Cancellations

Recovering from that power outage at Atlanta Int’l Airport

Cancellations, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, ,

Updated: Monday morninng, December 18

The power went back on at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International around midnight last night after a fire in an underground faclity knocked out power airport-wide around 1 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday all operations at the airport ground to a halt with thousands of passenger stuck inside the terminal into darkness and on planes.

Delta alone canceled more than 1,000 fllights and hundreds of other had to be diverted or held on the ground at their departure cities. At least 300 Delta flights are already canceled for today.

 

Getting everything back in order and everyone to their intended destination will be a mess as we head into a busy holiday travel week.

Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, JetBlue,  Southwest and United Airlines are among the airlines posting alerts about refunds and change fee waivers as a result of this event.

As always, check with you airline before heading to the airport for a flight that may be affected by this incident.

 

Storm Nemo on the way; airlines waive change fees

Cancellations, Weather, , ,

Snowglobe

Updated: February 7, 2013

Another winter storm – named Nemo – is on the way and airlines are getting ready for it by issuing weather-related fee waivers and encouraging travelers to change their flight dates, postpone travel or re-route their trips to and from a long list of cities in the northeast.

Here’s are links to most of the airline waiver policies:

Air Tran

Air Canada

American Airlines

Delta Air Lines

Hawaiian Airlines

JetBlue

Porter Airlines


Southwest Airlines

United Airlines

US Airways


WestJet

Volcano closes airports; but doors are open in Denver

Air Travel, Architecture, Cancellations, Events, Exhibits, , , , , ,

If I could fly somewhere this weekend, I’d choose Iceland for the chance to see for myself what that volcano is doing. But since the ash has caused the worst disruption in air travel since 9/11, that’s not going to happen.

Photo courtesy Craig Murphy, via Flickr

OK, so Iceland, and pretty much everyplace else in Europe, is out.

But if I could fly anywhere in the United States this weekend, I’d choose Denver.

There’s no volcano erupting there, but this weekend the city is hosting Doors Open Denver – a free event that offers a look inside dozens of buildings around town that are usually closed to the public.  My column on msnbc.com this week, Welcome! The Door is open, includes a run-down of half a dozen cities that host this sort of event, but here’s a preview, along with some photos that didn’t make it into the posted story.

(Photo by Gregory Thow)

Billed as a celebration of the city’s built environment and design, the 6th annual Doors Open Denver takes place April 17-18 and includes 80 to 90 buildings around town that are usually off-limits to the public. This year’s theme is adaptive re-use so you’ll get to see many old buildings being used in creative new ways.

This year, participating sites include the city’s old main post office, which has been turned into a high-security federal courthouse; a restored mansion that serves as the Colorado Governor’s Residence; a theater in a former mortuary; a Yellow Cab garage that now houses businesses and residential units; and the Historic Sugar Building, which was built in 1906 as the headquarters for the Great Western Sugar Company and now houses office and retail space, and two original Otis cage elevators.

One sure-to-be-popular site is the Daniels & Fisher Tower, which was once the tallest building in Denver. The Italian Renaissance Tower has a restored lobby with marble floors and walls and a 17th floor boasting a giant clock-face and a balcony that offers great 360-degree views of the city, the surrounding plains and the mountains.

(Courtesy: Gregory Thow)

More doors opened
If you can’t make it to Denver this weekend, don’t worry. Doors at many other usually off-limits locations will soon be opening in cities throughout North America, including Toronto, New York, Chicago, and in Lowell, Mass.

May 13-15 are the dates for the 9th annual Doors Open Lowell event, which will feature everything from reclaimed and restored mill buildings to a 1920’s classical revival Masonic Temple with curious chambers and meeting rooms, and the subterranean space that once housed giant turbines for a power plant that ran a local mill.

During Doors Open Toronto, held on May 29-30, 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and/or social significance will be open to the public. Highlights include: Toronto’s City Hall, which offers self-guided tours of the Rotunda, the Council Chambers and the Observation Deck, and the five-story red brick Toronto Flatiron Building, which pre-dates New York City’s famous Flatiron building by about ten years. Also open to the public will be the Canada Life building, which has a weather beacon and a 17th floor tower room offering a panoramic view of downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario, as well as the restored circa-1920 Canon Theater — once the largest and most elegant vaudeville and motion picture palace in Canada.

