Bad Weather Likely to Disrupt Holiday Travel Across Nation

[Matt Molnar]

So much for the "Thanksgiving express lane." :roll:

Stormy weather kicks off holiday
Travel week shaping up to be 'nightmare'

By Alan Levin
USA TODAY

The Thanksgiving travel week got off to a rocky start Monday as bad weather and equipment problems triggered airport delays that could worsen when a storm brings rain and snow to the center of the USA on Wednesday.

A front brewing in the Northwest is forecast to spread severe weather from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico and east to Vermont on one of the highest-volume travel days of the year, said Tom Moore, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel.

"Wednesday is going to be a nightmare over a lot of the country," Moore said. "Although it's not going to be a colossal storm, there's going to be so much rain and low clouds, I would say there are going to be significant delays over large parts of the country." Read More...

[hiss srq]

Here we go again. I got lucky this year, the next two days I will be home on the island relaxing and watching chaos unfold from my couch with the girlfriend. Last year I was caught in the middle of it all because I bid to get weekends off.

[T-Bird76]

I really think the media needs to get a hold of itself here...bad weather is bad weather and can affect any given travel day the same way it does this travel week. Travel loads are predicted to be higher then last year but that's been a trend every week this year. Airlines are reporting 80% load factors this year and this travel week is expected to see similar loads. The media is making it out to sound that there will be a dramatic increase over past years and it’s going to surprise everyone. The fact is most people already have their holiday travel booked months in advance so the airlines know exactly what to expect.

Boyd wrote an excellent piece this week on the reality of this week's travel. I'd recommend reading it. He uses real numbers and stats to put things into perspective rather then just baseless hype. It’s a long read but worth it.


http://www.aviationplanning.com/asrc1.htm

[lijk604]

Tommy, that is a really great article, Boyd hit every nail on the head. It couldn't be made any simpler, nothing is changing, a Wednesday is a Wednesday, and you cannot make a full aircraft "fuller". The media will jump all over the fact that today opens with FOG in LAX and rain in the NY & Boston areas, and the delays were awful due to it. There is nothing that the OUTDATED ATC system we have in place now can do to help. Opening up Military airspace over Virginia doesn't do diddly. Another Presidential photo-op. :evil:

[PhilDernerJr]

I agree. Excellent Boyd piece.

[mirrodie]

Definitely puts things into perspective. Too bad this article won't make breaking news :roll:

[Matt Molnar]

Boyd is right to an extent, and the media is definitely overhyping the situation. However, there are distinct differences between this week and any other week...

First, the airlines are actually forecasting loads of 90%, which is 5-10% higher than an average day. While some flights are routinely 90-100% full and obviously can't get any fuller, there are many which routinely fly 50-60% full which will be 100% full today. These flights will take longer to load than usual, which exacerbates delays for all flights.

Second, there are more infrequent fliers traveling today, who aren't familiar with TSA rules and who are carrying tons of crap, which causes screening delays and boarding delays, which cause flight delays.

Third, he complains that the increased bump payment is useless because it does nothing to decrease delays. That may be true, but that does not mean it isn't a good thing. It gives the airlines financial incentive to try harder to move their planes on time and not overbook them, and it's a score for the consumer, a class of citizen that is on a long losing streak. Then again, I guess Boyd works mainly for airlines which means he gives ****-all about customer service.

[adam613]

I'll post pictures of the takeoff line at 7 PM at JFK today... :D

[Gerard]

Thankfully that bad weather never materialized and from what I hear travelling is going pretty good.

[adam613]

We were 12th in line. Took off late, landed on time. Not a bad experience.

[Mateo]

...and once the White House went all Henny Penny on the situation, a good (i.e. normal) travel day becomes news. Lots of stories all over the place today about how shockingly normal the getaway was today.

[Alex T]

Wow I must have had a different weather LOL


MDW was an absolute mess, we considered diverting but pressed on when we were flying SAN-MDW

Today (Wed) my MCO-STL was so bad turbulent wise, the F/A literally had to sit in the aisle and hold onto their chairs to not get flown off, until it had calmed down.

Weather was a mess everywhere.

FLL took us 45 minutes to take off from gate to runway, due to weather and flow of traffic from MIA.

Absolutely a nightmare.

Alex