Helpful Info re: Flight Delays (US)

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, the FAA maintains a real-time delay notification website at http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp

If you enter your airport on the day you will fly, it will tell you what the possible delays might be, including situations where the delay is caused by weather at the airport you are headed TO.

Also, a tip: almost all airlines allow you to go to their websites and sign up for info on flight status to be automatically sent to your cell phone or computer. Here's a trick: don't ask to be alerted when you flight is scheduled to leave YOUR departure airport, but check to see where the flight originates on the way to your airport, and ask to be notified when it departs from THAT airport.
If you are flying SWA, you might even want to backtrack another flight segment; it is not unusual for SWA flights to stop 4-5 times over the course of a day, and the segments are short. You want to find out about delays before you would normally leave for the airport, not after you are there. (Which is not to say that you might not want to get there at the usual time anyway, but it will ease the tension if you run a bit late, and warn you if you need to bring extra personal entertainment resources.)

 

[bavaria]

Great link - thanks for posting! That goes into my 'travel favourites' sites.

And just an FYI if you DO have a delay - sometimes the time can be made up in the air, so don't panic. If the winds are right, you may still land near your original time, and make that connection. (The longer the flight, the more likely to make up time - I've made up time on delays of up to 60 minutes)

Of course, if you are delayed hours and hours, that won't be true!

 

[justcruisin]

Flying on SW in January ---- how can I find out where my plane will be prior to 3:00 pm when we're due to leave?

Great site!

 

[NotUrsula]

On the SWA website, click TRAVEL CENTER, then FLIGHT STATUS INFORMATION, then SEARCH BY ARRIVAL INFORMATION. On the drop-down list, click on the arrival airport (your departure point), then type the flight # into the box. If you don't make any typos, but you get an error that says that the city doesn't match the data, then your flight probably originates at your airport. You can track the entire route this way, by entering the arrival city for each leg you uncover in turn.

Be sure that the flight you are checking on actually flies on the day of the week when you do the check; the program is actually checking same-day flights, so if you check on Sat., but that flight number doesn't fly on Saturday, you won't get accurate information.