Continental Connection (aka Colgan) BAD
 

Now it's my turn. I have read complaints and today am experiencing a problem. Actually, it's my son and granddaughter who were visiting over the holiday and are trying to get back to Ontario from Killeen, Texas. The Continental flight is delayed due to a mechanical problem which has resulted in a missed connection to the Continental flight in Houston. Continental in Killeen says no seats available on a later flight...no seats available the following day. Ah, but their are two first class seats available this evening! Great! We'll take the two first class seats! Nope. Can't sell those seats. We can't even buy them? Nope. We were told we would have to phone reservations ourselves and then were offered a complaint form. After waiting on the phone for quite a while, the Continental reservations agent handled everything for us. She was very helpful and we paid the additional fare. However, when I mentioned Rule 240, the agent in Killeen had no clue what we were talking about...rolled her eyes at the agent next to her. What an idiot!

Just to add a bit more to the complaint. Before we left my house, the flight on Continental's site showed a delayed departure; however, at the airport, it showed on time. Finally, the flight left the board completely, and the inbound flight did not show as well. We were told that is normal. Huh? Stay tuned for the latest! We will leave for the airport (3 miles from my house) in 15 minutes.

Oh c'mon Countrynewsman! Stuff happens. If a mechanical breakdown is the problem, try Amtrak. I have been delayed many times due to mechanical failure and have been in the middle of the line listening to passengers yell at the agents. This does not get you to your destination any sooner...as a matter-of-fact, it delays things more because of the yelling...the agent can't do his/her job. It's not their fault. These folks are not paid enough to be abused as they are. Blame it on their management. I have found a kind word gets me better service than a threatening stance.

Ah, but I find the situation humorous. Never a threatening stance. My son was kind to the reservation agent on the phone and it was handled. No yelling...doesn't work. I will say that there were others at the counter who were yelling. I think they're still there! HAHA.

The flight arrivals and departures board at my airport is messed up. The airport actually controls it and not the airlines. Most of the time it is wrong. They airport also provides the software for the gate monitors and microphones...Guess what was down today? Alllll the microphones so myself, United, and US Airways had to yell out our boarding process. Fun fun.

What a perfect day for that to happen! LOL

Regional partners like Colgan (ExpressJet, Chataqua, CommutAir, etc.) are the source of many complaints and much confusion to the traveling public. Although they bear the livery of the company that they fly for, in this case Continental, they are separate companies with their own policies and procedures. Although Continental enters into agreements with these regional carriers and expects it's customers to treated in a certain way, this is not always the case.

Whenever you see the words "operated by..." printed on your itinerary or confirmation, always check into these companies. Their history of complaints with the DOT will be recorded separately from the airline who sold you the ticket. If you have a complaint about one of these regional carriers go directly to that carrier or the DOT. Calling, writing or e-mailing the big airline is a waste of time as they will only forward that letter or e-mail to the regional anyway.

In your case, countrynewsman, the Colgan agent you dealt with at the airport most likely didn't have the authority to re-book you into 1st class on the Continental mainline flight and in all probabilty wasn't trained to know how to sell you seats on that flight and charge you the difference. Definitely training they should have but because of Colgan they do not. As for the reference to Rule 240, it doesn't surprise me that they had no knowledge of that either, however Rule 240 is about re-booking to a different airline. The only others out of Kileen are AA (Eagle) and DL (ASA) who fly similar sized aircraft. Perhaps they were full as well? Also, were you going to Ontario, CA or Ontario Canada? If it was Canada they probably wouldn't touch that reservation with a 10 foot pole anyway!

Even though you made it to your destination and now sound like you're reasonably happy, I would take the time to write to Colgan and CC to Continental that you found the agents working in Killeen to be lacking the training and skills to effectively handle customers during irregular operations.

