so the second trip fell through.. info requested..

"chilly" wrote

> I might even be able to finagle Continental into giving me the 1000 points
> too, inasmuch as, it is not my fault that their web booking system can't
> make the connection. I haven't tried that on yet but it seems reasonable
> to
> me. ;^)

You could probably determine the legs you need on the phone and then book
them, even if you have to do it as separate flights, on line.

> Near as I can tell, your only problem is the air. Since you have to talk
> to
> your travel agent anyway, why not just cut out the middleman and book your
> flight directly? For the most part, my experience has been that the only
> time you save any money with an agent, is on a group trip.

My experience is sometimes different, but usually because I book more than
one service as part of a package. On one of our trips to the Caymans, for
example, we booked a flight, hotel, food, drink and dive package through an
agent for about what we would have spent on the hotel, food, drink and dive
package alone. Practically, we got our airfare free.

Lee

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:lFicf.450468$oW2.114466@pd7tw1no...

> Sometimes the places I want to go, can't be pieced together on their
> website. So far, with a telephone call, they've been able to put it
> together. Continental staff advises that their website just can't present
> some connections, for whatever reason. All I lose by making the
> reservation
> over the phone is 1000 points and 15-20 minutes. In any event, once
> booked,
> they email me my ticket. After I have my confirmation/reservation number,
> I
> can go into the website and select my own seats.

It's not only 1,000 points. If you're flying a discounted economy ticket,
which is basically what they sell, you only get half the mileage credit
toward elite status when you don't book online. Also, I believe they charge
a ticket surcharge of $10 or $20 when a real person actually has to do some
work.

> I might even be able to finagle Continental into giving me the 1000 points
> too, inasmuch as, it is not my fault that their web booking system can't
> make the connection. I haven't tried that on yet but it seems reasonable
> to
> me. ;^)

You might want to try that. Good luck. I did have it out with them once
when I only got half the elite credit for a flight I had booked online but
had used miles to upgrade. Somehow, my talking to someone on the phone
about the upgrade took the flight out of the "booked online" status. But
that was their error. I played by the rules, so they did too eventually and
credited me the rest of my miles.

> What has been more of a concern for me is when routing through Houston
> (which I do most times), there may only be 45-60 minutes between flights.
> This is not a problem for me when going to Belize, because if I miss the
> connection, there is another plane later that day, or worst case scenario,
> the next day. When traveling to a destination that has only once a week
> flights, I will often chose to stay in Houston overnight before the onward
> flight. Continental claims that I don't have to do this, that their
> connection times are adequate, but I chose to err on the side of caution.

But none of this has to do with Bonaire. I easily found Toronto-Bonaire
flights on continental.com, and there's a four-hour layover in Houston which
is even enough time to get drunk.

I have a half-hour in Guam to change planes to/from Bali, but Continental
assures me that's OK even though it's sandwiched between a 5-hour leg and a
7.5-hour leg. They will hold certain flights if necessary. For example,
had your flight into Houston been a little delayed, they may have held the
flight to Roatan knowing that you needed to catch it. Otherwise, they're
responsible for getting you to Roatan even if they need to use another
airline to make it happen.

> For example, on one of the trips to Roatan this year, my buddy coming from
> another city and decided to take the chance based on Continental's advice
> that there was time. Unfortunately, her plane was an hour late leaving
> her
> departure city. I was in the air on the forward flight, before her plane
> even landed in Houston. Continental managed to get her on a TACA flight
> within 3 hours, but her luggage didn't show up until 3 days later. As I
> understand it, had she also missed the TACA connection, she'd have had to
> be
> routed through San Pedro Sula the following day. Like I said, I'd rather
> err on the side of caution when taking a trip like that.

There you go. Risking a 3-day delay of baggage versus having to spend even
one night in Houston, that's a real tough call. Me, I'd rather wear dirty
underwear, but if it meant not have my scuba gear on a liveaboard trip,
that's a different story.

What's a real joke is that they only plan for the same 45 minute layover on
connecting flights from outside the U.S. There is absolutely no way to get
one's baggage, go through customs and immigration, recheck the bags, and run
to the gate in that amount of time, especially with their new international
arrivals maze which involves several miles of trekking through the bowels of
IAH. Even if you were to make it, baggage doesn't have a chance to catch
up.

I'd prefer if they extended the connection time, perhaps doubling it. It's
nice to absorb some local color in a foreign place like Texas. I enjoy
counting guys wearing cowboy hats and Christian missionary kid groups in
their colorful T-shirts. You never see that kind of stuff at LAX now that
TSA keeps Jews for Jesus and the Hare Krishnas from getting past the
security checks.

