Weather

The weather outside is… still frightful

February 23, 2015Harriet BaskasWeather

This winter is just not letting go!

Late Sunday evening, FlightAware reported more than 1,100 flights canceled for the day and almost as many canceled for Monday.

The big problem for air travelers today will be in and out of DFW Airport, where airlines have proactively cancelled about half of the scheduled flights – which is
over 500 departures and almost as many arrivals – mostly on American Airlines.

Airlines are waiving change fees for passengers caught in this storm and, in anticipation of freezing rain, ice and sleet, DFW officials say the airport has its aircraft de-icing facilities “in a state of readiness.”

Airlines cancel flights; waive change fees for newest storms

February 2, 2015Harriet BaskasWeatherAirlines, change fee waivers, winter storms

Another big mess out there for travelers this week as winter storms blow in and cancel flights to, from and through the Midwest, Northeast and lots of other places – like Phoenix, where everyone is trying to head home after that heartbreaking (for Seahawks fans…) Super Bowl game.

Airlines have already canceled thousands of flights and posted instructions on which cities are included, the waiver policies on change fees and how best to rebook a flight.

Here’s a list of links to airline travel advisories. Check back often as some airlines still need to catch up from the weekend and others will likely alter or extend their policies.

Flights canceled as blizzard heads for the Northeast

January 26, 2015Harriet BaskasWeatherairline cancelations, Airlines, blizzard, flight cancelations, Juno, weather

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.

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.

Airline advisories/waivers for Winter Storm Juno

January 23, 2015Harriet BaskasWeatherAirline travel waivers, winter weather

Updated Sunday, January 25 at 1:30 pm Eastern time.

Here’s an updated (as of Sunday, January 25) list of links to the travel advisories and travel waiver policies airlines posted for the Winter Storm Juno – and other bad weather affecting flights on the east coast this weekend and into next week.

As always, if you have a flight scheduled be sure to check – and re-check – with your airline before heading out in bad weather.

Alaska Airlines

American Airlines has posted a travel alert for those scheduled to travel on January 26 and 27 to, from or through these cities: Albany, NY (ALB), Allentown / Bethlehem, PA (ABE), Baltimore, MD (BWI), Bangor, ME (BGR), Boston, MA (BOS), Burlington, VT (BTV), Harrisburg, PA (MDT), Hartford, CT (BDL), Islip/Long Island/Macarthur, NY (ISP), Manchester, NH (MHT), New Haven, CT (HVN), NY/NJ: (JFK, LGA, EWR), Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Portland, ME (PWM), Providence, RI (PVD), Scranton / Wilkes Barre, PA (AVP), State College University Park, PA (SCE), Stewart / Newburgh, NY (SWF), Washington Dulles, VA (IAD), Washington Reagan Nat’l, DC (DCA), Westchester County / White Plains, NY (HPN) and Williamsport, PA (IPT)

Delta Air Lines: for travel scheduled on January 26 to 27 to, from or through a very long of airports.

JetBlue: for travel on January 26 and 27 to/from or through BWI, Boston (BOS), Hartford (BDL), JFK, LGA, EWR, Newburgh, NY (SWF), PHL, Portland, ME (PWM), Providence (PVD), DCA, IAD, White Plains, NY (HPN), and Worcester, MA (ORH).

Southwest Airlines : for flights to, from or through the following cities January 26 and 27 to/from or through BWI and the Washington, D.C. area (IAD, DCA) airports and on January 26 to, from or through PHL, EWR, LGA, Long Island/Islip (ISP), Albany (ALB), Hartford (BDL), Providence (PVD), Boston (BOS), Manchester (MHT) and Portland (PWM).

United Airlines

Virgin America for travel on January 27 to, from or through: BOS, JFK, LGA, EWR, LGA, IAD and DCA.

Airlines ready for Xmas eve snowstorm

December 24, 2014Harriet BaskasWeatherAirline change fees, Airlines, Christsma eve storm

Winter weather conditions are expected in the Midwest on Christmas eve and airlines are getting ready by canceling flights and waiving ticket change and reissue fees.