Mark your calendars: New York hosts Open House New York on Oct. 9-10, with more than 200 sites participating throughout all five city boroughs, including the Woolworth Building, Radio City Music Hall and the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, which is accessed not by a door, but by a manhole.

(Courtesy Jeffrey Donenfeld)

Guide to airline ‘swine flu’ refunds

Cancellations, Fees, Rules,

question-markIf you’re still trying to figure out whether or not you’re going to take that scheduled trip to Mexico, one of the variables is certainly the policy set forth by your airline.  Will they refund your ticket price? Waive the change fee? Allow you to go Montreal instead of Mexico City?question-markDuring the initial flu-frenzy, many airlines set and then revised their policies, in most cases extending the dates during which they’d waive change fees.

For a round-up of the airline swine flu change policies as of Friday, May 1st, 2009, see this handy chart put together by the folks at Airfarewatchdog.com.

Keep in mind, though, that policies might be in flux and that many airlines have announced significant cuts in their scheduled flights to and from Mexico even since this list was put together.

So, as always, the advice is – check your airline’s Web site and/or call to get the latest information.  Then – check again.

Source: Airfarewatchdog.com May 1, 2009

Airline

Original Travel Dates

Changes allowed during these dates

Voucher valid for alternate destination?

Comments
Aeromexico 4/24 – 12/10/09 4/24 – 5/15/09 Not Specified A US$150 fee for No Shows may apply for some Intl cities.
Air Canada 4/28 – 5/31/09 Up to 5/31/09 Not Specified Suspending all operations to Cancun, Cozumel, and Puerto Vallarta until June 1st.
Air Tran 4/29 – 5/15/09 4/29 – 5/15/09 Not Specified Call AirTran directly to change travel to/from Cancun.
Alaska 4/27 – 5/20/09 4/27 – 5/20/09 Yes Possible credit if new destination fare is lower than original ticket.
American 4/25 – 5/31/09 Not Specified Yes Non-refundable fares will be refunded via a travel voucher.
Continental 4/24 – 5/31/09 Not Specified Yes If traveling on a OnePass Reward, call Continental to rebook.
Copa 4/24 – 5/15/09 Not Specified Yes Add’l fees may apply for revised itineraries starting May 30th and beyond.
Delta 4/26 – 5/16/09 Not Specified Call Delta Canceled ticket may be used to purchase a new ticket good for travel one year from original travel date.
Frontier 4/27 – 5/16/09 4/27 – 5/16/09 Not specified Those already enroute to Mexico, your adjusted return date must occur by May 20th. Otherwise, revised travel must be completed within 30 days of original travel date.
JetBlue 4/25 – 5/15/09 5/01 – 5/15/09 Yes Revised travel dates must occur no later than May 20th.
Mexicana 4/24 – 5/06/09 Not Specified Not Specified Refund by travel voucher valid for one year from date of issue.
Northwest 4/26 – 5/16/09 Not Specified Not Specified Use NWA.com “Mange My Reservations” to change your flight.
Spirit 4/24 – 5/15/09 Not Specified Yes Non-refundable fares will be refunded via travel voucher, good for one year from original ticket’s date of issue.
Sun Country 4/27 – 5/16/09 Not Specified No Starting 4/29/09, those passengers departing Cancun will undergo a breif temperature and flu symptom check.
Taca 4/24 – 5/06/09 Not Specified Yes New travel dates must occur within one year excluding Dec. 10-24, 2009 and Jan. 2-10, 2010.
United 4/26 – 5/31/09 Not Specified Not Specified Call United to make any changes to your purchased ticket.
US Airways 4/24 – 5/31/09 Not Specified Yes If changing destination, travel must originate within 14 days of original departure date. US Airways has revised its policy and now allows departure after 14 days from original departure date but does not specify when alternate travel must be completed by (most likely within one year of original departure).
USA3000 4/25 – 5/13/09 Not Specified Yes Revised travel must end by Dec. 15, 2009.
WestJet 4/28 – 6/20/09 Not Specified Will provide full refund Service to Mexico ends 5/4/09. Flights resume 6/20/09.

