The Flight from Hell....
Written: Sep 11 '01 (Updated Sep 11 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: We survived, the price was right
Cons: everything - you get what you pay for!
The Bottom Line: This was clearly a case of employee incompetence - they need to review their training tapes again!
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| makeupu's Full Review: Continental Airlines |
Disclaimer:
This review was posted at 3:30 am EST, Sept.11, 2001, hours before the horrific events that shocked the world today. This is by no means, a mockery of the tragic events that happened today at the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and the crash in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. These were terrorist attacks against the United States and not the fault of the airlines. My review is meaningless - but if you care to rate or if I have offended anyone, feel free to email me and I will delete this Epinion. My heart and prayers go out to the President, the airlines, the victims, the residents of NYC and Washington DC and their families in their hour of need. God help us!
Okay, now that I got that off of my chest... This review is somewhat meaningless, ( and I've tried to rewrite it) but here goes. This has been an exceptionally busy summer for me and most recently, I had the opportunity to fly to New York city and do a photo shoot for Womens World magazine. I had arranged to do makeovers on five of my high school friends. We had a wonderful time, eating, drinking, shopping and laughing!
After finding the best ticket prices on line, through Cheaptickets.com, the cost of my flight was, $89.00 round trip on Continental Express airline - a bargain, (or so I thought)... I made my reservation and was sent an E - ticket that confirms your reservation and makes check-in a lot easier.
Our flight up went off without a hitch, except for the rude flight attendant with the gold tooth that did not even say hello to us upon boarding! (Isn't that the first thing you learn in flight school, how to say hello and buh bye!?) Maybe she skipped that class! Anyway, this plane is small, and if you're over 6' tall, be prepared to duck your head! The seats are cramped together, but luckily, our flight to NY was only an hour.
The shoot...
Our photo shoot went great, and I, too, became the subject of a makeover, much to my dismay! It takes a brave woman to appear without makeup in a national magazine, but it was a real eye opening experience, or as Oprah calls it, a lightbulb moment! I've modeled before, but never thought I would be a makeover candidate! To be on the other end of people constantly fussing over your every move - brought me to hysterics! But that's what I do! I'll be cringing when the issue comes out, I'm sure!
The nightmare begins...
...we boarded a shuttle bus that took us to the airplane, little did we know we were going to be held "hostage" inside the bus for an hour, with no contact from any airline personnel! The plane was just inches away from us & we were unable to board. Finally, one irate, p!ssed off New Yorker busted out of the over crowded bus & made his way on to the awaiting plane. We could see him ranting & raving at the pilot - it turned out, he had a kidney condition & needed to use the facilities! He became known as Kidney Man. He,( Kidney Man), announced to the whole bus, that they were working on getting us another plane! Two more "survivors" wanted off the bus & finally, a flight attendant made an appearance and informed us, the plane was having engine problems and they were working on getting us a new plane! This was after she denied a young teenage passenger access to the bathroom! She just sat on the steps of the bus and cried - it was very hot, & people were tired, hungry and sick of being crammed into a shuttle bus with no contact to the outside world!...Okay, I'm very into fate and am not ready to check out, yet, so I welcomed a new plane!
Bring on the new plane...
So... we finally board plane #2, and everyone makes a beeline to the bathroom! Unfortunately, my seat was the second row from the back which made for a very unpleasant ride home! But, it's only an hour, right? WRONG, the captain comes on the speaker and informs everyone that it will be an hour and a half before we depart from lovely Newark! The moans on the tiny aircraft were deafening - all I could do was laugh!
Bring on the drinks...!
So... once again, we were all held "hostage" once again, apparently there were power outages which had screwed up the radar. So we sat & sat... - thank God my friends were there! It's funny how being stranded with people can be a real bonding experience - We met Dr.Dave, an orthopedic surgeon who gave us married chicks advice on how to keep your man happy. I learned a new word, HUMMERS- you figure it out ;)... Sitting directly in front of me, was an off duty flight attendant, Jose, who helped out the other lone stewardess, Charlie. He was our drink connection and confidant! He really went the extra mile to keep the customers happy and he scored big with us! Then, Kidney Man gave me a half eaten bag of New York cherries, complete with it's own spit bag for the pits - the alcohol was starting to kick in at this point, and I just lost it! ...Only in New York... I graciously accepted the cherries because there was no food on the plane and everyone was starving at this point! It was about 9:00 by the time we became airborne - again, the crowd let out a huge applause! Finally...we thought...
..."Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed"
AAhhhhh... homeward bound, I'll take the turbulence and the storm, just get me home! The drinks and laughter continued despite the tossing and turning of the plane. Hey, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? Until you hear these words...
"Ladies and Gentleman, we have some BAD news...we have a PROBLEM and have to turn the plane AROUND!!!!"...
WHAT! Again, the shrieks of the passengers were deafening! I again could only laugh in disbelief! Why wasn't I supposed to go home?!! This was fate at it's finest! We had been circling Newark airport for a half hour before our pilot informed us that someone forgot to shut the luggage door on the plane! ( Isn't that one of the first things you learn in flight school... SHUT THE DOORS!) All we could think of was our underwear flying all over the skies of Newark, New Jersey! I thought this was hysterical but no one was laughing at this point!
Hostage, again!
I found it very strange that we had to go all the way back to Newark to close a door -? It was then I began to get scared thinking something else was wrong, was there a bomb or terrorist on board? I just wanted to get home & see my husband & kids! It became eerily quiet on board as we tossed and turned in our little metal tube. We hit the ground with such force, I braced myself for the worst as he slammed on the brakes only to look out the window...
We were surrounded by police, ambulances and firetrucks!
WHAT'S GOING ON?!
Are We on Fire?!
Help... I Want To Get Off!
MOM!
They followed us until we came to a complete stop. By this time I was grasping my girlfriends arm in sheer terror, but I still found it very funny & surreal!
Why was this happening?
We kept thinking we were going to be on the 11:00 news, sporting our new makeovers! My final photos would be me without makeup in a national magazine! Last seen alive somewhere over the skies of New Jersey!
Let's try this again...!
SOOOOO... we're finally on the ground, and it really was a door open! It's federal aviation rules that you can't fly with cargo door open. The pilot comes on & apologizes for the error and then says it will be about 3-4 hours till we depart! aaaahhhhhhh! What next!!! At that point, Charlie, our new found flight attendant friend, passed out the customer care kits to everyone. In it were a coupon for a free drink, a travel discount coupon for $25.00 off your next Continental flight & a FREE 5 minute AT&T phone card!!! Wow - I'm amazed at their generosity for inconveniencing and jeopardizing the lives of all of their furious passengers! Thanks, but no thanks, Continental! Who the he!! is going to fly this airline after an experience like this?!... Give me a break - I did make good use of the form in the back that goes to the CEO of Continental! He got a 7 page letter from me!
... I know, end it already!
By now, passengers were SCREAMING, "We want off!" There were major power outages everywhere and several people got off the plane, but we chose to stick it out as the 3-4 hour wait, now became 45 minutes. They refueled and, once again, we were flying the friendly skies of Newark! Only, this time...
We made it home, Yeah!
The entire plane went nuts as we touched down! I thanked the pilots for the best flight I was ever on! They looked at me like I was crazy, because I'm sure this was their worst nightmare! It was 2:00AM, by the time I finally got to bed - I could have been in Europe!
So, in conclusion, would I recommend a flight on Continental? ...
What do you think...
...in memorial of the victims of today's tragedy... rest in peace my brothers and sisters..
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
makeupu
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Member: Mrs. Makeup
Location: Born in the USA
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
Makeup critic extraordinaire!
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