaurant thing going on.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / /

Continental Finally Gets to Join in on the Channel 9 and EconomyPlus Action

November 23, 2011 at 10:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

As part of the love and marriage that is the Continental and United merger, there were plans for the former Continental planes to update their seating maps. That’s because Continental—along with now having Thanksgiving at United’s parents’ house—is bringing EconomyPlus seating onboard.

It’s going to be a long process to upgrade and update all those planes and seats, but there’s been a little bit of progress. Just recently the combined carrier announced that the first Continental plane with EconomyPlus made its debut earlier this week. That means four extra inches of legroom towards the front of the economy cabin, but that also mean paying a few extra bucks for the privilege. As of now the only way to pay for the upgrade is during the check-in process, but as more planes get the seats it’ll also be available online.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / /

Watch the Skies for United's Eco Plane, Already Flying on Biofuels

November 8, 2011 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Huge news. Yesterday marked the first time a US airline used biofuel in a commercial flight. No, it wasn't Alaska Airlines even though they are trying; it was United, and they flew their eco-friendly 737-800 from Continental's's former home base, Houston, to the United home base of Chicago.

For the #avgeeks: The biofuel is algae-based and includes 60 percent petroleum fuel and 40 percent biofuel produced by a company named Solazyme.

The eco-consciousness isn't limited to what goes in the tank, either. United flight attendants now push lighter serving carts and pilots traded in their 38-pound flight bags for more weight-conscious iPads (already loaded with their in-flight navigation charts and aircraft manuals). Furthermore, United makes it easy for plane spotters to identify the Mother Earth-friendly aircraft by its green winglets and 'eco-skies' written towards the front of the fuselage.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

United and Continental Finally Get Their Act Together for In-Flight WiFi

November 7, 2011 at 9:07 AM | by | Comments (2)


Yes, that's a 787 Dreamliner with WiFi

In-flight tech envy has ended for those who fly United and Continental. Hooray! Just days ago, United announced that more than 300 of its aircraft will be outfitted with in-flight WiFi capabilities, starting rather soon in mid-2012; that's just in time for the summer travel season.

Partnering with Panasonic to make both domestic and international WiFi a reality, United will first connect up their Airbus narrow-body fleet—319s and 320s—eventually finishing on the rest of the Boeing fleet by 2015.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Watch a Time-Lapse of a United 777 Getting a Fresh Paintjob

October 3, 2011 at 9:53 AM | by | Comments (0)

You know we’re suckers when it comes to travel time-lapse videos, and this week we’re falling for an older (though new to us) one showing off United Airlines' livery changes. Obviously it’s going to take quite some time to paint all those airplanes—including the Continental ones—into the new United colors, but here it takes just a couple of minutes.

Apparently this video reveals the behind-the-scenes magic, as one of the very first Boeing 777s headed into the hangar to get an airplane makeover. Don’t forget to turn up the volume too—the dude in the cubicle next door won’t mind—because the Rhapsody in Blue techno-remix just adds to the fun.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / /

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like United Airlines Everywhere You Go

September 8, 2011 at 9:12 AM | by | Comments (0)

United and Continental have slowly but surely been aligning their services over the last few months, and they’ve been doing so through goodie giveaways, updated apps, and of course plenty of new signage. We were checking out the changes at Chicago-O’Hare at the beginning of the summer, but now as the season is winding down the changes have begun elsewhere.

Upgrades and updates have arrived in San Francisco, as they got their new signs and stanchions in the middle of July. You still should check-in with United for their flights and with Continental for their flights, but the new branding has certainly arrived.

more ›



Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices