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Is Mother Nature Really To Blame For Airline Weather Delays? (Part 2)

In my last blog I recounted my friend’s sad holiday travel tale in which she spent the bulk of her New Year’s Eve sitting on a chair at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport waiting for her twice delayed flight to finally board. The airline insisted Mother Nature was at fault, but now it appears weather was only partially to blame for the “weather related” delay. Airlines say they are telling the truth when it comes to canceling flights due to inclement weather, but travel experts say when a carrier feeds you the line that Mother Nature is at the root of your … Continue reading →

Is Mother Nature Really To Blame For Airline Weather Delays?

Weather history was made this evening in Wisconsin. A rare series of January tornadoes ripped through a county just south of where I live, demolishing buildings and houses, downing power lines and leaving more than a dozen people injured. The ferocious storm also caused delays at area airports including Milwaukee and Chicago’s O’Hare. Totally reasonable. However, there have been many times when I wondered if airlines were telling the truth about weather delays. For example, a couple of weeks ago United Airlines cancelled 1,200 flights and blamed various winter storms for doing so. But then, a couple of days later … Continue reading →

Mother Nature vs. Baby New Year

My friend just called to wish me a Happy New Year… from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. No kidding. The poor thing is sitting in an airport on New Year’s Eve on her way back from spending Christmas with her brother in Colorado. She’s been waiting 3 hours for her now twice delayed connecting flight back to Wisconsin. If she’s lucky she’ll land here by next year. Mother Nature has not been kind to holiday travelers this year. Bad weather has made the busy travel season difficult for flyers from coast to coast. Making matters worse is a new report from the … Continue reading →

Holiday Travel Nightmares

In my previous blog Mother Nature vs. Holiday Travelers I discussed how the horrendous winter weather conditions wrecked havoc on millions of Americans trying to get home in time for Christmas. Here in Wisconsin we were slammed with rain, fog, ice, snow, and high winds that created white out conditions. To say it led to travel nightmares is a severe understatement. In fact, last night the local news profiled a family from Bosnia who has been living in the baggage claim area of the Milwaukee airport for past 8 days. In Chicago one couple reportedly spent 3 days in the … Continue reading →

Mother Nature vs. Holiday Travelers

Score one (hundred) for Mother Nature. This past weekend holiday travelers were slaughtered by snow, ice, fog, and high winds that crippled airports from coast to coast. I too have spent the past few days dealing with horrific weather conditions that have blasted the Midwest portion of the nation. Luckily, I didn’t have to travel too far from home for Christmas, but, unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of simply staying in my house until the inclement weather passed either. All tolled (according to news reports) more than 25 weather related traffic deaths have occurred in the upper Midwest during … Continue reading →

What to Know Before You Take Off This Summer

Bankrupt airlines, grounded planes, record high-fuel prices, and delayed flights. Those are just some of the issues you can expect to deal with during the busy summer travel season. If you are one of the millions of travelers planning to take flight in the next few months the outlook for a smooth ride looks bleak. Here’s what travel experts say you can expect if you’re departing on a family adventure this summer: DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS The FAA’s maintenance audits will continue through June 30th meaning the possibility that your flight could be delayed or cancelled is quite high. For those … Continue reading →

The Nation’s Most Frequently Delayed Flights

Good news for frequent flyers: The federal government is trying to help you avoid flight delays. The Department of Transportation recently issued a report listing the nation’s eight most-frequently delayed flights. Not surprising (to me anyway) all involved a New York City airport and half involved a flight operated by or affiliated with Continental. If you are planning to fly in the near future and don’t want to deal with the hassle of being delayed take note-—according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the following were the most delayed flights in the nation during the last couple months of 2007: … Continue reading →