I don’t know what Rule 240 is. I don’t know how to rebook a ticket and charge the fare difference without spending 45 minutes on the phone shuffling through different departments in my own company to find someone who will help me. My employeer never trained me. Yet I am put out there to “check in” and “board” passengers. It is a shame and I am often embaressed to face the passengers. I blame my manager and the managers above her who only care about the bottom line. It seems to me a better oiled machine produces more profit than a rusty one.

Phx
 

If I book a flight with Continental and have problems, I expect Continental to solve them. If Continental has sub-contracted part of the work to another company, why should I chase around trying to find out who this is and who is responsible. I paid my money to Continental and I expect them to ensure that the service is delivered to a consistent standard.

If you are admitted to hospital and you had a complaint that your room was dirty, would you accept the hospital telling you to write to the contract cleaning company? I think you are either airline managment or you have got a version of "frequent flyer" Stockholm Syndrome!

Just for the record, there is no federal regultion that requires carriers to rebook passengers on another carrier.

And "Rule 240" (14 CFR 240) deals with Inspection of Accounts and Property.

Back in the days of regulation, there was a Rule 240 that required reprotecting on other carriers, but that is LONG gone.

Rule 240 may no longer exist, but here is a copy of the applicable portion of Continental's Contract of Carriage:

2)Delay, Misconnection or Cancellation
a)When a Passenger’s ticket is affected because of a Schedule Irregularity caused by CO, CO will take the following measures:
(i)Transport the Passenger on its own flights, subject to availability, to the Destination, next Stopover point, or transfer point shown on its portion of the Ticket, without Stopover in the same class of
service, at no additional cost to the Passenger, provided that a Passenger who paid a Coach fare may only be transported on a flight in First Class or Business First Class Service subject to seat availability and if such flight will provide an earlier arrival than CO’s next flight on which coach space is available

Seems pretty clear to me. And, by the way, this was a mechanical delay...not weather delay. Big difference.

As to this being another carrier (Colgan)...may be, but if it looks like a duck, etc.

Does Rule 240 date back to CAB? Ok I am showing my age :)

Countrynewsman:

I stated that there is no FEDERAL regulation. CO's contract of carriage may have a Rule 240-like provision and it may actually be #240 in their contract. I don't have a copy of CO's full Contract in front of me, and don't feel like looking on the web for it right now, but based on what you included, I do not see any mention of transporting passenger's on other carriers.

Leatherboy2006:

Yes, it dates back to the old CAB days. For those who care to know, CAB stood for "Civil Aeronautics Board".

abutterfinger25: You're close...it's Number 24 in their contract of carriage.

countrynewsman's complaint was mainly the lack of knowledge and training the Colgan agents had. Since they are employees of Colgan it would expedite things to simply go to Colgan to begin with. Had you read my post I advised to CC Continental as they should be aware of the situation bu tin the end they are Colgan's employees and only Colgan can take measures that they receive the proper training.

"Rule 240" refers to the section, usually numbered 240, in the airline's Contract of carriage. It was never an FAA or CAA regulation.

Right. They simply dropped the zero at the end.

Because the next section of the COC wasn't quoted:

(emphasis mine)

As you can see, CO will probably not offer this option, rather you need to request it. Of course, it only applies if the delay will cause you to reach your destination more than two hours later and the delay is not due to weather, air traffic control, work stoppage, acts of terrorism, etc. etc.

Colgan replied quickly. Here it is:
=============================================
Let me start by apologizing for the unpleasant experience you encountered in Killeen. I will personally review this information with the station manager and ensure our staff is better prepared to handle this type of situation if it arises again. Although we are not Continental Airlines we represent them and take great pride in doing so. This is not the type of impression we like our loyal customer to have and will work diligently to improve on that. As a partner of Continental we do subscribe to Continental’s Contract of Carriage and make every effort to ensure we are following all of the stated rules. I would encourage you to contact Continental Customer care at 1-800-932-2732 to discuss the additional money you spent and see if they can assist in resolving that.

