Continental #1 in Fortune mag

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, the competition couldn’t have been all that stiff. Continental Airlines was rated the top airline in Fortune magazine‘s annual list of most admired companies. Its score of 7.71 was not good enough to push the company into the top 50, though. This is the sixth year in a row that Continental has taken the lead spot in the airline category. Somehow, Southwest is listed as #7 on the full list, though it scored behind Continental.

Looks like Fortune is suffering from a case of “journalist’s math.”

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Kellner said that “Continental’s more than 42,000 co-workers are the reason for our success, and I’m proud to see their hard work recognized again this year.” Apparently, he has forgotten that the passengers shelling out cash to fly on the airline’s 2,800 daily departures might have something to do with that, too.

Air France-KLM followed Continental with a score of 7.15. Southwest Airlines (6.89), Singapore Airlines (6.57) and Delta Airlines (6.18) were also recognized on the Fortune list.

Funny, JetBlue didn’t show up.

10 tips for smarter flying


Man who can’t work cell phone sues Continental Airlines

by Annie Scott on

Saquib Fatah of Houston, Texas, is suing Continental Airlines because he can’t work his cell phone. Confused? I’ll break it down:

1. Fatah gets on airplane in London with his new cell phone.
2. Captain makes the usual “turn off all electronic devices” announcement and the plane begins to taxi.
3. “BEEP BEEP BEEP!” from Fatah’s phone.
4. A stewardess asks Fatah to “kill the phone.” He appears to do so. Taxiing continues …
5. “BEEP BEEP BEEP!”
6. Everything goes to Hell.

After the phone went off the second time, Fatah states in his lawsuit that “the Continental Airlines stewardess used degrading and insulting language, and then offloaded him and his luggage, and handed him over to the British police.”

Fatah was reportedly held in jail for a couple of hours, then sent along his not-so-merry way. A week later, Fatah arrived at the airport to try to go home to Houston again, but Continental turned him away at the check-in, saying he was “undesirable.” Ouch. Fatah bought a ticket on British Airways, flew home, and called his lawyer Ali Ahmed.

Ahmed has yet to serve the lawsuit, but if he’s already talking to the press about it, chances are he has every intention of doing so.

[via Houston Press Blogs]

9/11 widow dies in Buffalo plane crash

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Beverly Eckert, widow of 9/11 victim Sean Rooney, perished on Continental Airlines Flight 3407 last night. She was on her way to Buffalo to celebrate what would have been her husband’s 58th birthday. While in town, she had also planned to participate in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School. She had created the scholarship in honor of her late husband.

The crash of Continental Flight 3407 occurred at around 10:20 PM, when the plane hit a home in Clarence Center, NY. It resulted in 44 on-board fatalities: all 40 passengers and all four crew members. A person on the ground was killed, as well. Twelve local residents were evacuated, and firefighters were quick to respond, as the crash site was close to the local fire station.

The crash has been described as feeling like “a mini-earthquake” and “a large explosion.”

[Via CNN, photo via thebuffalobean]

Continental Airlines to drop out of SkyTeam alliance on October 24th

by Jeffrey White on

Back last June, Grant first reported the coming alliance between Continental and United Airlines, which also means that Continental will be dropping out of its current SkyTeam alliance network, which includes Delta, Northwest and Air France, and joining up with the Star Alliance network, which includes United and US Airways.

Now there is a little more information available about when this move is actually going to take place.

As a Continental OnePass member, I just received a note that the airline will drop out of SkyTeam after the last scheduled flight on Oct. 24, 2009 and that its participation in Star Alliance will begin “promptly after we leave SkyTeam.”

I’ve heard rumors that Continental is considering allowing OnePass members to carry miles over when the airline makes the alliance switch, but so far all Continental is telling its frequent fliers is that “we continue to work through the details of our planned exit from SkyTeam and entry into Star Alliance…”

Personally, I’m psyched about the change. Not only do I fly Continental often (one of the few American carriers with direct service to and from Berlin) but the Star Alliance network consists of some airlines that I fly pretty regularly, including SAS, Lufthansa, Austrian and, yes, even Poland’s national carrier, LOT.

It’s important to note, as Grant did, that Continental is not merging with United, but pledging a much closer working relationship that will mean cooperation and codeshares and an increased flight network.

We’ll let you know more news on this front as it develops.

Free flight ploy ends in jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Some people will do anything for a free flight. Instead of waiting for the airline to screw up, Arthur David Proskin used a bump by the beverage cart as his ticket to glory … and hopefully anywhere in the continental United States. He used what was probably an accident to shout obscenities at the flight attendant who so egregiously wronged him (hint for the tone-deaf, this is sarcasm) and other passengers.

Well, Proskin has learned that wishes do come true. And you better be careful what you … blah, blah, blah.

The guy’s headed to jail. He hatched his plan on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Palm Springs, CA and caused it to be diverted to Midland International Airport. On the ground , the gump was arrested.

“Free” won’t be in this 44-year-old’s vocabulary for another 2 ½ years. A guilty plea back in October made sure of that.

What’s the moral of the story? Since a lot of jails actually charge for room and board (at least here in New York), there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

[Via MSNBC]