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Airlines struggle to resume schedule after snow storm
American Airlines plane being deiced after snow storm hits the East Coast.
Happy Monday!
Wow! We’ve seen the pictures, and I think it’s safe to say that the weather forecast proved true. Two or more feet of snow landed on the East Coast over the weekend, and airports are slowly trying to get those flight schedules back on course as they clear ice off the runway.
Sad to say, but even today might not be a good time to take that flight out. Airports in that region are packed. You may want to go and see for yourself, just to be sure. The FTS team does not have anyone reporting directly to us from the East Coast about the latest. Just in case you decide to give it a shot only to find that you’d rather wait a day or two, ask the airline about waiving your change fee. Many of them are granting this option.
USA Today | Today in the Sky | Ben Mutzabaugh
UPDATED – 10:15 a.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 8: The three airports serving the Washington and Baltimore metro region are still struggling to return service. Flights remain grounded Washington Reagan National as work continues to clear snow and ice. The Associated Press writes the airport “is slated to reopen at 10 a.m. Monday, with flights operating on a limited basis. ”
At Washington Dulles, flights have resumed, but on a very limited schedule. Only about 100 flights out of normal schedule of roughly 700 are expected to operate today, according to NBC 4 of Washington. Adding to fliers’ woes: Washington’s Metro is not yet running to National Airport or to the station that offers Washington Flyer bus service to Dulles.
At Baltimore/Washington International, the airport says it opened one runway at 5 p.m. Sunday, though very few flights have resumed there. BWI says on its website that “airline delays and cancellations will likely continue in to Monday morning. Travelers are advised to check with their airlines to confirm flight status BEFORE heading to Airport. Passengers are encouraged to rebook travel by telephone or airline website, rather than coming to Airport.” (READ MORE)
Airlines ground flights in preparation for major snow storm on the East Coast
Hello FTS readers!
Source: flickr
If you are planning to take a flight out today or tomorrow, reschedule. The East Coast is expected to receive about two feet of snow today, which will affect several flight schedules. If you are optimistic about your travel plans, be sure to check with your airline before you head to the airport. You can even use the handy dandy Flight Stats map in the LEFT column of this blog.
Just follow the arrow!
If you must brave the winter storm in hopes of your flight taking off, be sure to pack an extra set of patience and fun stuff for the kids.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Get the latest about the snow dump here.
Parents say “packing light” is not the solution to hassle-free air travel
Source: US News.com
It seems parents who travel with their children are lashing out at family travel bloggers and Budget Travel online. According to the website, parents are tired of hearing the useless suggestion to “just pack light” in order to avoid baggage fees or lost luggage.
While I do agree that it is often best to pack light or ship your important items ahead of you, I think we, the family travel experts, should come up with a better, more effective solution for families who travel by air.
Budget Travel | Sean O’Neill
An interesting discussion broke out in the comments on our recent post about whether shipping your bags to your destination is smart.
It began with this comment from G:
“Every time there is a post like this, someone chimes in with the useless comment that I should travel lighter.
Well, I travel with two car seats, a stroller, two children, two adults and we travel internationally and stay for weeks.
We actually come with a few empty bags (to buy the great bargains in the US for my children’s feet, especially) but really—a DSLR, three compact cameras, a netbook, a Macbook, a large business required Dell laptop, two Nintendo DS, a bunch of coloring books, dolls and the Kindle (which has lightened my load) as well as chargers and adapters.
Do these folks have any idea what it’s like to travel as a family?…”
Fresh cookies equals sweet success when attracting family travelers
This is a small, yet effective marketing strategy that I share with all of my family travel clients.
Fresh-baked cookies…fill the air with them!
I remember when me and my family visited The Mirror Lake Inn in upstate New York. Everyday at 3 p.m., they would serve warm cookies and coffee or tea in the lobby. OMG! I can’t begin to tell you what an impact that made on our three-day experience. My husband and I were like little kids waiting by the oven for those cookies to come out.
I’ve been sold ever since. Now, I always tell my clients, ‘don’t even think about adding family programs until you’ve got the F*R*E*E warm cookie program down pat.’ For example–
hotels: fresh cookies at the front desk
resorts: three fresh cookies on a serving tray, wrapped in a beautiful cellaphane bag, tied with a beautiful ribbon and a welcome note, especially for the kids
restaurants: have an employee, with a great attitude, walk around and pass out warm chocolate chip cookies to all the kids in the place, and a sticker or two wouldn’t hurt, either
It absolutely amazes me how something so simple, can have a HUGE impact on the family travel experience.