Again please accept my apology for the negative experience your family encountered traveling through Killeen and trust that I will personally address your situation with the Killen staff. If your travel plans permit we would like the opportunity to serve you and your family again in Killeen or one of our other locations. I sincerely believe your future travel experience will be more pleasant.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Without customer feedback we can not identify and correct deficiencies in our service.

Happy Holidays


Chris Sheffield
Regional Manager
Colgan Air- CO Connection
College Station, Texas 77845

The only time I've ever ran into a problem, when dealing with continental and rebooking to another airline is when I deal with their reservation. They seem oblivious to the fact that they actually can rebook you on another airline (especially during whether, maintenence cancellations and delays) and will either flat out refuse or say go to the service center. If the line is super long at the service center, I can usually go to the ticket counter and get the same assistance and they would not only rebook me on another airline, but will do it without my asking.

wait what was the question again? :op

Aftewr all you nay-sayes said my suggestion to contact Colgan directly was wrong countrynewsman received a timely reply to his inquiry. Had he gone through Continental would this reply had come so quickly? I think not.

As was stated in your apology letter, I would definitely call Continental to see if they can re-imburse you for the added expense of actually purchasing those first class seats. Although the COC clearly states they are only obligated to re-book you in the same class it would have clearly been at the deiscretion of a true CO employee to do so given your situation. If you need further assistance in this regard I have a name and e-mail address of a VP @ Continental who might be able to help you. Please PM me if you need his contact information.

I think the COC does read that they could have been put in the empty first class seats.
==================================================
i)Transport the Passenger on its own flights, subject to availability, to the Destination, next Stopover point, or transfer point shown on its portion of the Ticket, without Stopover in the same class of
service, at no additional cost to the Passenger, provided that a Passenger who paid a Coach fare may only be transported on a flight in First Class or Business First Class Service subject to seat availability and if such flight will provide an earlier arrival than CO’s next flight on which coach space is available

The underline is mine.

Right. Which is why I didn't think you should have not paid the additional fare from coach to first given your circumstances. Contact the "We Care" line @ 800.WE.CARE2 (800.932.2732). If you have any problems with them, send me a PM and I'll give you contact information for a VP who can help you.

Thx PHXFlyer. I just received a call from a lady with Continental. She advised me that they are investigating my complaint based on my email message to...yes...Larry Kellner, CEO. Stay tuned.

The problem with booking on other airlines, is that if Continental books you on Delta, for example, they have to pay Delta for that fare. Airlines do not transfer passengers, between each other, for free. The other airline will want to be paid, and it will be the transferring airline, that will pay.

In situations where a delay, or cancellation occurs, due to weather, or some other factor that the airline does not control, they will not be eager to book you on another airline, or offer vouchers, etc. I personally will keep a passengers on the airline I work for, in a delay/cancellation situation, resulting from weather, etc., as long as I can get them to their destination within 24 hrs. Beyond that, I will book on another airline.

These were Continental flights booked on Continental's website. CO9556 and CO150. 9556 was delayed due to a mechanical causing a missed connection to 150. The next flight on Continental, about three hours later, had the two first class seats available and I had to pay the difference in fare in order for the kids to get home.

Well...my friends...I just received a call from Continental. THEY ARE REFUNDING THE AMOUNT I HAD TO PAY. Ah yes...today is a good day.

Well done, and thanks for letting us know. It is good to know that persistence can pay off..

Great news. I think Continental owed it to you, considering it was maintenance, as well as the lack of help you got from the agents.

Refund? not quite!
 

Well, friends...as I mentioned before, I received a call stating I would get a refund of $638.00. What I got was a refund for only one ticket....$319.00. I emailed Continental a week ago and they have not responded! I guess they chose to lie to me.

AHA! I got a response from Continental...only to be told that they refunded the one ticket to my credit card and the other to "Bill-Me-Later.com". What the hell is that? Or could that be Continental's new site called "We-Might-Refund-You-Eventually.com?

