Flying Continental Airlines Tips

If you plan to fly from Newark or Houston to London, consider upgrading your ticket to business class. Continental's Boeing 777s now have lie-flat seats, which allow for a good night's sleep.

Through a unique air/rail codeshare agreement, Amtrak provides connecting service on Regional and Keystone trains coming from Philadelphia; Wilmington, Delaware; Stamford, Connecticut; and New Haven, Connecticut, and going to Newark International Airport and on to anywhere Continental Airlines flies. Members who opt to travel on these Amtrak codeshare segments can earn 250 frequent flier miles when traveling in coach class and 325 miles for business class. If you travel on Amtrak's high-speed Acela train, you can earn 500 miles when traveling in business class or 750 miles when traveling in first class to Boston, New York City or Washington, D.C.

Continental is one of the only airlines to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service. The service is free in first and business class, but costs $6 in economy class. Aside from the ability to surf the web, this service has some interesting side benefits. For example, if you have a connecting flight, you can find out in advance whether it will be delayed and, if so, make other arrangements online.

Continental guarantees that you will be placed in a window or aisle seat in economy class if you buy a full-fare ticket on Continental Airlines- and Continental Micronesia-operated flights. In fact, it will automatically reward OnePass members with 2,500 frequent flier miles if they do end up in a middle seat.

If you are flying economy on a Continental 767-200, be aware that seats 17A and 17L do not have windows. Additionally, because of the video box, these seats have limited under-seat storage space and legroom. The entire length of Row 18 has limited incline. Its proximity to the lavatories might be a benefit for some, but for others it may prove to be an annoyance, especially when people line up and lean against your seat. On a Boeing 767, meal service begins around Row 34. If you are picky about what you eat, rows 34 to 38 may be a good choice. The bulkhead and emergency exit seats are the most comfortable on any Continental plane.

According to the Department of Transportation, a number of Continental flights are frequently delayed. These include Continental's ExpressJet Flight 2979 from Hartford, Connecticut, to Newark, New Jersey; Flight 1532 from Houston to New York La Guardia; and ExpressJet Flight 2076 from Newark Liberty to Indianapolis. Since these flights travel to airports that are hubs for international flights, if you are planning to fly overseas, you should avoid these connecting flights.