What if the snow cancels our flight?

[MamaBearJohnson]

We're heading up to the Twin Cities tomorrow night for an early flight Tuesday morning to Disney. Throughout that time, we're going to be getting a foot of snow around here. I'm freaking out that our flight is going to get cancelled or something. We're flying spirit and our 7:50 am flight is their last to Orlando of the day. So if we have to wait until Wednesday, we'll miss out on the main street electrical parade and Wishes Tuesday night and our reservations at Sci Fi and most of our Hollywood Studios time Wednesday night. Can anyone offer any words of wisdom to calm me down? Do I just book a different flight on a different airline for that same day, even if we have to pay out of pocket for it? I have trip insurance through Travel Insured, but she wasn't very helpful explaining whether it would cover that scenario or not. Do they usually just delay flights or will they cancel them entirely?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

if there is a chance of cancelations of flights on Monday night for Tuesday I would cancel your ressie for Sci Fi so you are not charged for no show. when you get to Disney I would see what is available or go with Counter serve. not much you can do with weather

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

Our travel insurance should cover the cancellation fee for Sci Fi if we can't make it. I'm just bummed we'd miss out on the experience.

 

[MillauFr]

MSP is one of the best airports in the country when dealing with snow. They'll have the vast majority of flights landing and taking off with minimal delays by Tuesday morning.

 

[DonnaL]

Similar situation last January.....we were scheduled to fly Southwest out of PHL on a mid-day (noon-ish) flight on a Tuesday...however, one of last years monster storms was predicted to begin pelting PHL by mid-morning on Tuesday. I got on the phone with Southwest Monday morning and asked if they could put us on a Monday evening or very early morning flight on Tuesday before the storm hit. They got us on a 6:00 a.m. flight. We drove to PHL (2 hr drive) Monday evening and stayed at an airport hotel for our 6:00 a.m. flight to MCO......we arrived in Orlando at 8:30 a.m. and it began snowing in PHL about 9:00 a.m......by noon flights into/out of PHL were cancelled and the airport closed by 2:00 p.m. On our return flight to PHL about six days later we were delayed in Orlando for three hours due to conditions at PHL....icy runways....finally departed ...flight/landing were ok....but, when we got out of airport and to the park/fly hotel very near the airport and tried to get on I95/476 to go home ...it's now after dark and we have a 2 hr drive.... had to turn around and again stay the night at the hotel because of extremely icy road conditions. Even though we've gone to WDW every January for about 12 years......we've decided we will not be traveling during the winter months anymore unless we are staying for several weeks or more and have the ability to "go with the flow of weather conditions" so to speak.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Have you looked at the Spirit website? Right on the front page it states they've "activated their weather buster program for Minneapolis/St Paul".

 

[rznhal]

I just read an article about Spirit...they have one of the lowest cancellation rates in the industry! They (according to this article) try really hard not to cancel flights!!
HTH!!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[DebbieB]

MSP should be used to dealing with winter weather, hopefully everything will stay running. Problem is the limited flights with Spirit. I would check other airlines to see what they have. I would also get more clarification from the travel insurance regarding buying a much more expensive ticket. Delta should have a lot of flights since MSP is a major hub. Good Luck!

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

All of this helps! Thanks! Southwest is in the same terminal as spirit and seems to have decent fairs and many options (we should have just booked with them to begin with rather than saving the $200), so if it gets cancelled, we'll be running to their desk to get on the next flight and just cover the cost. Here's hoping MSP will keep up with the snow! Thanks everyone! I feel slightly less anxious now.

 

[MillauFr]

Does Southwest have non-stop flights? I would just book with Delta if the price is within $100 of Spirit. They have many non-stops and have one of the best ontime records in the industry. Spirit and Southwest and very poor ontime stats compared to Delta.

 

[DebbieB]

All of this helps! Thanks! Southwest is in the same terminal as spirit and seems to have decent fairs and many options (we should have just booked with them to begin with rather than saving the $200), so if it gets cancelled, we'll be running to their desk to get on the next flight and just cover the cost. Here's hoping MSP will keep up with the snow! Thanks everyone! I feel slightly less anxious now.

If they are going to cancel it, it will most likely be by tomorrow night. The plane probably has to fly into MSP tomorrow night to be there for Tuesday morning.