Today’s article proves my point.
USA Today Travel | Hariett Baskas
It started with a smell.Larry Thompson arrived at Fort Wayne International Airport one day back in 1988, walked out the front door of the small terminal and took a deep breath. “Instead of smelling jet fuel,” he remembers, “I smelled the cookies from the bakery across the street.”
The aroma gave Thompson a reassuring, “welcome home” feel. So when the airport marketing committee needed a low-cost way to promote the facility, Thompson suggested a campaign involving those cookies. Phone calls were made. A bulk cookie order was placed. And soon volunteers armed with goody-filled wicker baskets were on duty inside the terminal offering arriving passengers an enthusiastic “Welcome to Fort Wayne” greeting – and a complimentary, individually-wrapped, locally-baked cookie.
More than ten years later; volunteers at Fort Wayne International Airport still give out free cookies; up to 100,000 a year. And this past December, TV crews and well-wishers were on hand when volunteers presented the airport’s millionth free cookie to an unsuspecting, but appreciative passenger. Arriving home on a snowy day after a trip to Florida with her husband, Fort Wayne resident Lorraine Leach not only got a free snack, but a prize package that included 25,000 airline frequent flier miles, locally-made gourmet chocolates and, of course, a big box of the airport’s signature sugar cookies.
Do cookies = customers? (READ MORE)
Family travelers urged to get to the airport extra early
Source: telegraph.co.uk
It’s really no surprise. Airlines have always overbooked their flights, just in case passengers don’t show up. It’s actually a great strategy, well, until now.
More airlines are bumping confirmed passengers today, due to low numbers in air travel. Airlines are under more pressure to fill the planes to the max. The minute it’s time to board and your family is nowhere to be found, you can expect to lose those seats. I’ve actually had this happen to me a few years ago. Luckily, I was flying solo, but it wasn’t pretty.
My advice to avoid being bumped, get to the airport extra early, two hours before the departure of a domestic flight and four hours before the departure of an international flight. I’ve found it just makes for a better prelude to a family trip when you arrive at the airport early enough to get your bags checked, get through security, let the kids play, grab a coffee, go to the restroom and be at peace, instead of stressed out about missing the flight or getting bumped.
Los Angeles Times | Hugo Martin
Based on the numbers, America’s major airlines are doing a better job of getting us to our destinations on time and with our luggage in tow — assuming we can get on the flights.
Not only is the rate of lost luggage lower than it has been in years, the on-time performance for the nation’s biggest airlines reached a record 88.6% in November, the best rate since the Bureau of Transportation Statistics began keeping track of the numbers in 1987.
But there is a growing trend that spells trouble for travelers: More passengers are getting bumped from flights.
In the first nine months of 2009, the rate of ticketed passengers who were denied boarding was 1.22 per 10,000 travelers, compared with 1.12 in the same period in 2008.
That equates to nearly 54,000 passengers involuntarily bumped in the first nine months of 2009, up from about 47,000 fliers in the same period in 2008.
The bumping increase is largely a result of the slumping economy, which has reduced airline demand and prompted carriers to eliminate flights and fill planes to the max — or beyond. Indeed, it is no secret that airlines routinely overbook planes because they expect that some passengers won’t show up for a flight.
“The carriers overbook to account for the no-show factor,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., a trade organization of the nation’s largest airlines. “Airline seats are perishable, and once the seat has left the terminal the opportunity to sell it is gone.” (READ MORE)
UPDATE: Infant recently released from Michigan hospital
As I posted this story, the update popped into my inbox…
UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (AP) — A medical examiner’s report says the infant boy who died after he stopped breathing on a United Airlines flight had been discharged from a Michigan hospital earlier in the day.
The report says 2-month-old Jensen Provencial was flying home to Mission, S.D., with his parents after he was discharged from University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., Wednesday.
The investigator’s report says the infant was born with a congenital heart defect and had spent most of his short life in the hospital.
A passenger on the flight from Detroit to Denver tried to revive the child while the plane made an emergency landing in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office says an autopsy could be done Thursday.