"Bill Me Later" is a third-party payment option available on Continental's (and several other airlines) website. You can apply for deferred payment through this company. Was your original transaction through "Bill Me Later" or was it on a credit card? Perhaps Continental got confused and sent your credit to the wrong place? I'd call their refunds department Monday and let them know if the credit was supposed to go back to your card.

Confused? Hell yeah they're confused! I had no idea what "Bill Me Later" was until now. I'm not going to jump through hoops trying to get the refund. I expect their Customer Care Department to handle it.

Just an example of how incompetent the folks at Continental are, here are a series of emails...the first after I responded to their statement that my credit card was credited with the refund. I have blocked out personal information.
================================================== ==
Dear Mr. XXXXXX:

Thank you for your reply.

It appears that Bill Me Later was the form of payment used for XXXXX
XXXXXXX's ticket number 005XXXXXXX in the amount of 319.00. Therefore the
refund was sent to Bill Me Later.

You will need to contact them regarding your refund. They can be reached at
1.866.528.3733. Monday- Friday 9am-11pm Eastern time, or online at
Bill-Me-Later.com.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to clarify.

Regards,

(Person 1)
Customer Care Manager
===============================================

Ms. XXXXXXX:

Regarding my last email, please be aware that both upgrades were made at the
same time to your reservations office via my cell phone at the airport. I
gave my credit card number for both, and both were charged accordingly.

I am not even familiar with Bill-Me-Later and I have absolutely no clue how
you came up with that name.

I am really becoming quite frustrated with Continental.

J.R.XXXXXX

================================================
Here's a response from a different Customer Care Manager!

================================================

Dear Mr. XXXXXX:
>
> >
> I verified in our refunds accounting database that both refunds have
> been completed. XXXXXXX's ticket number 005XXXXXXX for the amount
of 319.00.
> Likewise, for XXXXX XXXXXXs ticket number 005XXXXXXXX for the same
amount.
> Please check with your credit card company to confirm this credits
> have posted.
>
> We appreciate your business and look forward to welcoming you onboard
> a future Continental Airlines flight.
>
>
> Regards,
(Person 2)
=============================================
Here is my reply sent a few minutes ago:
=============================================

Ms. XXXXX:

May I suggest you compare notes with Ms. XXXXXX. This has become very boring.

As I stated before, and I shall repeat, my bank credit card statement online shows only one refund. Ms. XXXXXXX stated that the other refund went to "Bill Me Later". I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF "BILL ME LATER", LET ALONE EVER USED IT!

Please note below the reply I received from Ms. XXXXXXX. Even after replying that I do not use "Bill Me Later", I received NO RESPONSE.

Can someone there please get their act together?

It is no surprise you are getting a large amount of emails given the incompetence of your employees.

J. R. XXXXXX

====================

STAY TUNED! This is almost becoming humorous!

Oops...forgot one email, but the important part from them is:
===============
Thank you for contacting Continental Airlines. I apologize for the delay in
> responding to your email. We answer correspondence in the order it is
> received. An unexpectedly large number of emails has delayed our response to
> you.
=============

mmm, perhaps if they had a different approach, something novel like fixing the problem first time, re-gaining the trust of the customer.. they wouldn't have quite so many emails to respond to in their customer complaints department.

The cumulative numbers from the DOT won't be in until later in February, however in 2007 Continental fared much better than others in both complaints to the DOT and mis-handled baggage and were below average when it came to delays. They were, however, at the top of the list for denied boarding but I have a feeling that number will decrease for 2008.

After receiving a call from them...again...I actually received the refund today.

Well done!!! But really, should it be that hard?

Sometimes the hoops are worth jumping through - even if they're flaming! ;)

I probably wouldn't have gotten it this soon if I hadn't sent a second email to Larry Kellner. Nope...should never be that hard...but the hoops were definitely flaming!

Just know that Larry never saw that e-mail. If it doesn't come from the CO corporate intranet the e-mails are routed to the management team at customer service and delegated to one of the reps. at 1-800-WECARE-2.

Oh...I am very much aware of that. I just made sure all bases were covered.