For the heck of it, I just checked PIT-MSP for tomorrow morning on Delta. I used to fly that route often for business. Delta has cancelled 2 of the 3 morning flights already. The winter weather warning starts at 3:00am tomorrow, running to noon Tuesday.

If you are at the airport when it cancels, get on the phone with another airline. The airport counters will be jammed.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I just read an article about Spirit...they have one of the lowest cancellation rates in the industry! They (according to this article) try really hard not to cancel flights!!
HTH!!

Have a great trip!!!

If an airport closes due to weather, no airline can fly. Spirit has already issued a travel waiver for MSP:

http://www.spirit.com/Content/Documents/en-US/Press_Releases/20141109a.pdf

This is a great example of why it's risky to book an airline such as Spirit. Due to their limited flight schedule, cancellations and delays mean it could take days to get a new flight. They have no interline agreements either.

OP, good luck.

 

[DanInMN]

The worst of the snow will be Monday afternoon and evening. They will plow the parallel runways alternately, which reduces capacity. The airport might close during the most intense snowfall. I suspect that everything will be fine for your departure on Tuesday morning, assuming Spirit is able to get the plane here. You might have a late departure, but at least you are leaving the cold and snow for Florida!

Be careful driving to the Twin Cities on Monday evening!

 

[magicaldisney]

We just recently moved from Minneapolis to Texas and I feel your pain. We travel to WDW for Thanksgiving every year and we would be on edge until that flight took off. I do think this storm will cause delays and cancellations. Yes, MSP in equipped for it but it all depends how fast it accumulates and if they can keep up with it. You know how it is when you shovel, have a clean driveway and an hour later you need to shovel again!! Unfortunately, they will stop letting flights come into the airport and if your plane is one that isn't already at the airport you will be delayed for it to get there.

Good Luck! I hope it all goes well. It is a huge bummer to start a trip off like that.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We just recently moved from Minneapolis to Texas and I feel your pain. We travel to WDW for Thanksgiving every year and we would be on edge until that flight took off. I do think this storm will cause delays and cancellations. Yes, MSP in equipped for it but it all depends how fast it accumulates and if they can keep up with it. You know how it is when you shovel, have a clean driveway and an hour later you need to shovel again!! Unfortunately, they will stop letting flights come into the airport and if your plane is one that isn't already at the airport you will be delayed for it to get there.

Good Luck! I hope it all goes well. It is a huge bummer to start a trip off like that.

You're right, the issue isn't just at the OP's airport. Delays and cancellations cause a ripple affect and just because your airport is open, it doesn't mean problems at other airports are not going to adversely affect your flight.

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

They changed it to 4-7 inches now, stopping around 4am. So it's looking better! Better than 10-14 anyways. I'm okay if we get delayed. Just don't want to deal with the hassle of a cancellation. Oh well. We'll be having family time together whether we're at the airport or at Disney, so we'll just make the most of it.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

just to show the ripple affect of snow, years ago my daughters' flight home from bowl game in Orlando was canceled because of snow. it was the snow in Detroit that grounded the plane so it could not get to Orlando. baton group they were with had a hard time rebooking as they were 35 people. remember the plane has to get to your airport so not just your airport is important. plane has to get there

 

[Minnesota!]

We just recently moved from Minneapolis to Texas and I feel your pain. We travel to WDW for Thanksgiving every year and we would be on edge until that flight took off. I do think this storm will cause delays and cancellations. Yes, MSP in equipped for it but it all depends how fast it accumulates and if they can keep up with it. You know how it is when you shovel, have a clean driveway and an hour later you need to shovel again!! Unfortunately, they will stop letting flights come into the airport and if your plane is one that isn't already at the airport you will be delayed for it to get there.

Good Luck! I hope it all goes well. It is a huge bummer to start a trip off like that.

OT - but how has the adjustment been? I want to move south. Esp after today's weather.

 

[MamaBearJohnson]

The plane we'll be on appears to be coming from Vegas, leaving there at 12:35 am and arriving here at 5:30. So I'll be watching that flight closely tonight.

 

[DebbieB]

The plane we'll be on appears to be coming from Vegas, leaving there at 12:35 am and arriving here at 5:30. So I'll be watching that flight closely tonight.

That's good news. They cancelled the MCO - MSP flight for this afternoon so that plane will not be coming in.