> As long as I'm already in Houston, I'm comfortable that I'll make the
> flight
> to my onward destination. Sure, it costs a bit more unless I'm using
> points
> for my hotel, but it's worth it to me. It's either that or always go to
> Belize, a destination which I've enjoyed almost often enough.

Don't be so smug. I've laid over (in Miami, for example) and missed the
next morning's flight due to oversleeping. It can happen.

> Near as I can tell, your only problem is the air. Since you have to talk
> to
> your travel agent anyway, why not just cut out the middleman and book your
> flight directly? For the most part, my experience has been that the only
> time you save any money with an agent, is on a group trip.

In the good old days, agents would market specials for the airlines. But
with online sales, the airlines realizing that paying commissions hurts
their bottom line, and the airlines realizing that paying employees hurts
their bottom line, airlines usually reward those who help themselves, saving
the best deals for their online customers. That's why you'll see far fewer
travel packages that include air nowadays, unless, as you mention, it's a
group trip. And oftentimes with a group trip, the group trip leader is
taking up all the "slack" so you don't realize an individual benefit.

ajames54@hotmail.com wrote:

Thanks for all the replies...
this is a lot more to go on..

<ajames54@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1131559470.525167.66360@g47g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

>>Give me your
>> credit number and $50 and I'll even book the flights for you and call the
>> hotel to arrange your car, room, and diving. I can't do everything for
>> you
>> for free, after all.
>
> If I thought you were serious and wouldn't simply use the opportunity
> to take the piss I would happily do just that .. $50? a deal at twice
> the price..

I'm perfectly serious. $50 U.S. of course, not Canadian.

However, I'll likely get arrested for impersonating a travel agent or
practicing travel agency without a license. Maybe I better not. Still, for
ten minutes of my time, it's not too bad a deal for me. That comes to $300
an hour, close enough to my attorney billable rate. The internet costs are
free, I can call Canada and anywhere in the U.S. for free, and even if I
have to call Bonaire directly, I've got a 25-cents a minute plan.

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:11n48fecl5noob9@corp.supernews.com...
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:lFicf.450468$oW2.114466@pd7tw1no...
>
> > they email me my ticket. After I have my confirmation/reservation
number,
> > I
> > can go into the website and select my own seats.
>
> It's not only 1,000 points. If you're flying a discounted economy ticket,
> which is basically what they sell, you only get half the mileage credit
> toward elite status when you don't book online.

I haven't noticed any difference in that regard. I'll have to look into it
further.

>Also, I believe they charge
> a ticket surcharge of $10 or $20 when a real person actually has to do
some
> work.

Hmm . . .I don't think I've had to pay that. I'll look into it.

> > I might even be able to finagle Continental into giving me the 1000
points
> > too, inasmuch as, it is not my fault that their web booking system can't
> > make the connection. I haven't tried that on yet but it seems
reasonable
> > to
> > me. ;^)
>
> You might want to try that. Good luck. I did have it out with them once
> when I only got half the elite credit for a flight I had booked online but
> had used miles to upgrade. Somehow, my talking to someone on the phone
> about the upgrade took the flight out of the "booked online" status. But
> that was their error. I played by the rules, so they did too eventually
and
> credited me the rest of my miles.

This is what I'm saying.

> > flights, I will often chose to stay in Houston overnight before the
onward
> > flight. Continental claims that I don't have to do this, that their
> > connection times are adequate, but I chose to err on the side of
caution.
>
> But none of this has to do with Bonaire. I easily found Toronto-Bonaire
> flights on continental.com, and there's a four-hour layover in Houston
which
> is even enough time to get drunk.

If that's what one chooses to do.

> I have a half-hour in Guam to change planes to/from Bali, but Continental
> assures me that's OK even though it's sandwiched between a 5-hour leg and
a
> 7.5-hour leg. They will hold certain flights if necessary. For example,
> had your flight into Houston been a little delayed, they may have held the
> flight to Roatan knowing that you needed to catch it. Otherwise, they're
> responsible for getting you to Roatan even if they need to use another
> airline to make it happen.

And that's what happened for my buddy. However, if there is no other
flight, what then?

> > be
> > routed through San Pedro Sula the following day. Like I said, I'd
rather
> > err on the side of caution when taking a trip like that.
>
> There you go. Risking a 3-day delay of baggage versus having to spend
even
> one night in Houston, that's a real tough call. Me, I'd rather wear dirty
> underwear, but if it meant not have my scuba gear on a liveaboard trip,
> that's a different story.

There ya go.

