Off topic, but I'm wondering what the advantage is of maintaining FF accounts with both Delta and CAL? They're both in SkyTeam, and should be able to accru and redeem miles on either carrier with only one account.

 

Like I said, INTERNATIOANL, not domestic.

 

I jumped from CLE to PHX several weeks ago. Outstanding service! I got a boarding pass at the counter, nice coach seat, head phones that you get to keep, a warm meal,.. very nice. Keep it up.

 

Just flew with them R/T from EWR to SJU last week and, as always, everything was fine, even with delays at EWR. I fly CO whenever I can, even if it costs me a few $ more.

I check in on line 24 hours in advance, re-assign myself the comfy exit row seats (no extra charge either). Get to the airport, check the bags / security, then go to the Presidents Club, show them my boarding pass and Amex Platinum card and get in for free.

Service is always great and, frankly, the exit row seats in coach have the same leg room as the first class seats (at least on the 737/757), just not as wide.

Can't speak about how they treat their own, but they treat the passengers well, and their employees mostly seem to be having "good days" to me.

Kudos to all at Continental.

 

I just flew CAL r/t from PDX to DFW....and really, I'd have to agree! I flew my ex-employer UAL last time I went to TX and they weren't up to par.

 

I'm a pretty new pilot @ CAL, 2 years, and I can say that it is different. I am from Newark and a former CAL employee, so the choice should have been easy, however, I chose USAir as my first airline of choice, and have no regrets about that choice. In the 90's, during my non-flying tenure @ CAL, I thought that CAL was a scumbag operation, full of scabs, opportunist, that would never achieve major airline status. I'm very happy to say that I was wrong. The contract sux, but guys still have most of their retirement and I have about 1,100 guys beneath me on the list. The most impressive thing about CAL is that the management actually takes pride in running a good airline. Not a good stock, although they do pretty good at that too. Scabs.....hated them, had a few in my squadron. Did some research and found that I didn't know as much as I thought I did about Lorenzo and the strike of 1983. I've flown with some guys, scabs, who obviously would never have made it to a major airline had it not been for Lorenzo. Here's where most of you will think I'm smoking crack....Some of them, no more than 10%, are actually good union pilots and professional aviators. Never thought I'd have the balls to say that. Back to the topic at hand. CAL has the opportunity to change course now. Labor wise, we at CAL need to realize that a conventional "strike" is not an option. Other ALPA carriers would never volunteer to pay strike wages to scabs. The upside is that strikes are ineffective tools in today's capitalist economy. IMHO, CAL pilots are among the most professional in the industry. We have less pay, respect and work-rules from management than our counter-parts at other majors. The only way that we can rectify this, is to become a united workforce. We need a roster of reserve pilots, so that you can call before taking a reserves trip. We need to represent our probationary pilots from day one of their careers here. And, most importantly, need to pay health insurance for our probationary guys since the company won't. Before anyone make assumptions, I've never been on reserve @ CAL and I haven't been uninsured since I left the house in 1987. My AAA brothers paid my insurance after furlough until I found another job. The CAL pilot group is at a crossroad, unity is the key. We are pilots. We aren't more important than any other employee on the employee bus....but we are when we are in our cockpits. We need to realize that, among ourselves, @ CAL. In short, if they treat us like sh@t, it's only because we let them.

 

It's nice to read discussion about the most basic element of this trade. If an airline provides bad service, pax are going to look somewhere else on their next flight.

I haven't flown CAL recently, but I gotta say one of my best flights was in May from IAD-DEN on UA. FAs were celebrating the last flight of one of their own crew. They put everyone in good spirits and made what would have been an uncomfortable flight in coach very enjoyable. Quite a surprise for me, considering all the negative stuff I've heard from others (pilots and FAs) about UA.

Great service is what will make a great airline. Everyone, including management, needs to understand that.

 

Continental Micronesia has outstanding service. The FA's are really GENUINELY nice, not the fake smile and the "screw you" look from the eyes that you get from those on some domestic flights. However, lately I haven't even seen those kind here.

I do remember having horrible inflight service when we had the DC-10's, for whatever reason. The 5 seats-in-the-middle arrangement was probably enough to cause headaches for everybody.

 

I'm curious as to why CAL won't put jumpseaters in first class if a seat is open. most other carriers seem to move the jumpseaters up if their is room?

 

hahah yeah They def dont go out of their way to accommodate crews...............A majority of the F/A at Cal have an attitude, at least the older ones, the younger cute ones are very, and I mean "very friendly"