Jaunted - Tag: continental

Another Week, Another Round Of Airfare Price Hikes

Omri — 2009-10-26T14:09:17-05:00

In case you had any lingering doubts, the airline industry wants you to know that the Summer Of Low Fares is officially over. Continental may have dumped Delta for Star Alliance partnerships - and in case you're wondering that's still a total mess - but the two airlines seemed simpatico last week when they simultaneously announced price hikes.

Those increases, which functionally included airlines in two out of three alliances, caused other companies to take notice. That led to another round of industry-wide fare hikes, making this the second time in as many weeks that ticket prices have increased:

SAS Airlines' New Paperless Boarding Passes Will Help You Shop Duty-Free

Omri — 2009-10-19T16:03:40-05:00

SAS Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines allowing customers to check in with paperless 2D bar codes stored on their mobile. Passengers can have the boarding passes delivered either by SMS or via the SAS mobile site. The service will be available on domestic flights within Scandinavia and Finland, Intra Scandinavian flights, flights to Europe and Asia, and even some flights back from Europe:

SAS Scandinavian Airlines is now offering its passengers the convenience of mobile boarding passes. This means SAS customers can now travel using only their mobile phone and with an ID card/passport... The mobile boarding pass contains a 2D bar code that can be read electronically at the airport. The 2D bar code can be used to get baggage tags from the SAS Self Service kiosks, at security screening, duty-free shopping, entering SAS lounges and when boarding.

Continental Is Filling Their In-Flight Television With Loads Of Channels

kjb — 2009-10-14T09:28:37-05:00

Good in-flight entertainment can make even the most uncomfortable flight bearable. Even if it’s just a loop of a couple movies we’ve already seen, as long as there is something flickering on the back of the seat in front of us we’re pretty happy. That’s why we’ve been pretty eager to follow the progress of Continental Airlines’ installation of DirecTV service across much of their domestic fleet. Now, even before they’ve finished, they are already adding a few improvements.

Apparently not happy with an already awesome amount of channel offerings, they’re upping the ante with nearly 100 different channels. LiveTV, the company that supplies the TV magic, reached a deal with Viacom for some additional channels. That means Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV will all be yours for the viewing from the comfort of your middle seat. We’ll probably book flights for Tuesday evenings just so we won’t miss the double feature of The City and The Hills.

The Airline Holiday Travel Grinch Strikes Again

kjb — 2009-10-12T09:11:10-05:00

We thought this would happen, and we’re not too thrilled about it: The holiday surcharge that was introduced last month on some airlines has slowly crept into new dates as well. At first it was just Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day; however, now it seems like every major holiday except for Flag Day is associated with a $10 each way fee.

According to fare tracking website FareCompare, some airlines have now added additional dates in which these holiday fees apply. November 30; December 19, 26, and 27; March 14, 20, 21, and 28; April 11; and May 28 all now may increase your airfare cost by about $20 round trip when the surcharges are tacked on.

Continental Has Joined The Holiday Fee Club Too

kjb — 2009-10-05T09:07:37-05:00

Remember last week when the airlines wanted to punish us for wanting to travel home for the holidays? Well, one of the few fee holdouts has caved and is planning to join the holiday fee club. Continental Airlines announced that they too would be adding a $10 surcharge for flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as well as January 2 and 3.

So far the holiday fees are just hanging around Turkey Day and New Year’s Day; however, we wouldn’t be surprised if they slowly start to creep into the days leading up to Christmas as well. When the airlines start to cut into our Christmas present spending budget, we’ll be sure to let you know.

Continental and US Airways Hike Checked Bag Fee To $50

JetSetCD — 2009-08-27T10:26:14-05:00

Do you know that song from Cabaret that goes: "Money makes the world go around, the world go around?" Well, these days the lyrics should be amended to "money makes the airlines fly round the world, round the world." You see, yet another baggage fee hike went into affect yesterday, and it'll no doubt cause even more headaches at check-in.

Now raising second checked bag fees on international flights up to $50 each way, Continental Airlines and US Airways join Delta and American Airlines in such skyway robbery. For US Airways, the new charges apply to tickets purchased beginning yesterday for travel on Oct. 7 or later, while Continental's fee applies to flights between US and Europe and akes effect for tickets purchased today for travel on or after Sept. 15.

Rochester: Passengers Forced To Be Cramped Campers Aboard Regional Jet

kjb — 2009-08-10T08:54:32-05:00

Over the weekend about 50 passengers experienced airplane hell aboard a Continental Airlines regional jet stuck on the tarmac. Everybody was headed to Minnesota’s Twin Cities, but thunderstorms in the area forced the plane to take a pit stop in Rochester to wait out the storm and get some gas. However, the pit stop that started around midnight lasted until the next morning, and everyone was forced to snuggle tightly in the cabin of the plane.

Passengers obviously were less than thrilled, and one flyer let everyone know that the smells of the toilets and babies aboard the ExpressJet plane were getting pretty bad. Unfortunately, the situation sounds pretty typical. The crew couldn’t do much since they were over their legally allowed hours for the day, the security screeners at the Rochester airport had gone for the day, and all the passengers got to eat were a couple bags of pretzels.