Continental Airlines Onepass
For years, frequent flyers raved about Continental’s OnePass program because of the unlimited free domestic upgrades. Regardless of the fare you paid, you had a pretty good shot of getting bumped up to first class. While Continental still has the unlimited upgrade policy, it has become far, far more difficult to actually get one of those upgrades. That shift can be attributed to two changes over the past few years. First, first class fares have dropped considerably since the boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, so more people are willing to purchase that first class ticket to Los Angeles. Secondly, Continental flies far more 737s on trans-continental routes (and no widebodies on domestic routes), meaning there are simply fewer seats available.
Continental Airlines Secret: Continental’s partner Northwest, which offers reciprocal Elite benefits, offers far more free upgrades for Continental elites on its domestic routes because it flies far more 757s with 24 first class seats on many routes where Continental is flying a 737 with 8. Those looking to secure an upgrade should consider flying Northwest if fares are similar.
Frequent flyers also report that Continental has taken fewer steps to nickel-and-dime them over time, continuing to serve free meals on domestic flights while all other airlines went to buy-on-board food.
However, those feelings started to change recently when Continental implemented a first-bag fee for non-Elites and eliminated the 500-mile minimum on short flights (UPDATE: Continental has now re-instated the 500-mile minimum for Elite flyers). While frequent travelers will admit that Continental’s service is certainly strong, these recent changes (combined with a rather miserable 31” seat pitch in coach and such infrequent award availability that many refer to the program as NonePass) means some are re-considering whether Continental should be their airline of choice.
Continental is in a bit of flux as they have recently announced an alliance with United that will move the airline into the Star Alliance. Its membership in SkyTeam will likely end in the latter part of 2009, as will its deeper relationship with Northwest.
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