Wind and cancelled fights

[pinkerbell]

We are expecting a storm sat - sun (YES AGAIN) here in western ma and we are supposed to fly out of BDL at 7 a.m. the flight originates there and The snow is expected to total between 3-6 inches. I think we would get out with that amount BUT the wind and cold are supposed to be very bad. Does wind and cold along with snow play a role in flights being cancelled. I could rebook because of the weather advisory but there is NOTHING available between now and Monday and our cruise leaves at 3 on sunday.
Thoughts?
TIA

 

[Gracie09]

It can depending on the direction its coming from and the temperature. My DH was on a flight from Montreal and sat on the ground for over an hour because they were deicing.

 

[minnie mum]

Wind, and cold by themselves won't cause cancelations unless they're approaching hurricane strength. Snow, by itself in those amounts shouldnt cause cancellations. Their snowclearing and deicing equipment should cope with that.But blowing snow, resulting in reduced visibility, could cause a delay or cancellation. Depends on how bad it is and how long it lasts.

 

[JessLyn]

I wouldn't worry too much about 3-6 inches, especially if you know you're getting it (as opposed to a surprise storm). Airports in the northeast can handle that and a lot more. We have had blizzards with the airport still open, and we have had over 2 feet of snow with the airport still open (the hardest part is just getting TO the airport in those cases). At most, I would expect a delay. Now, obviously I can't promise you that, and I don't know how your airport operates (I live in Buffalo, NY, one of the top 5 snowiest cities in the world). But, I would think if the airport can't handle 3-6 inches, then it would consistently lose a ton of money. Best of luck and keep us updated.

 

[debster812]

If your airline is offering, any chance you'd be willing to head to the airport tomorrow, and try to get out standby? You'd need a hotel in FL for Saturday night, but you'd get out.

 

[msmayor]

Am I reading this correctly...you are supposed to fly out at 7am on the same day that the cruise is scheduled to depart?

I would be giving serious thought to renting a car one way and driving SOUTH to another airport. If your flight is same day and the cruise is departing at 3pm, you MUST be checked in and on board NO LATER than 1-1:30pm. That leaves you with very little wiggle room.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I would be very, very concerned if I were you. Airlines are issuing travel waivers for tomorrow (Feb 15th). This storm wasn't a surprise; the people who took advantage of the free change and rebooked will be taking up all the available seats for the next few days. You may be too late. I hope you have travel insurance. Good luck.

FYI, just because your airport is operating doesn't mean your flight will not be canceled or delayed. Your plane or crew may be stuck somewhere else.

 

[DebbieB]

Winds do sometimes cause air traffic control delays, they space the landings farther apart. One time I was flying Minneapolis > Philadelphia > Pittsburgh, we were held over 3 hours at MSP on a perfect sunny day because of winds in Philadelphia. Finally got there and my connection was cancelled. Luckily other flights were late and I got on one. My luggage didn't.

BDL can handle a lot of snow. I was flying home from a business trip about 6 or 7 years ago and it was snowing hard. Our plane was late coming in and by time it did it was a blizzard. We waited for runway to be plowed. They boarded us, had a truck with flashing lights guide us out to the runway, deiced us right at the end of the runway and we took off.

 

[pinkerbell]

Thanks all for the input - yes we fly out at 7 are scheduled to arrive at 10 ish and can board the ship at 1:30. We purposely did not book early because last yr we did and were in trouble when flights were getting cancelled all around ours - those people didnt get out for days as this is our spring break and as of a few days ago all flight were sold out through sunday - I realized when your flight is cancelled they don't add flights you just have to find space on another, eventually - so i was done with spending extra money on hotels when it was a gamble either way. The flight leaving that day went off without a hitch. Ours was the first one out in a while, whew - had it been cancelled we would have not made the cruise as no other flights we open.

Thanks also for all the great insight as to how storms are handled by airports. I know no-one can predict the future, but feel more comfortable with out decision.

We had booked a rental but we (eight of us) decided to all get on the same flight (some were flying out Sat) on Sunday and whatever happens we are together!

Do we want to make the cruise, sure do! but say we don't, we just get out when we can and do something else in FL. And we look forward to Carnival Sunshine Feb 2016! We travel as much as we can and you have to expect things don't always go as planned. It's all good!

Thanks again so much to all for your thoughts!

 

[Donna M]

That's a great attitude to have. Make the best of whatever ends up happening or you'll just be miserable.

I'm seeing snow for my departure date of Feb. 22. We're (NH) expecting another blizzard tomorrow and I am so ready to head to Fl.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Being the wife of a pilot YES flights can be delayed because of winds. If there is a report of cross winds all flights into/out of the airport are halted. Cross winds can be dangerous when flying.

