Anyone else have a flight cancelled?

[ZPT1022]

Oh man what a mess. My brother is coming home from Chicago (he moved in August) and my mom will be devastated if he misses his flight. Keeping my fingers crossed, and OP- good luck. You can always try to call back and ask if there is ANYTHING at all, any airline, available sooner. I don't think your flight schedule could possibly be more hectic anyhow..

 

[4nana]

Prayers and good luck to all those with families stuck in Co blizzard. Lots of people in the same situation. I guess the reps are doing the best they can under the situation.

Our DS and DIL had their week long Christmas trip home to MD. planned for months now. Couple weeks ago they had even sent most their Xmas gifts here for their 3 children and relatives.

Yesterday they couldn't get through to United or AP all day yesterday, so made the dangerous 1 hr drive that turned into 3 hrs to Co. AP in their 4x4 truck. They waited in line with hundreds of other people desperately trying to get any info, only to learn they can't be rescheduled until late Dec 24th! Thankfully DS had thought to pre-arrange for a hotel near the AP for 2 nites for their family of 5 in case of an ER. I feel so sorry for thousands of people are stuck or sleeping on AP floor. What can you say or do - can't fight mother nature??

Needless to say it really puts a damper on our family Christmas Eve and BD party. Not to mention, DS has $2400 invested in flight only and among other problems has lost half his military leave due to storm. Is everyone disappointed...'Yes'... but I'd rather not see them at all for the holidays, than them to risk flying their family in a blizzard . At this point, I am just so thankful and relieved they are safe . They have sent us cell phone pics of the kids at hotel which really warms our hearts .

I believe everything happens for a purpose and have faith it will all work out.

Godspeed ^i^

 

[momsully]

The Denver airport will not be open until at least noon tomorrow. It has stopped snowing and the sun is out so maybe they can finally get the runways clear. Good luck to everyone trying to fly in/out of Denver!

 

[jenimay]

yes it's a mess down there. Dh is an airline pilot, but luckily didn't start flying until tonight and doesn't go anywhere near Denver. Dh's cousin's SIL is a college student and has been stuck in the Denver airport since yesterday and won't be leaving until the 23rd she was told. I am so glad we're not traveling!!! My thoughts are with everyone affected!

 

[chell]

My boss & his family.

This means he was back in the office today and will be tomorrow. One poor girl was ready to scream and walk out with all the extra work he gave her. I sure hope they call him tonight and tell him they can get him on an early flight tomorrow morning.

 

[luvflorida]

I just returned from dropping oldest daughter off at Logan Airport. What a zoo! The lines at United were VERY long. My daughter sent me a text message just as I pulled into our driveway, and she said she had to wait in three different lines before she even got to security. Her plane was supposed to leave at 8am, but has been delayed until 9:30am.

I cried as soon as I saw the airport, I cried when I dropped her off, and I cried halfway home to Maine. Usually it's my husband's job to take her to the airport, and I'm the one that gets the good part; picking her up to bring her home! He's out of town on business, so I had to do it.

She finished grad school in Arizona, and that's where her husband's family lives. She loves Arizona. The hard part is being so far away.

I guess we'll just have to convince our youngest daughter to look at colleges in Arizona in a few years, and we'll just have to move everyone out to Arizona! I can't take these "airport goodbyes" any more!!

 

[luvflorida]

My daughter just sent another text message. United Airlines offered her a free first class ticket to wherever, and a hotel room for tonight, IF she would be willing to give up her seat on this flight! However, she just wants to get home. I sent her a text saying it's nice to fly first class, (especially free!), but I think she should keep her seat. Of course, it's her decision to make!

 

[jsmith]

I can see them not getting out tomorrow, MAYBE Friday... but come on, not for 5 days? There is something very odd there.. but I guess they had to hope that they would get some spineless people who would go okie dokie to the later flights so they could get other people in on earlier flights.

There are more than 10,000 people stranded in denver and Colorado Springs-the Colorado Springs airport opened on Thursday afternoon and DIA will not open til noon friday-this at a time when all the flights are full to begin with and there are almost 5 thousand soldiers from ft carson on sometime of per or post deployment leaves increasing the amount of traffic throu those airports-its not only not fishy they were lucky they got a flight in 5 days not 7 or 8
4nana-im sorry you son got stuck-its kind of funny-i stay near ft carson and there is almost no snow right here-but tons all around us.

 

[ducklite]

I can see them not getting out tomorrow, MAYBE Friday... but come on, not for 5 days? There is something very odd there.. but I guess they had to hope that they would get some spineless people who would go okie dokie to the later flights so they could get other people in on earlier flights.

Actually there's nothing odd about it. This time of the year flights are booked solid. The airports can only handle so many flights per day. When there's a system wide disruption like this, the way it works is this:

Flight 23 is scheduled to leave from DEN to MIA (making this all up BTW) at 8:03 am. There are 194 out of 203 seats sold. Everyone ticketed on that flight that gets to the airport and checked in in the correct timeframe will be accomodated. Lets say that 187 people show for the flight.that leaves 16 seats available for the standby list. The standby list has a set of criteria they use to determine who gets on. Some factors are medical needs, verified family emergencies (death or near death are about it--they don't care about your baby sitter problems), frequent flier status, deadheading crew, etc.

Once the standby passengers are ticketed, they will probably ask for volunteers. NO ONE will be involuntarily bumped to accomodate a standby passenger, except in the most dire of circumstances (full flight and standby pax who needs to get someplace for a kidney transplant--when I say dire, I mean dire!)

What I'm saying is that they don't start with people whose flights were cancelled two days ago and bump ticketed pax for that flight for the pax stranded for two days. It just doesn't happen that way.

That's why people who were supposed to be on cancelled flights this morning before the airport reopens will likely be the last to be reaccomodated--they are last on the list.

The compounding factor is that most flights were already sold out or close to it on the busiest travel days of the year, so it leaves very few seats open to accomodate those who were on cancelled flights.

I hope that makes sense.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

My daughter just sent another text message. United Airlines offered her a free first class ticket to wherever, and a hotel room for tonight, IF she would be willing to give up her seat on this flight! However, she just wants to get home. I sent her a text saying it's nice to fly first class, (especially free!), but I think she should keep her seat. Of course, it's her decision to make!

DON'T TAKE IT!!! What they are offereing is a seat on teh next AVAILABLE flight--which could be DAYS from now. It's NOT the next flight, it's the next AVAILABLE flight!!!

Anne