Hurricane Sandy / "Frakenstorm"

[Dont call me Shirley]

The Weather Channel is in hyperdrive, even the PBS Newshour is chiming in; there will be panic hoarding of toilet paper and booze. The Northeast and Midatlantic are in for a big event.the Northeast and Midatlantic are in for a big event.


US Airways has posted the following on its website:


[sup]Hurricane Sandy[/sup]

[sup]10/26/2012 12:16 PM ET[/sup]
[sup]Cities Affected[/sup]

[sup]Hartford/Springfield, CT ; New Haven, CT ; Washington, DC (Dulles) ; Washington, DC (Reagan National) ; Portland, ME ; Baltimore, MD ; Salisbury, MD ; Boston, MA ; Manchester, NH ; Newark, NJ ; Albany, NY ; Binghamton, NY ; Buffalo, NY ; Elmira, NY ; Islip, NY ;Ithaca, NY ; New York, NY (Laguardia) ; New York, NY (JFK) ; Newburgh, NY ; Rochester, NY ; Syracuse, NY ; White Plains, NY ;Greenville, NC ; Jacksonville, NC ; New Bern, NC ; Raleigh/Durham, NC ; Allentown, PA ; Erie, PA ; Harrisburg, PA ; Philadelphia, PA ;Pittsburgh, PA ; Scranton, PA ; State College, PA ; Williamsport, PA ; Providence, RI ; Burlington, VT ; Charlottesville, VA ; Lynchburg, VA ; Newport News, VA ; Norfolk, VA ; Richmond, VA ; Roanoke, VA ; Charleston, WV ; Huntington, WV[/sup]



Date Range

10/29/2012 1:00 AM ET through 10/31/2012 11:59 PM ET
It seems that US and B6 are only carriers to issue change waivers at this point.
Any other word on preparations, such as pro active cancellations or schedule adjustments?

 

[wings396]

Toilet paper and booze, I suppose too much of one will require more of the other....
What a combo

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151206949093376&set=a.60745428375.67759.27232773375&type=1&theater

 

[Frontier69]

I realize preparations for upcoming disruptions are immense. I can only hope there are enough insightful people to cancel, and repo crews and equipment in a timely manner to restart with as little chaos as possible. Wishful thinking perhaps as based on history!

 

[wings396]

US has been pretty proactive with these type of situations. I expect a lot of A/C to be sent to PIT to keep them out of the stations that will bear the brunt of the storm.
On the other hand, I have seen SWA go a bit overboard with cancellations in these situations. They halted operations for a longer period of time than US when operations were feasible.

 

[Newman]

I can hear it now, afters a flight will cancels to due to hurricane conditions "NOBODY TOLD ME" !

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

It does not look like US has canceled anything yet; I checked PHL-LGA on Tuesday, the website is still selling seats. (I didn't realize that there were still so many flights in the market). If the predictions are true, I doubt those flights will run.

 

[Phoenix]

...Any other word on preparations, such as pro active cancellations or schedule adjustments?

Yes, the POTA speed dialer has been upgraded. It can tell if you are just ignoring the phone.. and it will send a shock to your cellphone (like a taser) until you relent and answer.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Looks like we are about to find out:

Good morning from FlightAware.com,

Over 3,000 flight cancellations so far as a result of Hurricane Sandy -- details below:

• 
  707 flights cancelled to/from/within the US today. Most affected is Newark (EWR), a United hub, with over 265 cancellations today.
  
  2,499 flights cancelled to/from/within the US tomorrow (Monday). Most affected is Newark (EWR), with 774 cancellations, second is Dulles with 428 cancellations, third is Philadelphia with 355 cancellations.

Although most air traffic control towers will close when the wind reaches 60-70kts, the big factor that will result in early flight disruptions is mass transit shutdowns and the availability of airline and airport staff due to their need to prepare for the storm. For example, NYC MTA is planning a 7pm train shutdown this evening. Another big factor potentially affecting coastal airports is high tide; LGA is the most likely big airport to close (only 4ft above high tide), followed by JFK.

United Airlines is expected to be most affected; they have hubs near NYC (EWR) and DC (IAD). United will be shutting down DC operations around 7-8pm tonight with a plan to resume flights sometime on Tuesday after 12p. United will be shutting down PHL and JFK/EWR/LGA operations tonight between 6-7pm with a plan to resume operations sometime after 6pm on Tuesday.

US Airways will announce their cancellation schedule at noon today although their regional carrier, Air Wisconsin, has already cancelled flights on Monday at PHL and DCA. JetBlue is also deciding later pending determination of staffing availability.

Every airline is allowing fee-free changes (and refunds in some cases) for itineraries potentially impacted by the storm. The best way to make flight changes is on airline websites; call centers are typically overwhelmed during major events.

We expect the number of flight cancellations for tomorrow and Tuesday to rise considerably throughout the day and will send another update this evening.

 

[SS255]

Even this LA chick currently in London was affected: UA cancelled my LHR-LAX flight tomorrow. IAD-LHR is the inbound aircraft for this flight. Tonight's IAD-LHR is going, but tomorrow night's is cancelled, so I guess they felt it was cheaper to cancel my flight tomorrow than Tuesday's flight. It was a 71 minute wait to speak to a 1K agent, but I did get re-booked through IAH, and will get home about 6 hours later than planned. .

My parents flew from LAX-PHL today. It looked like those flights were running. I was kind of surprised that they practically flew into the eye of the storm and got off scott-free while this innocent West Coaster whose itinerary completely bypassed the affected areas got nailed.

 

[Kev3188]

I can hear it now, afters a flight will cancels to due to hurricane conditions "NOBODY TOLD ME" !

Lol.

Or:

"Well, I made it to the airport; how bad can it really be?"

 

[700UW]

http://sphotos-a.xx....pg<br><br><font

Most planes PIT has probably seen in a long time.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

It looks like NE ops are being scrubbed for most of Tuesday as well.

 

[algflyr]

http://sphotos-a.xx....pg<br><br><font

Most planes PIT has probably seen in a long time.

Nice picture... I guess the PIT commuters shouldn't have any trouble getting a flight out...

 

[700UW]

[size="-1"]US has been busy with ferries over the last 24 hours. These seem to be the ones moved out of the way of the storm:

BOS-PIT: 4x E190, 3x A319, 2x A320
BWI-PIT: 2x A319
DCA-PIT: 6x A319
MHT-PIT: 1x E190
PHL-PIT: 2x A320, 1x A333, 1x B767
PVD-PIT: 1x E190

ALB-CLT: 1x B734
BUF-CLT: 1x B734
DCA-CLT: 1x A319
PHL-CLT: 2x A321, 1x A333, 2x B767, 2x B734

BDL-DFW: 1x A319
BDL-TPA: 1x A319
PHL-MCO: 1x B757
PVD-FLL: 1x A319[/size]