Tidbits for travelers: Swine flu, busted baggage handlers, & fresh art

Baggage, Cancellations, Health, Theft, , , , ,

So many people are canceling trips to Mexico because of worries over swine flu that United Airlines and Continental Airlines are significantly cutting out flights to that country. No doubt other airlines will also cut flights, so if you’ve postponed your Mexico trip, check back with the airline to see if you need to change plans again.

For more details about the cuts, see this article in the Chicago Tribune and this article in the Wall St. Journal.

aiga_baggage_check_in1And after you read some of the details about a Northwest Airlines luggage theft ring busted at Oregon’s Portland International Airport, you’ll probably want to figure out how take that next trip with just a carry-on bag.

And – just so this isn’t a post full of bad news – the Miami International Airport officially opened the new South Terminal Art Gallery with a new program called Hand Made, which will feature handcrafts from around the world.

mia-siesta-one

The first exhibition is Siesta, a collection of hand-woven products featuring ceremonial hammocks and bags by the Wayuu people from the region of La Guajira in northern Colombia.

mia-siesta-two

Restless Mt. Redoubt nixes more flights

Cancellations, Weather,

Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt just won’t settle down.  Here’s a Twitter-ed update Alaska Airlines sent out Tuesday about the impact of volcano eruptions on flights:

Nighttime flts in/out of ANC canceled due to Mt. Redoubt. Check flt status in a.m. b/4 leaving home…

This is getting sort of old. Flights into and out of ANC has been canceled repeatedly over the past week.  In fact, as of Monday, Alaska Airlines had canceled more than 250 flights since March 22, affecting more than 10,000 passengers and leaving folks stuck in airports such as Seattle, Phoenix and, of course, Anchorage.

According to this KTUU.com report, those stranded passengers include the Alaska Aces hockey team, which had been scheduled to fly back from Phoenix but has decided to stay in the Lower 48 rather than risk getting stuck in Anchorage and not be able to play at Utah this weekend

Mt Redoubt

In the meantime, they’re getting some great photos!

Mt. Redoubt- March 30th. Photo by Heather Bleick; courtesy of the Alaska Volcano Observatory / U.S. Geological Survey.

Mt. Redoubt, tornadoes, snow nix flights

Cancellations, Safety, Weather,

Due to a mid-morning eruption (re-eruption?) of Mt. Redoubt, Alaska Airlines has suspended all flights into and out of Anchorage, at least until early Friday morning.

Volcano ash is serious stuff; it can limit visibility and ruin engines.  So the airline is taking no chances: 45 flights were canceled earlier this week due to previous eruptions from Mt. Redoubt, leaving more than 4,000 travelers stuck at the airport, at home, or somewhere they didn’t plan to be.

alaska-volcano-2

If you’re scheduled to fly to or from Alaska, check in with alaskaair.com or 1-800-ALASKAAIR.  In the meantime, you might want to follow the mountain’s activities on the Alaska Volcano Observatory Web site.  It has photos, seismic graphs, airport flight status reports, and instructions for collecting ash fall – finally another use for those Ziploc bags!

(Photograph of Mt. Redoubt taken from Diamond Ridge near Homer, by Dennis Anderson. At 9:50 Am  March 26, 2009)

Folks are also ending up stuck at airports all across the country today due to snow in Denver and tornado activity in the south, so if you’re going anywhere, be sure to check in with your airline before you leave the house.

Flights canceled due to volcano

Cancellations, Weather, ,

Due to all the volcanic ash in the air caused by the eruption of Mt. Redoubt, Alaska Airlines today canceled flights in and out of the Alaska cities of Fairbanks, Bethel, Prudhoe Bay, Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow.

The airline is still operating flights south of Anchorage and throughout Southeast Alaska, but says that may change as all the routes get revaluated.

To find out about refunds and rebooking, be sure to contact the airline as soon as possible. You can also keep track of their updates on Twitter.

Sometimes, when airlines say a delay or cancellation is due to weather, we don’t believe it.  But I don’t think anyone can make a case against this ash-cancellation.

alaska-volcano

Image courtesy Heather Bleick and Alaska Volcano Observatory / U.S. Geological Survey