Continental’s flights are highly competitive with other large carriers and they are often a little lower than the competition, which would include Delta, American, United, America West, Southwest, US Airways, and Northwest. Continental airline’s tickets are often dirt cheap if booked directly through the company’s web site because this will give passengers free air travel in the form of bonus frequent flyer miles as opposed to using a general travel web site like Cheaptickets.com, Travelocity.com, etc. Pricing, of course, is going to vary greatly from place to place. For some travelers, Continental airline’s prices to and from their local airport might not be very competitive at all so they may have cheaper airfares to pay for. You have to check and make price comparisons before you make any purchase.

Continental Airlines is one of the best known and most widely used airlines in the United States, ranking in the top ten among domestic carriers based on number of passengers served each year and the amount of total revenue. Continental offers very cheap airfares and superior air travel services to all passenger classes. It also does the same to every large airport and many smaller airports throughout the U.S., making it one of the most recognizable of all airlines. Continental serves 215 airports worldwide, is the 5th largest airline in the world and has recently embarked on an update of its aircraft fleet which will lower the average age of its airplanes to about eight years old by the end of 2006.

Continental offers its customers a frequent flyer plan which can be converted to some cheap airfares or discounted Continental airline tickets. Like most other major airline carriers, it offers 3,000 bonus miles for signing up and a minimum of 25,000 accumulated miles to claim a free flight. Mileage requirements for free flights, and the various methods of earning miles, are very similar to other major airlines.

Continental is an international airline company, headquartered in downtown Houston, Texas. It offers flights all over the United States. Internationally, Continental offers flights to Canada, Mexico, South America, Caribbean, Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, certain islands in the Pacific, like the Marshall Islands, Guam, Mariana Islands, and Micronesia, areas of Southeast Asia, like Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, etc., and a few nations in Africa, like South Africa and Kenya.

Continental Airline’s main hubs are located in Newark, New Jersey; Cleveland, Ohio; and Houston, Texas. Unless you are scheduling a short flight, you can expect your flight on Continental Airline to take you to one of these main hub cities first where you will switch planes and then proceed to your desired destination.

In the area of air travel, Continental Airline sells more than just cheap airfares and discounted airline tickets for its flights. Vacationers can also utilize Continental’s Vacation package service, allowing customers to select a full travel package consisting of very cheap round-trip fares that include lodging and other extras. In addition, Continental Airline often rewards it members who buy these packages with additional frequent flyer miles.

On Continental Airline’s in-flight service, beverages are served for economy class on flights to the United States’ destinations that are generally less than one hour. Food is served on Continental, but only on longer flights. On shorter flights of less than 2 hours of total duration, you can expect to get nothing more than a beverage and bag of pretzels or some other simple snack.

Flights over two hours include breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on the time of day. However, don’t expect a hot meal, however unless your flight is more than three and a half hours in total length, your meal will consist of a cold breakfast or a cold sandwich for lunch or dinner. This can be overlooked for the cheap cost of the flight ticket.

Check-in is fairly simple with Continental Airlines. If you use e-ticketing when you make your purchase, all you have to do is walk up to the counter, identify yourself with a valid document like your Driver’s License, and wait for your boarding pass to be printed.

Continental Airlines is one of the better domestic carriers, with good service and courtesy to customers. It has been acknowledged by several passengers who have flown the airline to have outstanding first, economy and business class services, good airport lounges, friendly staff and crew. If you are considering a long flight, this is one of the few American carriers I would actually suggest for international travel.