>
> What's a real joke is that they only plan for the same 45 minute layover
on
> connecting flights from outside the U.S. There is absolutely no way to
get
> one's baggage, go through customs and immigration, recheck the bags, and
run
> to the gate in that amount of time, especially with their new
international
> arrivals maze which involves several miles of trekking through the bowels
of
> IAH. Even if you were to make it, baggage doesn't have a chance to catch
> up.

Been there but I don't worry about it so much on my way back home. So what
if I'm a day late getting home?

>
> I'd prefer if they extended the connection time, perhaps doubling it.
It's
> nice to absorb some local color in a foreign place like Texas. I enjoy
> counting guys wearing cowboy hats and Christian missionary kid groups in
> their colorful T-shirts. You never see that kind of stuff at LAX now that
> TSA keeps Jews for Jesus and the Hare Krishnas from getting past the
> security checks.

I don't think I've even seen anything like that in Houston airport, let
alone the Sheraton.

> > for my hotel, but it's worth it to me. It's either that or always go to
> > Belize, a destination which I've enjoyed almost often enough.
>
> Don't be so smug. I've laid over (in Miami, for example) and missed the
> next morning's flight due to oversleeping. It can happen.

LOL. Don't drink so much on your layover.

>
> > Near as I can tell, your only problem is the air. Since you have to
talk
> > to
> > your travel agent anyway, why not just cut out the middleman and book
your
> > flight directly? For the most part, my experience has been that the
only
> > time you save any money with an agent, is on a group trip.
>
> In the good old days, agents would market specials for the airlines. But
> with online sales, the airlines realizing that paying commissions hurts
> their bottom line, and the airlines realizing that paying employees hurts
> their bottom line, airlines usually reward those who help themselves,
saving
> the best deals for their online customers. That's why you'll see far
fewer
> travel packages that include air nowadays, unless, as you mention, it's a
> group trip. And oftentimes with a group trip, the group trip leader is
> taking up all the "slack" so you don't realize an individual benefit.

There ya go.

Greg Mossman wrote:
>
> Trust Continental. They have one of the best on-time records, best consumer
> satisfaction grades, etc. They're also remarkably solvent. Houston gets a
> bit backed up at times returning through customs, but with 3 hours in
> between flights you'll have no problem.

I no longer "trust" 45 minute connections in Houston...think you
suggested as much too. I now plan for 1.5 - 2 hours on our domestic
connections through Houston, as we're usually also transferring between
Continental and Continental Express, and they reside in different
terminals in Houston, which can very easily eat up a half hour or more.

Houston's one of those airports where the airlines use the time that
the flight hits the runway as their official "arrival time" for the
FAA, and not the time when the flight actually arrives at the gate and
opens the door. There goes another 10 minutes. And while I'm probably
exaggerating, it seems that the only time I've had a CO flight to
Houston *not* arrive late was when then-CEO Gordon Bethune was sitting
two rows in front of us...that flight actually arrived at the gate on
time.


-hh

"-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com> wrote in message
news:1131569381.081065.97990@o13g2000cwo.googlegro ups.com...

> I no longer "trust" 45 minute connections in Houston...think you
> suggested as much too. I now plan for 1.5 - 2 hours on our domestic
> connections through Houston, as we're usually also transferring between
> Continental and Continental Express, and they reside in different
> terminals in Houston, which can very easily eat up a half hour or more.

I've made plenty, mainly because the flight out of sleepy Ontario airport is
almost always on-time. But if it's anything important, like catching a
subsequent flight or a liveaboard or something, I'll always allow extra
time. We have three flights a day now to Houston. I used to take the 7
a.m., which puts me in Houston at a bit after noon and just in time to catch
the 1 p.m. flights to various Caribbean or Atlantic locales. Now I take the
1 a.m. red-eye, which gets me to Houston in plenty of time to catch the 9
a.m. flights out with two hours to spare. If I should still somehow miss
the 9 a.m. flight, the 1 p.m. flight serves as a backup. I basically trade
the stress of potentially missing a flight for the exhaustion of a 3-hour
red-eye, believing that exhaustion is far better on my heart. And if I ever
get stuck in the airport for too long, my company was nice enough to buy me
a President's Club membership.

The 9 a.m./1 p.m. pattern works for most places they fly more than once a
day out of Houston. I'm banking on it to get me to the Nekton Pilot in
March: there's both a 9 a.m. and a 1:30 p.m. daily flight to Belize. (If I
should somehow miss both, I've been told locals can ferry passengers to the
boat for about $300 pp). There's a 9:15 and a 1:15 to Cozumel, a 9:15, a
10:30, and a 1:30 to Ft. Lauderdale, etc.

