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Home » Continental Airlines » Continental Gate Agent: “These idiots have no idea what they are doing.”
Continental Airlines

Continental Gate Agent: “These idiots have no idea what they are doing.”

Matthew Klint Posted onMay 15, 2010November 14, 2023 Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I blogged about a weather delay in Philadelphia that would have made my connection in Newark very tight. Turns out, the fog dissipated and my 81-mile CO Connection (CommutAir) flight from PHL-EWR was moved up to depart at 10:05 and arrive at 10:45, more than enough time to make my 11:55 flight to Orange County. Flight time is generally is 20-minutes or less on these short flights, so I wasn’t worried.

10:05 came and went. 10:10, 10:20, 10:30. At 10:35 the gate agent announced the problem (without identifying what it was) had been fixed, and began boarding. Moments later, her phone rang. Hanging, up the phone, she angrily commented to a co-worker in front of me and five other “elite” passengers, “These idiots have no idea what they are doing! There’s a reason they fly regionals!”

I chuckled and the gate agent quickly stated that she should not have said that out loud. I told her not to worry about it and I know that the CommutAIr is not Continental. She lamented, accurately I think, that unfortunately most people don’t.

There was some sort of weight and balance issue that the CO mainline staff said was no issue at all but the pilot was throwing a hissy fit over. I peered out the window and the pilot appeared to be arguing with a baggage handler about something. This was a Dash-8, the same plane that went down near BUF last year.

A few minutes later we got the green light to board and by 10:45 everyone had boarded. The pilot announced there were too many bags onboard and began squeezing gate-checked baggage into overhead bins himself. Finally, at 10:50 we quickly taxied and took off for Newark.

I thought I’d still have no problem making my connection, but 20 minutes came and went and we had not even started our descent yet into Newark. The 20-minute flight ended up taking 40-minutes.

a map of a flight

As we pulled into the gate at 11:45, I thought there was no way I was going to make my connection. I sprinted off the plane, up the escalator, and lo and behold, right out to my gate to Orange County. Good thing I was flying on CO Connection instead of CO Express (which would have required a terminal change).

The gate area was empty but the door was still open! I made it. Barely.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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