Here are the waiver policies posted as of Tuesday evening, December 23:

American Airlines, American Eagle and US Airways

Passengers with tickets on flights Dec. 24 to, from, or through the nine cities below may change flights without penalty, have the ticket-reissue charge waived for one ticket change, and begin travel as early as Dec. 23 or as late as Dec. 25

St. Louis (STL), Springfield, Ill. (SPI), Peoria, Ill. (PIA), Urbana-Champaign, Ill. (CMI), Bloomington-Normal, Ill. (BMI), Chicago (ORD), Milwaukee (MKE), Grand Rapids, Mich. (GRR) and Detroit (DTW).

Frontier Airlines

Customers scheduled to travel Wednesday, December 24, 2014 to/from/through: Chicago Midway, IL (MDW); Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD); Detroit, MI (DTW); Milwaukee, WI (MKE); St. Louis, MO (STL) may have fees waived for one itinerary change, if travel is completed by Saturday, December 27th. Those with canceled flights may request a refund.

JetBlue

JetBlue is waiving change/cancel fees and fare differences for customers traveling to/from/through the cities below, on Wednesday, December 24, 2014. Customers may rebook travel through Thursday, December 25, 2014 prior to the departure of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may opt for a refund.

Affected cities: Baltimore, MD (BWI), Boston, MA (BOS), Buffalo, NY (BUF), Burlington, VT (BTV), Hartford, CT (BDL), Newark, NJ (EWR), Newburgh, NY (SWF), JFK, LGA, Philadelphia, PA (PHL), Pittsburgh, PA (PIT), Portland, ME (PWM), Providence, RI (PVD), Rochester, NY (ROC), Syracuse, NY (SYR), Washington, DC (DCA), Washington, DC (IAD), Westchester County, NY (HPN), Worcester, MA (ORH).

Southwest Airlines

Customers holding reservations for travel to/from/through Chicago Midway (MDW) on December 24 are eligible to reschedule their flights.

United Airlines

United is offering to waive the change fee for passengers flying on December 24 and 25 to, through or from Chicago, IL (ORD), Detroit, MI (DTW), Grand Rapids, MI (GRR), Madison, WI (MSN) and Milwaukee, WI (MKE).

Of course – as always – it’s best to check the status of your flight and the latest advice from your airline before you make a change or head to the airport.

Storm coming: airlines cancel flights /waive change fees

November 25, 2014Harriet BaskasHolidays, WeatherAirline cancellations, Airline change fees, Thanksgiving travel, travel, Winter Storm Cato

Don’t defrost the turkey just yet, because it looks like Winter Storm Cato is going to ruin Thanksgiving for a lot of travelers.

Starting Tuesday afternoon, airlines began cancelling flights and issuing fee waivers for travelers who want to cancel or rebook their trips.

.@Delta ops update: 57 cancels planned for New York area tomorrow morning; travel waiver issued for Northeast cities http://t.co/ZRAeswNwyH

— Delta Air Lines News (@DeltaNewsroom) November 25, 2014

Traveling through the northeast on Wednesday? You have the flexibility to change your plans with potential weather: http://t.co/sb5hHZ8ywJ

— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) November 24, 2014

As of Tuesday evening, pretty much every North American airline has a travel advisory posted on its site. International airlines with flights to and from the U.S. are likely alerting their customers to cancellations as well.

Below are links to the travel alerts, coverage dates and fee waiver policies as of Tuesday evening, November 25th for many major airlines. If you’ve got a trip planned, be sure to check the airline’s website, Facebook page or Twitter feed – and those of your airport – for the latest news.

Air Canada
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
Dela Air Lines
Frontier
JetBlue
Spirit
Southwest Airlines
US Airways
United Airlines
Virgin America
WestJet

Airline change fee waivers for Hawaii hurricanes

August 7, 2014Harriet BaskasWeatherAirlines, change fees, Hawaii, hurricanes, waivers

In advance of two hurricanes – Iselle and Julio – heading for Hawaii, several airlines are offering to waive change fees for passengers who would like to cancel or change their reservations.

As always, check with your airline directly for the latest information.

Here are few of the airlines that have posted policies for change fee exemptions:

Airilne travel waivers/advisories for Hurricane Arthur

July 4, 2014Harriet BaskasWeatherairline travel advisories, holiday travel, Hurricane Arthur, travel, weather

(Photo courtesy Keene Public Library, via Flickr)

Here are links to some of the airline travel waivers/advisories posted for Hurricane Arthur as of Friday morning, July 4th.

