Weather

Winter storm Jupiter wreaks havoc with travel

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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!

Airlines + you = hurricane aid

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hurricane-matthew-weather-channel

Courtesy the Weather Channel

As Hurricane Matthew continues to pound the southeast U.S. coast, airlines are joining in to encourage everyone to donate funds to help out those affected by the storm.

American Airlines – which has canceled thousands of flights this past week due to the storm – works with the Red Cross year-round and, though Oct. 31, 2016 is giving AAdvantage members who donate $50-$100 to the Red Cross a thank-you of 250 AAdvantage miles. Those who donate $100 or more will receive a 500 AAdvantage miles award.

Details on the American Airlines offer are available here.

United Airlines is also offering some thank-you miles in exchange for your donations to help with hurricane relief efforts:

The carrier is partnering with the Red Cross, Americares, Airlink and OperationUSA and is making five million bonus miles available on a match basis to MileagePlus customers who donate to these organizations through the online donations platform, CrowdRise.

Enter your MileagePlus number when you make your donation, and you can receive miles based on the size of your gift:

·Donate $50-$99 – Earn 250 bonus miles
·Donate $100-$249 – Earn 500 bonus miles
·Donate $250 or more – Earn 1,000 bonus miles.

United’s offer is available on a first-come, first-served basis for donations made here.

Hurricane Matthew wreaking travel havoc

Weather
(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)

(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)

As Hurrican Matthew churns its way north, airlines are cancelling flights and offering travel waivers and airports are taking the unusual step of closing for parts of the day.

Noting that many airlines already suspended service Wednesday evening, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport announced that it will close at 10:30 am on Thursday morning and “resume service as soon as possible after the hurricane has left the area.”

Wednesday evening Miami International Airport had this notice on its site:

Waivers offered by airlines are expanding:

Here are links to some of the policies posted by other airlines Wednesday evening.

Alaska Airlines

Allegiant Airlines

Delta Air Lines

Frontier Airlines
JetBlue

Spirit Airlines

United Airlines

Travel Waivers for Tropical Storm Colin

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(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.

What to do if you’re stuck at the airport

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Pittsburgh Airport clearing snow

After canceling thousands of flights over the weekend due to a giant blizzard, airlines will attempt to get passengers back in the air and to their destinations on Monday.

But more than 1,300 flights are canceled across the country today and a lot of people will likely find themselves without canceled flights, but still stuck at the airport.

Here are two things to do if you’re left at the gate with time on your hands.

1. Explore.

SFO MUSEUM FOOTBALL HELMET

Lots of airports have art exhibits displaying the work of national or local artists. Some have full-blown aviation museums (SFO & MKE), and many have an exhibit case or two filled with tidbits of local history. San Francisco International Airport has both an aviation museum and an exhibit program that mounts 20 exhibits around the airport at any one time.

Right now the SFO Museum has exhibits about football, vintage purses and Toy Story.

Aliens - Courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios

Aliens – Courtesy of Pixar Animation Studios

2. Eat

Wow Bao - a new Asian cuisine option in Terminal 5 at ORD_photo Harriet Baskas

While you weren’t paying attention, airports across the country have upped their game when it comes to food. Take a walk, inspect all the menus and take yourself out for a nice meal.

And if you’re lucky enough to be stuck in Chicago at O’Hare or Midway Airports, keep in mind that both airports are celebrating Airport Restaurant Week through February 2.

Blizzard brings #AirportSnowdown

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Airlines have canceled thousands of flights in response to the blizzard roaring up the east coast, leaving some airports pretty empty, with nothing to do but clear the snow from the runways and engage in an on-line throwdown tagged, appropriately enough as an #AirportSnowdown

Blizzard = 1000s of canceled flights

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Snowstorm

In advance of a projected historic winter blizzard, airlines have canceled more than 2,300 flights for today and shut down operations in many airports entirely.

The story will repeat tomorrow.

