Continental Airlines Already Showing Ill Effects of Merger to United Airlines

How one of the best airlines turned into a sucky airline

By Marc J. Rauch
Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher
The Auto Channel

AUTO CENTRAL - June 6, 2010: United Airlines sucks. United Airlines has always sucked, at least in just the five decades that I've been an airline passenger. My experiences on United became so bad that in August 2001 I swore I would never spend one penny with these creeps again.

On May 5th, just one month and one day ago, when it was announced that United Airlines and Continental Airlines were merging, I wrote an editorial titled "Will the Merger of United and Continental Airlines be Named FUBAR AIR?" You can read that piece by clicking on the link. In that article I hoped that United wouldn't cast its wicked spell over Continental and screw up what was a great airline.

Well, it seems that the airline terrorists at United have triumphed and turned Continental into the same arrogant, smug miscreants.

This evening, my partner in The Auto Channel, Bob Gordon, was supposed to fly from Newark, New Jersey to Louisville, Kentucky. The flight was scheduled for 8PM. However, throughout the day news broadcasts were advising that because of weather storms around the country that flights were being delayed and passengers were told to check with the airlines. With several hours to spare before the scheduled departure, Bob called Continental to get an update. He was told that the flight was delayed until 9:30PM because of weather. He eventually called and checked online with the airline seven additional times. On each occasion Bob was told that the flight was delayed until 9:30PM.

Bob arrived at Newark Airport at 8PM, an hour and a half before the re-scheduled departure; more than enough time to conveniently check-in.

But there was one problem, the re-scheduled 9:30PM flight was suddenly re-re-scheduled for 8:10PM and Bob was now too late to check-in and make the flight.

Bob asked for the Station Manager, who then told Bob that the missed flight was his fault, and that regardless of what he was told on the phone and online that Bob "should have known" that the a stand-by crew had been found and that the flight was re-re-scheduled. According to Bob, who now had to find and pay for his own hotel room for a new flight tomorrow morning at the convenient 6:45AM time slot, the Station Manager exhibited no consumer care or sympathy at all. Obviously this snake had either just slithered over from United in the merger or he quickly studied the United Air Lines employee handbook.

United Airlines continues to suck, Continental has been infected by the same sucking disease, and the best thing that could happen to the two of them is for the entire fubar airline to go under.