Source: The Associated Press
Infant dies on United Airlines flight, autopsy scheduled
The infant was flying with his parents on a flight from Detroit to Denver on Wednesday about 4 p.m. when he stopped breathing. A passenger on the plane began CPR, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
According to officials, there were no signs of foul play. This is so sad.
USA Today | Today in the Sky
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a 2-month-old boy has died after he stopped breathing on a United Airlines flight that made an emergency landing in Milwaukee.Milwaukee County sheriff’s Sgt. Philip Wentzel said Thursday the infant was with his parents on a flight from Detroit to Denver Wednesday about 4 p.m. when he stopped breathing. A passenger on the plane began CPR, which paramedics resumed once the aircraft landed in Milwaukee, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Wentzel says the family is from South Dakota. He says there are no signs of foul play. An autopsy is expected to be done Thursday in Milwaukee.
United Airlines spokesman Charles Hobart confirmed a flight operated by SkyWest was diverted to Milwaukee because of an ill traveler and later continued to its destination in Denver. Hobart says 64 passengers were on board. (READ MORE)
High winds and winter storms cause some travel delays
Before you head to the airport, check to see whether your flight has been delayed. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport reported that their flights won’t take off until this evening, due to severe weather conditions.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says airlines are opting to cancel flights because of expected very strong crosswinds.
At FTS, we’ve made checking your flight status more convienent. Check out the new tool, in the left column of this blog below my travel picks, to see if your flight is on schedule.
Have a safe trip!
Pilot’s emergency stop before take off, protected by runway safety zone
I tell you, there are some strange things happening among airlines these days.
A US Airways Express Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet came to a sudden halt from take off, just at the end of the runway on Tuesday. Passengers described the incident as a sudden slam on brakes.
To the pilot’s credit, he did what he had been trained to do, but my goodness! How scary was this for children and adults, alike on this flight? Fortunately, none of the 31 passengers on the Charlotte-bound flight were injured.
USA Today in the Sky | Ben Mutzabaugh
A runway safety system is being credited with preventing “a catastrophic tragedy” yesterday at Yeager Airport in the West Virginia capital of Charleston. The incident occurred around 4:20 p.m. ET yesterday when a US Airways Express Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet aborted takeoff at the last second, coming to a stop just before a steep drop at the end of the airport’s runway.
“We were taking off on the runway, (the pilot) was going at full speed,” 21-year-old college student Lindsey Robinson tells the Charleston Daily Mail. “All of a sudden he put on the brakes, and the plane was engulfed in smoke and debris.” The jet stopped about 100 feet short of the end of the runway, which sits above a valley overlooking the Kanawha River and the city of Charleston, according to The Charlotte Observer.
“If it hadn’t been for the EMAS, I’m convinced a catastrophic accident would have occurred,” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper tells The Charleston Gazette. (READ MORE)
New year promises cloud with a silver lining for air travel
www.mediabistro.com
Air travel has been, without a doubt, more stressful for many family travelers over the last few weeks. According to today’s report, air travel is looking up for passengers, well, in some areas.
USA Today Travel | David Grossman
In recent years, surging oil prices, airline bankruptcies and consolidation, terrorist bomb plots, invasive security procedures, pandemic scares, ancillary airline ticket fees and the deepest recession in decades have transformed business travel into a Darwinian struggle for survival. Once the havoc created by the recent attempt to bring down a U.S. jetliner abates, 2010 may prove to be a less turbulent and more benign year for air travelers. Barring the return of the H1N1 flu, an unexpected oil price surge or another unforeseen crisis, air travel may even hold a few bright spots in the coming year. Here are eight factors likely to affect air travel for business travelers in 2010.
Capacity changes in a gradual economic recovery
To combat the recession, many corporations slashed travel budgets by as much as 30% and downgraded travelers from first or business class to coach. In response, U.S. airlines reduced domestic capacity by nearly 11% and international capacity by 7% according to the Air Transport Association.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects the world’s airlines lost $11 billion in 2009 and will lose another $5.6 billion in 2010. Despite these horrific losses, IATA believes the worst may be over as passenger demand is slowly rising again. Airline passenger traffic has now reached the halfway point between its highest peak in early 2008 and its lowest levels in early 2009. (READ MORE)
