Few Seeking Refunds From Continental

Scarred from the lessons of other air carrier bankruptcies, travel agent Jean Conner was braced for the worst as Continental Airlines sought bankruptcy protection Monday.

To her surprise, the expected tide of angry telephone calls from customers seeking ticket refunds never came.

“No one is beating down our doors,” said Conner, who runs El Monte Travel with her husband, Ralph. “Perhaps it hasn’t sunk in yet.”

A quick survey of travel agents Monday showed that few travelers have asked for refunds on their Continental tickets, an indication that the airline’s plan for a “seamless bankruptcy”--one without travel disruption--might be working.

Continental Airlines kept flying, so few customers were inconvenienced. Also, the airline received court permission to pay refunds on tickets and to pay competitors if Continental customers want to use their tickets on other airlines.

In an affidavit filed with the bankruptcy petition, John Nelson, Continental marketing vice president, said the approval for refunds was needed to avoid “negative feelings among travelers . . . and loss of travel agency confidence in the carrier.”

Nelson said an inability to make refunds hurt Continental in its 1983 bankruptcy and damaged Eastern--its sister airline--when it sought bankruptcy protection last year.

James Roberts, Continental’s director of airport operations at Los Angeles International Airport, said he knew of only one request for a refund at LAX Monday. It was granted. He said Continental’s Houston headquarters received 1,300 customer inquiries Monday morning.

Again, only one caller wanted a refund.

“I don’t anticipate huge numbers (of refunds),” he said. “We are hoping that people will look past the headlines.”

Roberts said that refunds are not being paid on non-refundable tickets. “All normal types of restrictions apply,” he said.

There were indications that some travel agents had lost confidence in Continental despite the airline’s efforts.

Thomas Nulty, president of Associated Travel in Santa Ana, said that for the last several weeks, his agency has steered customers away from financially weak airlines, including Continental.

“For most destinations, there are alternatives (to Continental),” Nulty said. Continental ticket sales by his agency have dropped 40% in the last month, he said; they account for less than 5% of his agency’s sales volume.

Travel agents said that, with many flights on all airlines booked for the Christmas holidays, Continental customers may have no choice but to hang on to their tickets and hope for the best.

“People may just have to trust the system and hope it works,” said Tim Smith, owner of San Diego Travel Group.