Here’s FlightAware’s Misery Map from this morning, showing Charlotte with most canceled flights – but it will just get worse – much worse – throughout the day.

Misery Map clip

Best advice: don’t even chance getting stuck at the airport today. Take your airline’s offer to change your flight. Stay home. Stay warm. And, if you’re in a place where the blizzard hits – check on your neighbors.

 

Airlines waive change fees as Winter Storm Jonas nears

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Snowglobe

 

Winter storm Jonas is headed for the east coast and is expected to disrupt travel throughout the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast – and beyond – beginning Friday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and is monitoring the possible impacts of the storm, which are expected to include heavy snow extending from Washington, D.C. to New York and Boston from Friday through Sunday.

“Based on the anticipated storm track, as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible near and northwest of I-95,” the NWS said Wednesday morning its website.

Airports are readying their snow removal equipment and airlines are posting travel alerts. As always, it is best to check your airline’s website and mobile app for the latest updates and alerts and do the same for conditions and advisories from any airports you will be traveling to or through.

During events like this, most airlines will issue travel alerts offering passengers the option to cancel or change their travel plans with no change-fee penalties for certain days and for those traveling to, from or though certain cities.

The American Airlines travel alert relaxes change fee policies for travel to/from or through 40 airports.

One time ticketing fees will be waived for changes made for ticketed travel January 22 to January 24 if it occurs instead January 20 to January 26, 2016.

Delta Air Lines’ Northeast Winter Weather advisory, reminds passengers that if their flights are canceled or significantly delayed, they are entitled to a refund. For travelers with flights scheduled January 24-26, the airline is allowing a one-time change to your ticket, without a fee, if travel is rebooked to begin by January 27, 2016.

Cities/airports included in Delta’s travel alert are Allentown, PA (ABE), BWI, BOS, Charleston, WV (CRW), Charlottesville, VA (CHO), Harrisburg, PA (MDT), JFK, LGA, Newark (EWR), Newburgh, NY (SFW), PHL, Providence, RI (PVD), Richmond, VA (RIC), Roanoke, VA (ROA), Scranton, PA (AVP), Washington’s Dulles and Reagan National Airports, and White Plains, NY (HPN).

Frontier Airline’s storm alert covers travel from Thursday, January 21 through Sunday, January 24 to/from and through Philadelphia (PHL), Trenton-Mercer, NJ (TTN), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Washington’s Dulles and Reagan National Airports, Charlotte, NC (CLT), Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) and Greensboro, NC (GSO).

JetBlue is waiving change and cancel fees and difference in airfare for passengers scheduled to travel Friday, January 22 and Saturday January 23, 2015, to or from BWI, Richmond, VA (RIC) and Washington’s Dulles and Reagan National Airports. The airline’s alert says customers may rebook flights for travel through Friday, January 29, 2016 and that customers with canceled flight can opt for a refund instead.

Southwest Airlines is advising that customers holding reservations for travel to/from/through Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Boston, Long Island Islip (ISP), Newark, New York LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Providence (PVD), Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National (DCA) on Friday, January 22 through Saturday, January 23 are eligible to reschedule their flights in accordance with the carrier’s accommodation procedures.

United Airlines’ travel waiver advisory covers a long list of east coast cities and ticketed travel from January 22 through January 24. “The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new flights departing on or before January 20-27, 2016, as long as travel is rescheduled in the same cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed,” the carrier notes on its website.

 

Airlines offer Hurricane Joaquin fee waivers

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Hurricane

As Hurricane Joaquin continues to swirl, some airlines are offering waivers on cancellation and change fees to customers who want to adjust their flight plans.

Right now, some travel alerts just mention flights to or from the Bahamas; others reach beyond that. As always, check with your airline for the most recent policy updates.

American Airlines

Dela Air Lines

Jet Blue

Southwest Airlines

Hurricane image

 

Stockholm Airport’s Climate Portal

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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.