I feel sorry for you Continental Expressed folks. Those RJ-145s scare the
heck out of me and they screw you on the carry-on baggage. I'll add an
extra leg to my itinerary just to route around flying on one as long as
there's a reasonable alternative. Ontario is a big enough market to get
three daily 737-800s plus two daily RJ-145s direct to Houston and it's only
15 minutes from my house.

> Houston's one of those airports where the airlines use the time that
> the flight hits the runway as their official "arrival time" for the
> FAA, and not the time when the flight actually arrives at the gate and
> opens the door. There goes another 10 minutes. And while I'm probably
> exaggerating, it seems that the only time I've had a CO flight to
> Houston *not* arrive late was when then-CEO Gordon Bethune was sitting
> two rows in front of us...that flight actually arrived at the gate on
> time.

Amazing, that.

Greg Mossman wrote:
>
> I feel sorry for you Continental Expressed folks. Those RJ-145s scare the
> heck out of me and they screw you on the carry-on baggage.

I actually like them, since with only ~50 passengers, they unload quite
quickly and I like the seats better than the 737's. Since my carry-on
bag is softsided and for the typical quick business trip (1-2 nights),
I'm generally not carrying much anyway, their small overhead bins are
big enough for me...its the guys with the big roll-on bags that have to
gate-check.

But you'll probably get your way, since the current US industry
assessment is that small 50-seater regional jets such as the 145 are
probably going to be removed from service over the next ~10 years,
partly because the increase in fuel costs have made them too expensive
per passenger-mile. Perhaps Embraer's "big brother" to the 145, the 72
seat Embraer 170 (see:
http://corporate.alitalia.com/en/fleet/erj170.htm), will take over the
segment? I don't know if anyone in the USA is flying these yet, but
the 170 does have satisfactory sized overhead compartments.


> > ...only time I've had a CO flight to Houston *not* arrive late
> > was when then-CEO Gordon Bethune was sitting two rows in
> > front of us...that flight actually arrived at the gate on time.
>
> Amazing, that.

'Twas a straight shot right in. Wished they did that all the time.


-hh

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:11n4pmgc7al41ce@corp.supernews.com...
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:eatcf.475696$tl2.352909@pd7tw3no...
>
> > And that's what happened for my buddy. However, if there is no other
> > flight, what then?
>
> There's always another flight.

True, but it might not be for another week. Personally, I'd rather be sure
that I get to my chosen destination to enjoy the intended week.

> > Been there but I don't worry about it so much on my way back home. So
> > what
> > if I'm a day late getting home?
>
> You could get fired. That's what I'm constantly fretting about.

LOL, ya, me too.

> >> TSA keeps Jews for Jesus and the Hare Krishnas from getting past the
> >> security checks.
> >
> > I don't think I've even seen anything like that in Houston airport, let
> > alone the Sheraton.
>
> Definitely bigger over the summertime, when the kids are out of school and
> ready to save heathens in exotic foreign countries like Mexico and Aruba
and
> all the suburban cowboys are wearing big cowboy hats to keep that strong
> fluorescent airport sun out of their eyes.

Far more likely to see the big cowboy hats in the Calgary airport.

>I always imagine going up to one
> of the cowboys and saying "Howdy" or going up to one of the Jesus kids and
> saying "bless you", but if I were to get that drunk they wouldn't let me
on
> the plane. Check it out sometime when you have more than 45 minutes to
> kill.

Well, according to you, I'd first have to have spent some time in the
airport bar.

>
> > LOL. Don't drink so much on your layover.
>
> It was like staying in an airport overnight. I couldn't help myself.

:^)

Greg Mossman wrote:

> What's a real joke is that they only plan for the same 45 minute layover on
> connecting flights from outside the U.S. There is absolutely no way to get
> one's baggage, go through customs and immigration, recheck the bags, and run
> to the gate in that amount of time, especially with their new international
> arrivals maze which involves several miles of trekking through the bowels of
> IAH. Even if you were to make it, baggage doesn't have a chance to catch
> up.

The trek is seldom over a mile and a half, and you left out the part about clearing
security again. That gives your baggage a chance to get ahead of you, especially
since they make the entire journey on conveyor belts. When our return flight from
Roatan arrived an hour late we made it to the gate in about 1:05, missing our
connection by 5 minutes after covering 8.6% of the journey on slidewalks. Our bags
were a bit quicker, and were waiting in a storage room when we got to Newark the next
day. So much for any claims about bag matching.

--
Steve

The above can be construed as personal opinion in the absence of a reasonable
belief that it was intended as a statement of fact.

If you want a reply to reach me, remove the SPAMTRAP from the address.