WOW I would not have booked my flight for the day my cruise leaves. We took a cruise and had a couple who got on the ship in St. Thomas when they should have gotten on in Cape Canaveral. Their plane out of BWI was broken and their flight was delayed by 4 hrs. After talking to the cruise line this couple got Delta to fly them to St Thomas so they could catch the ship. So you not only have to depend on the weather being good but the fact that the plane does not have mechanical issues either.


As and update about the winds effecting a flight. My huband is piloting a plane today from Washington DC to Cleveland and 30 minute ago he was told to divert to Pittsburg because of the cross winds in Cleveland have closed the airport. He first circled the area in hopes the wind condition would improve but then got the go ahead to divert to PIT.

 

[DebbieB]

Being the wife of a pilot YES flights can be delayed because of winds. If there is a report of cross winds all flights into/out of the airport are halted. Cross winds can be dangerous when flying.

WOW I would not have booked my flight for the day my cruise leaves. We took a cruise and had a couple who got on the ship in St. Thomas when they should have gotten on in Cape Canaveral. Their plane out of BWI was broken and their flight was delayed by 4 hrs. After talking to the cruise line this couple got Delta to fly them to St Thomas so they could catch the ship. So you not only have to depend on the weather being good but the fact that the plane does not have mechanical issues either.

As and update about the winds effecting a flight. My huband is piloting a plane today from Washington DC to Cleveland and 30 minute ago he was told to divert to Pittsburg because of the cross winds in Cleveland have closed the airport. He first circled the area in hopes the wind condition would improve but then got the go ahead to divert to PIT.

Did he get back out of PIT? Since around 3:00 we've had on and off whiteout conditions. Snow blowing sideways.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yes they were about 1 hr late getting into CLE. But he made it home safe.

The poor OP is out of luck. I see that her flight has been cancelled.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Yes they were about 1 hr late getting into CLE. But he made it home safe.

The poor OP is out of luck. I see that her flight has been cancelled.

That's a shame; but it is a good lesson.

1. When bad weather is predicted days before your flight, be proactive. Start making alternate plans. Keep an eye on your airline's website and change your flight as soon as free changes are offered. If you delay, you may not be able to travel for days.

2. Buy travel insurance.

3. Never, ever fly to your departure port the day of your cruise.

 

[hsmamato2]

I think it also may depend on your airline..... from what I am seeing lately,SWA has canceled MUCH more than other airlines flying same/similiar routes ( a few weeks back there were cancellations on SWA while our friend on a different airline at the same time got out just fine for an inch or two of snow,no high wind,etc) just sayin'....I think I am noticing a trend here...

 

[dis_guy]

Wind, and cold by themselves won't cause cancelations unless they're approaching hurricane strength. Snow, by itself in those amounts shouldnt cause cancellations. Their snowclearing and deicing equipment should cope with that.But blowing snow, resulting in reduced visibility, could cause a delay or cancellation. Depends on how bad it is and how long it lasts.

This, and to add: If cold alone cancelled flights nothing would ever fly up here where we live. Winds usually result in nothing worse than delays if they are strong enough. Snow is a non issue in places prepared to deal with it and again runway clearing will cause delays. Deicing is just a fact of life...better safe than sorry...those wings don't work with even a tiny bit of snow/frost on them. Of course visibility is everything, as minnie mum said.

 

[DebbieB]

I think it also may depend on your airline..... from what I am seeing lately,SWA has canceled MUCH more than other airlines flying same/similiar routes ( a few weeks back there were cancellations on SWA while our friend on a different airline at the same time got out just fine for an inch or two of snow,no high wind,etc) just sayin'....I think I am noticing a trend here...

Looks like SW cancelled everything out of BDL today. Even a 5:10pm nonstop to Orlando is already cancelled.

 

[msmayor]

I think it also may depend on your airline..... from what I am seeing lately,SWA has canceled MUCH more than other airlines flying same/similiar routes ( a few weeks back there were cancellations on SWA while our friend on a different airline at the same time got out just fine for an inch or two of snow,no high wind,etc) just sayin'....I think I am noticing a trend here...

I don't think you can really conclude that without knowing the full picture of the flight schedules. Airlines have to consider conditions at connecting airports, and often will keep equipment away from trouble areas to actually DECREASE the chance of significant cancellations. If planes are stuck somewhere, they are useless for a longer period of time than if they are parked someplace where they can get back in the pipeline of flights quicker.

You could be planning to fly out of an airport on a crystal clear day and have your flight cancelled due to weather...because of where 'your' plane is parked hours before its due to take off for you.

 

[debster812]

The other thing to remember about SWA is that they really don't operate like a lot of other airlines, and don't use a hub & spoke set up. So for SWA to keep as much on track as possible, it makes sense for them to cancel everything and start fresh, since that way the majority of the planes will be they need to be. (This is a woefully oversimplified explanation, but you get the idea).

 

[DebbieB]

I hope they found another way, 8 cruise fares would be a lot to lose if they didn't have insurance.