weather

Travel Tidbits from Airports Near You

Flooding at EWR Airport

Awful flooding images from the Northeast Wednesday evening. This one shows flooding inside Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

More airports getting robots to help deliver meals

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) now has a two-wheeled, semiautonomous robot named NomNom helping to deliver food and beverage ordered online as part of the www.LAXOrderNow.com program.

NomNom is a cargo robot that can carry up to 40 pounds of food at a time. It follows behind delivery staff from AtYourGate, which delivers food ordered via LAX Order Now. The robot can move at speeds up to 6 mph and uses a series of cameras and sensors to recognize and follow its handler throughout the airport.

Alaska Airlines’ New Lounge at SFO

The new Alaska Airlines lounge in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has some amenities we’re very anxious to see in person. In addition to serving Bay Area brews and wines from local vineyards, the lounge has a sourdough toast cart (!), a candy bar that includes Ghirardelli chocolate, Jelly Belly beans, and custom fortune cookies from Oakland Fortune Cookie Factory. There’s even a San Francisco Giants-themed children’s play area. The photos below are from Alaska Airlines; we’re going to have to visit in person to get our own.

Winter storm Jupiter wreaks havoc with travel

Winter storm Jupiter and assorted ice storms around the country are wreaking havoc with air travel this week and there are travel alerts galore from the airlines.

If you’ve got a trip planned, be sure to check your airlines’ website, sign up for travel alerts and subscribe to the Twitter feeds of your airline and of the airports you’re starting from – and heading for.

Here are some of the travel alerts posted as of Thursday evening, Jan. 12.

Most airlines will waive changes fees and the difference in the price of the ticket if you book new travel to or from the affected cities in the same cabin in the next week or so and/or refund the price of your ticket if you choose not to travel.  Check your airlines’ website for details.

Alaska Airlines has an alert posted for travel to or from Omaha, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and St. Louis for January 13-15.

There are at least 17 cities affected American Airlines’ travel alert for January 15-16, including

  • Buffalo, New York (BUF)
  • Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID)
  • Central Wisconsin, Wisconsin (CWA)
  • Des Moines, Iowa (DSM)
  • Dubuque, Iowa (DBQ)
  • Green Bay, Wisconsin (GRB)
  • Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR)
  • Kansas City, Missouri (MCI)
  • La Crosse, Wisconsin (LSE)
  • Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE)
  • Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota (MSP)
  • Omaha, Nebraska (OMA)
  • Rochester, Minnesota (RST)
  • Sioux City, Iowa (SUX)
  • Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)
  • Wichita, Kansas (ICT)

The travel alert for Delta Air Lines also covers 17 cities, for travel January 13-15:

Baltimore (BWI), Bloomington, IL (BMI), Charleston, WV (CRW), Cincinnati, OH (CVG), Columbus, OH (CMH), Dayton, OH (DAY), Indianapolis, IN (IND), Kansas City, MO (MCI), Oklahoma City, OK (OKC), Peoria, IL (PIA), Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Springfield, MO (SGF), St. Louis, MO (STL), Tulsa, OK (TUL), Washington Dulles, DC (IAD), Washington Reagan, DC (DCA) and Wichita, KS (ICT)

JetBlue’s  travel waiver covers Cleveland (CLE), Philadelphia (PHL), Pittsburgh (PIT) and the airports in the D.C. metro area for travel January 13-15.

More than 20 cities are affected by Southwest Airlines’ travel alert for flights scheduled between January 13 and 16  (dates vary by city) and United Airlines  has a travel alert posted for flights scheduled January 13 -15 to for from these cities:

  • Amarillo, TX (AMA)
  • Charleston, WV (CRW)
  • Charlottesville, VA (CHO)
  • Cincinnati, OH (CVG)
  • Columbus, OH (CMH)
  • Dayton, OH (DAY)
  • Evansville, IN (EVV)
  • Indianapolis, IN (IND)
  • Kansas City, MO (MCI)
  • Lubbock, TX (LBB)
  • Oklahoma City, OK (OKC)
  • Paducah, KY (PAH)
  • Peoria, IL (PIA)
  • Springfield, IL (SPI)
  • Springfield, MO (SGF)
  • St. Louis, MO (STL)
  • Tulsa, OK (TUL)
  • Wichita, KS (ICT)

If you can rearrange your plans and stay out of the path of the storm and out of the airports that will be experiencing delays and cancellations, do it!

Travel Waivers for Tropical Storm Colin

(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)

(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)

Tropical Storm Colin is bearing down on Florida and many airlines are offering travel waivers to passengers who want to stay clear of the area.

Here are links to travel waiver policies for

American Airlines: for travel to/through or from Fort Myers, FL (RSW), Gainesville, FL (GNV), Jacksonville, FL (JAX), Sarasota, FL (SRQ), Tallahassee, FL (TLH) and Tampa, FL (TPA). Travel waiver was for those with tickets to travel June 6, 2016, but policy posted was only current as of June 5, so check if you are traveling June 7 or later).

Delta Airlines:: for travel to/from or through: Brunswick, GA(BQK), Charleston, SC (CHS), Fort Myers, FL (RSW), Gainesville, FL (GNV), Jacksonville, FL (JAX), Key West, FL (EYW), Sarasota, FL (SRQ), Savannah, GA (SAV), Tallahassee, FL (TLH), Tampa, FL (TPA). Travel alert currently includes ticketed flights on June 7, for travel rebooked by June 11.

JetBlue : affected cities include Daytona Beach, FL (DAB), Charleston, SC (CHS), Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL), Fort Myers, FL (RSW), Jacksonville, FL (JAX), Orlando, FL (MCO), Sarasota, FL (SRQ), Savannah, GA (SAV), Tampa, FL (TPA), West Palm Beach, FL (PBI). Travel alerts includes trips booked through June 7, with rebooked no change fee travel dates offered through June 12.

Spirit Airlines and United Airlines also have travel alerts posted for Tropical Storm Colin and updates may be posted for all these airlines later today.

Stockholm Airport’s Climate Portal

arlanda

Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport has created a “Climate Portal” to give passengers a preview of the weather at their destination – or at a destination they might want to book for a future trip.

The portal has three rooms – titled HOT, COLD and BIG – that use sound and image technology plus wind and temperature simulations to somehow transform online weather data into the physical experiences of being in various cities.

Here’s a short video the Arlanda Airport put together to explain:

Why create a weather portal at the airport when passengers are about to board planes which are already portals to new places?

It’s fun, of course, but as airport representatives point out, a weather preview is also a good reminder that you may need to do a bit of last minute shopping for sunscreen for that warm weather destination.

Look for Arlanda’s Climate Portal in Terminal 5, near Gate F26,  through August 31.

Flights canceled as blizzard heads for the Northeast

Snowstorm

Airlines have already canceled thousands of flights to, through and from the northeast and other parts of the country today in advance of a giant storm expected to break snowfall records.

Change fee waivers for flights scheduled through Wednesday have are also being offered by many airlines.

Here’s a list of links to many airline travel alerts.

Air Canada

Alaska Airlines


American Airlines

Delta Air Lines


Frontier Airlines

Jet Blue

Porter Airlines


Southwest


United Airlines


US Airways


Virgin America

WestJet

Many international flights scheduled to arrive in the United States on the east coast are going to be canceled or diverted as well, so be sure to check with your airline before heading out.