Criticism Paper Continental Airlines
On my recent trip to Atlanta, Georgia I used the airline company Continental for my flight. I found out that it was the cheapest airline flight that Orbitz had to offer, so I booked it. I booked a round trip to and from Georgia both using Continental airlines. This is my first time using continental so I had no idea what I was up for or expecting from the flight.
I used a method of ticketing called E-tickets. It’s a way to buy your ticket online, and then you can pick it up using a machine at the airport and typing in your confirmation number to receive your ticket. This was one of the easiest times I have had getting any sort of ticket. After that, I went through security and arrived at the gates. I was an hour early for my flight, and realized that there was another flight to Georgia that hasn’t left yet. I immediately set out to that gate and asked the continental representative if I could transfer my ticket to this flight. With out any questioning, he asked for my ticket and ID, typed quickly on his computer, and printed out a new ticket for the earlier flight. He then politely told me to go through the flight gate and have a nice day. This flight had been the easiest as of yet; no hassles, no trouble, no problem what so ever. Continental was now on my best airline list.
My flight back was of the different nature however. As soon as I get to the airport I headed for the e-ticket machine to once again print out my boarding pass. This time it didn’t go quite as smoothly as the last. I tried the confirmation number over and over, every time I placed it in, the machine would say there is no such number. I had to wait in line for fifteen minutes so I could talk to a representative. After arguing with the rep. about having a flight and showing him the confirmation letting that was sent to my e-mail, he reluctantly printed out a boarding pass for me. I was now finally on my way. I walked through security with out a problem, and was once again at the gates waiting for the boarding time to come. As usual, the first class passengers were seated first, then the back rows until the first. My ticket was for seat 21A. Once aboard, I found row 21, and window seat A. I placed my bags in the over head compartment, and sat down to await the flight. A minute or two later a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could sit in his seat. I obviously thought, why is he asking me? And then politely said “yes, of course” thinking he had the seat next to me. After sitting there for another minute or two with no movement from the man, he asked again if he could sit in his seat. We then found out that he too had the seat number 21A and realized there was a problem. The flight was packed and all seats were paid for, but there was still the issue of me having the same seat number as another. At this point I was becoming angry knowing that the same seat was booked to two people, and that there might not be enough seating. Luckily, there was an empty seat due to someone that has not shown up. Since it was departure time, the airline attendants declared the empty seat up for grabs, so the man and I could both stay on this flight. Everything now was all set, and it was time for take off. The flight itself was fine, drinks were served, and the attendants were polite. After landing, getting off the plane just fueled my anger from before. The boarding bridge to connect the plane with the station wasn’t working at all. We had to wait 20 minutes for them to find out that they can’t fix the problem, then another 20 minutes to move the plane to the next gate. After all was done and over, I was just happy to be off the plane.
Both of my Continental flight experiences were completely different from one another. My first flight set off amazingly. It was a smooth and easy event, no problems what so ever took place. The representatives helped me along my way to an earlier flight, and we arrived on time in Atlanta. Then there was the trip home. The e-ticket machine didn’t work; I had to argue with the rep. to just get my ticket. Once boarded, the double booked seat problem happened and then the delay for departing the plane took place. Realizing the delay for getting off the plane was probably not Continentals fault, and just the airports, I’ll have to say that the excellent first flight made up for all the mishaps during the second. I would definitely recommend Continental airlines to everyone knowing that it’s an inexpensive flight with good representatives to help you along the way, if any mishaps do occur.
A-