As always – if you have travel plans, check directly with your airline for updates.

Airline advisories & change fee waivers for Winter Storm Titan

March 2, 2014Harriet BaskasWeatherairline advisories, change fee waivers, WInter Storm TItan

In anticipation of yet another round of storms, including Winter Storm Titan, airlines have issued travel advisories and notices of waivers of the change fees for those who want to change or cancel their flights.

Here’s a round-up of those that were posted as of Sunday evening, March 2, 2014. As always, if you’ve got a trip planned, be sure to check with your airline and/or airport before starting out.

American Airlines has posted a notice for flights to, from and through many cities in the Northeast and Midwest. Details here.

Alaska Airlines has issued a Winter Storm Titan travel advisory for flights to, from or through Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), Washington, D.C. (DCA), Philadelphia (PHL), Chicago (ORD), Kansas City (MCI) and St. Louis (STL).

Delta Air Lines has posted travel advisories for the Northeast, Midwest and … Ukraine. Details here.

Frontier Airlines has posted advisories for travel in the Northeast and Midwest. Details here.

Jet Blue has posted a Winter Storm Titan advisory. Details here.

Here’s a link to the travel advisory posted for Southwest Airlines

Spirit Airlines has posted a Weather Buster Policy.

US Airways has posted a Winter Storm Titan Advisory.

United Airlines has posted travel advisories for a long list of cities to be affected by storms in Dallas, the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, Pennsylvania and the Northeast. Details here.

Escape the cold on vacation? It will cost you.

February 17, 2014Harriet BaskasHotels, WeatherCarbibbean, Hotels, resorts, tourism, travel, winter storms

The beach bar at the Radisson Blu Resort, Marina & Spa on the Caribbean island of St. Martin.Courtesy of the hotel.

The “get me out of here!” calls are rolling in to travel counselors around the country as spring break kicks off and yet more winter storms bring bitter cold weather to many parts of the United States.

“People are literally crying to help us get them somewhere with guaranteed good weather,” said Jack Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations, a member of the Virtuoso luxury travel network.

“Our winter business has spiked 38.5 percent in the past three weeks. And last minute business, meaning requests 10 days out or less, accounts for a whopping 78 percent of our business this year for winter travel,” he said.

Several online agencies, including STA Travel, a discount student agency, report the same.

“We have definitely seen an increase in requests recently, mainly to Cancun,” STA spokeswoman Teresa Cordova said. Some of the more popular places are sold out, and prices at other properties are about 30 percent more expensive than they were six weeks ago, she said.

CheapOair.com’s data show travel to warmer destinations has increased 27 percent over the past few weeks to destinations including Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“If you haven’t booked your spring break yet, do so immediately and have a backup list of where you want to go,” said Mark Drusch, chief supplier relations officer for CheapOair.com. “Consider counter-seasonal destinations or international destinations, such as Central America, perhaps more so this year due to the weather and its impact on bookings.”

At the Radisson Blu Resort, Marina & Spa on the Caribbean island of St. Martin “rooms are flying off the shelves,” General Manager Jean-Marc Jalbert said via email. “We are right in the middle of the perfect storm—a good one. We have not raised our prices because of the weather, but we have been pretty much sold out since the second week of January.”

Jalbert said unlike previous years, there is no negotiating on rate room rates right now and that if superior or deluxe rooms are no longer available, “the guests buy suites, just to get out of the cold weather. We have also seen people extending their stay at the last minute, reluctant to go back to the cold.”

Ovation Travel’s Ezon hasn’t noticed many hotels raising their rates as a result of the bad weather in the United States, but says many properties are blocking out promotions or are instituting minimum stays.

“The other big challenge right now is getting people to their destinations,” said Ezon.

The unrelenting winter storms are motivating people to plan and book trips to warm weather destinations, but bus, train and airline cancellations often get in the way.

“My advice for all winter refugees is to buy insurance that covers either ‘cancel for any reason’ or delay/cancellation based on weather,” said Ezon. “And make sure to buy it from someone who understands the nuances in the policies, because not all will pay for your vacation if your flight is merely canceled due to snow.”

(My store about winter storms spiking demand for vacations in warm weather destinations first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)