What is Continental Airlines like to fly with?

Hi,
We want to go to Orlando next year and have found a good rolleyes: well, better than the others) price for flights with Continental, travelling via Newark. Has anyone flown to Orlando using this route and how was it? Are Continental a good airline?
TIA

Hi girasole,

Flew Continental to Newark last year and found them the best of the rest flying across the Atlantic. They fly a 757 which is smaller than most of the jets that fly this route so it may seem more cramped, but their seat pitch is on a par with Aer Lingus and Delta etc. Haven't connected at Newark as we visited New York only.

Continental are the same as any other airline really this side of the world...the Asian carriers seem to be the best to fly with IMO. They're certainly better than American Airlines though. Connecting at Newark is ok. You do have to identify your baggage though, which means taking it off one transfer carousel and putting it on another...if you have a connecting flight...which is a pain if you're in a rush to get the next flight.

16024 said:

Hi girasole,

Flew Continental to Newark last year and found them the best of the rest flying across the Atlantic. They fly a 757 which is smaller than most of the jets that fly this route so it may seem more cramped, but their seat pitch is on a par with Aer Lingus and Delta etc. Haven't connected at Newark as we visited New York only.

Click to expand...

Would agree with the above, connected with them last year and it was a seemless process, well sign posted. You do have to go to arrivals and back through security again. (I think that is the same in all US airports?)

Have travelled with Continental Dublin/Newark/Orlando on several occasions and had good experiences. Not so good with AA. Have also travelled with Aer Lingus direct but their prices just don't compare for "out of school" periods in the year. Looking forward to Christmas trip with them this year - just over approximately half the price compared with AL and if you get a good transfer the time difference is not significant.

Thank you, that's all very helpful info. Didn't realise that we would have to collect baggage in Newark though. The travel agent was recommending a two hour stopover in Newark but this sounds very short to me, especially as we will be travelling with small children. So, how long is realistically necessary for a stress free changeover in Newark? Also, do you clear immigration in Dublin or in Newark?
Ideally we would prefer to fly direct but the price difference between Continental and AL is just too much to make this viable for us.

I transfer through Newark a few times a year with Continental and the process has always been painless.

No matter who you fly with or where you fly to you will have to pick up your luggage and drop it off again if you are connecting. You will not be able to avoid this, so just take it as a given. It is however fairly painless in Newark at least - you have to drop it about 50m from where you pick it up and you don't have to do anything other than hand it to someone who puts it back on a conveyor belt so there's no major queueing.

The only kind of glitch is that if you clear immigration in Dublin (good) then you get to the baggage hall a lot faster than your bags (bad) so you have to wait there, but that's about the worst thing that can happen. The earlier of the two CO flights gets in before most of their other international flights so there is never any queue in the immigration hall in Newark at this time, but with the later of the two flights you might face a delay. I'm not sure which flights clear in Dublin and which in Newark at this stage.

If you have a through ticket with CO to Orlando and you get stuck in customs/immigration and miss your connection you should be OK as they will reroute you and get you there. In my experience 2 hours should be plenty of time to get through the whole process and allow you to get food too, so I wouldn't worry about the time being too tight.

The walks involved are pretty long (every time I fly there they park the plane at the *very last* stand at the end of the terminal, so it is a good 10 minute walk to the immigration hall, but there are plenty of walkalators to get you there.

z

Thanks a lot, that does sound fairly painless alright. A ten minute walk is not too bad - we are usually Ryanair customers so we are quite accustomed to long walks . I'm a rookie at this trans-atlantic malarkey though. I did think that possibly all flights to the U.S. cleared immigration in Dublin. Is that not the case then? And if not, how can I find out which ones do?

From the continental.com website
[broken link removed]


CUSTOMS:

"Continental Airlines flights from Dublin and Shannon are pre-cleared by United States Customs and Border Protection. Due to the additional time required for this process, please ensure you arrive at the airport for check-in at least two and a half hours before departure. United States Customs and Border Protection will complete the baggage inspection process upon arrival in the United States."

TRANSFERS AT NEWARK:

"All Continental trans-Atlantic flights arrive in Terminal C. All customers, regardless of their final destination, must claim their checked baggage and then proceed for clearance through U.S. Customs and Border Protection agricultural/customs control.


Connecting Passengers: If you are connecting to another flight and have baggage to recheck, continue to the Baggage Recheck area, located beyond the exit and to the left. If you do not have baggage to recheck, please proceed directly to your departure gate. If departing from Terminal A or B, you may ride the monorail located two levels above the arrivals hall.
Note: During the summer season, some international flights may arrive in Terminal B."

That's great miselemeas, thanks.

Ta failte romhat

For those who've ever flown Newark to connect to another US destination, would a stopover time of 90 munutes be cutting it a bit fine?

Both legs of the journey are with Continental.

Thanks

Staples said:

For those who've ever flown Newark to connect to another US destination, would a stopover time of 90 munutes be cutting it a bit fine?

Both legs of the journey are with Continental.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Arriving in Newark from Dublin without clearing customs here might be a little nervewracking timewise if there is any sort of delay on the trans-atlantic flight.

Ironically on the way back, 90 minutes might be too long as you have no security to deal with and you will get off your internal flight and still be airside waiting for your next one...

You need to allow time for the baggage to move between flights as well. 90 minutes would make me nervous.

Thanks for the replies. They've confirmed my suspicions.

I'm bad enough with connecting flights without giving myself additional stress.

Cheers.

Depending on the price difference, I would fly direct but you obviously done your research and know your budget. I am assuming you are travelling with children for two weeks, If so I would pay the extra rather than having that stress spoil a day of your time there. If just adults maybe but not with children, Out of curiosity are you flying from shannon?

I am surprised to hear all the good experiences with Continental airlines. I find them horrendous but have used them for the same reason I fly with Ryanair for the price if I had more money I would fly with anyone else. I find them rude and unhelpful and just not a pleasant experience. But then when I was faced with 700 euro compared to over a thousand with other airline my frugalness hit in and I thought I'd put up with a few bangs of the trolly as they storm up and down the aisle plus everything else lacking that makes a pleasant flight. This is not a rant just my openion and I could well use them again.

Hans said:

I am surprised to hear all the good experiences with Continental airlines. I find them horrendous but have used them for the same reason I fly with Ryanair for the price if I had more money I would fly with anyone else. I find them rude and unhelpful and just not a pleasant experience. But then when I was faced with 700 euro compared to over a thousand with other airline my frugalness hit in and I thought I'd put up with a few bangs of the trolly as they storm up and down the aisle plus everything else lacking that makes a pleasant flight. This is not a rant just my openion and I could well use them again.

Click to expand...

Interesting and I can see where you are coming from. We used Continental last year and the trans-Atlantic staff were not overly friendly. Not rude but not exactly warm either. Perfunctory would describe their attitude best.

However for me I never really care how 'pleasant' a flight is. It is a means to an end of getting me to where I want to go. As long as the flight leaves on time and lands safely, they can do what they like...

Frankly, I believe airports and flying have not been enjoyable experiences since 9/11 and is now something to be endured. That we have to pay 'top dollar' to queue, be corralled like cattle and forced to wait around for hours on end is all the more galling. I find this unfortunate as, in my younger days, flying used to be the best part of the trip!!

I travelled Shannon-Newark-Orlando last september and as far as i remember baggage was pre-cleared by customs in Shannon and re-directed on arrival without the need to re-claim at Newark. Continental were cheaper and no substantial difference between them and other transatlantic airlines flown before.

If you fly American Airlines, and then transfer to their internal carrier, American Eagle I think, you won't have to pick up your bags on transfer, they will be checked through for you.