All SW flts out of Phl-Mco canceled!

[JerseyGirl53]

Couldn't get out of Philly on Wed night (all flts booked) and all flts today canceled due to weather. Was coming down for ESPN the Weekend, now I guess I'll be shoveling AGAIN.

 

[DeadHead]

Sorry you couldn't get out before the storm hits us, I'm like you, I'll be shoveling the next couple days here in South Philly.

 

[uva185]

Everything is on-time out of BWI and IAD. Why not drive down here and fly out? I'm in DC and there is not a cloud in the sky right now.

 

[PSUGuy]

SW seems to pull the plug quicker than most. In early March 2006 we had a 7 am AirTran flight out of PHL, we stayed at the Ramada the night before. Philly was due for an ice storm that morning. When we boarded the Ramada shuttle around 5 am it was drizzling, nothing much at all. The driver informed us to expect a madhouse in the airport because SW had already cancelled all flights. By the time our flight boarded it was still just a drizzle and we got away, no problems, as did another couple from Pa we met on these boards, on a later flight on AT. We won't use SW because of this.

Update: I just checked the AT flight we took back then, 620 at 7 am. It's half way to MCO right now, 8:45.

Bill From PA

 

[JerseyGirl53]

SW seems to pull the plug quicker than most. In early March 2006 we had a 7 am AirTran flight out of PHL, we stayed at the Ramada the night before. Philly was due for an ice storm that morning. When we boarded the Ramada shuttle around 5 am it was drizzling, nothing much at all. The driver informed us to expect a madhouse in the airport because SW had already cancelled all flights. By the time our flight boarded it was still just a drizzle and we got away, no problems, as did another couple from Pa we met on these boards, on a later flight on AT. We won't use SW because of this.

Update: I just checked the AT flight we took back then, 620 at 7 am. It's half way to MCO right now, 8:45.

Bill From PA

I know... I checked on that also and was upset because I think SW would have been fine getting out at 7:00AM this morning.

 

[If U Had Wings]

I feel for you! Jet Blue cancelled my 6am Friday flight out of White Plains yesterday afternoon. I managed to snag seats on a later flight, but the forecast is making me nervous.

Now I remember why I don't usually travel in the winter months.

 

[DebbieB]

With the new rules about fines for airlines that keep people on the plane too long during storms, I think airlines are just going to be proactive and cancel flights rather than risk running into problems and getting fined or having planes grounded in a city with a storm.

 

[eliza61]

With the new rules about fines for airlines that keep people on the plane too long during storms, I think airlines are just going to be proactive and cancel flights rather than risk running into problems and getting fined or having planes grounded in a city with a storm.

Exactly. Airlines are no longer going to take the chance of having huge fines. those new fines are per person so if you have 200 people on a flight and it gets stuckon the tarmac it can get quite hefty. I was up at 5:30 am and action news had announced that SW had cancelled all it's flights. It was still raining, hadn't changed over to snow so the airlines are definitely spooked.

 

[PSUGuy]

Exactly. Airlines are no longer going to take the chance of having huge fines. those new fines are per person so if you have 200 people on a flight and it gets stuckon the tarmac it can get quite hefty. I was up at 5:30 am and action news had announced that SW had cancelled all it's flights. It was still raining, hadn't changed over to snow so the airlines are definitely spooked.

This may well be a factor, but SW did the same thing in PHL 4 years ago without the threat of these new regulations. Apparently they always had an itchy trigger finger.

Bill From PA

 

[MEK]

If you recall, SWA had a fatal accident in Chicago several years ago during a snow storm. A plane overshot the icy runway, failed to stop, and actually ran over someone. They probably paid out the wazzoo for that one and I'm sure they never want to be responsible for another fatality secondary to bad weather.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you recall, SWA had a fatal accident in Chicago several years ago during a snow storm. A plane overshot the icy runway, failed to stop, and actually ran over someone. They probably paid out the wazzoo for that one and I'm sure they never want to be responsible for another fatality secondary to bad weather.

Yes, I remember that. They ran onto a highway and a 6 y.o boy in a car was killed. My ds was 6 then and it really hit home. They weren't even flying; just driving down the highway.


My parents were due to fly SWA the Fri before the Superbowl. Snow was forecasted to start Fri night into Sat and by Fri am their 1 pm Fri departure from FLL was canceled, long before any precip started. They were stuck in FLL until Monday night and not a lot of choices for hotels. Between the snowbirds and Superbowl in Miami, hotels were all very expensive. Good thing they had trip ins for their cruise. They will get reimbursed up to $1000 for hotel & meal expenses. They are still awaiting something in writing from SWA stating their flight was canceled. The ins. company requires it.

Just something to think of for future reference. It would have been so much easier to get a letter while still at the airport but they didn't know at the time, never had an ins. claim before.

Live and learn...

 

[JerseyGirl53]

I feel for you! Jet Blue cancelled my 6am Friday flight out of White Plains yesterday afternoon. I managed to snag seats on a later flight, but the forecast is making me nervous.

Now I remember why I don't usually travel in the winter months.

Did you make it out? Hope you are enjoying WDW right now! Wish I was there.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Did you make it out? Hope you are enjoying WDW right now! Wish I was there.

Did you cancel your trip completely? Did the hotel allow you to cancel last minute?

 

[JerseyGirl53]

Did you cancel your trip completely? Did the hotel allow you to cancel last minute?

I had rented points from someone for a DVC and since I was only going to be down for a couple nights and by the time I would be able to get down there, I would be coming home, the person I rented from kindly arranged for me to re-schedule. I spoke with someone from SW and supposedly I'm getting a refund, but I have a suspicion they may give a SW credit. Until I see a refund on my cc, I don't want to reschedule a flt. It is still "up in the air". LOL SW did cancel the first 3 flts and last 3 flts out of Philly on Fri. Some flts out went in the afternoon, but they were full. But we missed ESPN the Weekend. It only happens once a yr.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Did you make it out? Hope you are enjoying WDW right now! Wish I was there.

My second flight ended up getting cancelled as well, and I didn't get out until really late the next day since all the earlier flights were now filled. It was a bummer losing 2 days of the trip, but had a great time. Cold, but wonderful!