<p>Actually what United said about the delay (and what I had forgotten) is that they aren’t responsible for weather delays. Some airlines will help you out with vouchers, others are ‘too bad, so sad’ about it. I remember getting stuck in Miami for the entire first day and most of the first night of our Aruba vacation due to mechanical problem with the plane. And that’s a lovely thing if you are a worrier btw. We were given two $10 meal vouchers for any airport restaurant…wowee. We finally took off at about 2:00 a.m.</p>
<p>I didn’t feel too sorry for myself…sitting on the floor across from us was couple of young honeymooners. They had their nice ‘going away’ outfits on and were carrying a big basket loaded with champagne and goodies. By the time they boarded, they were tired and looked like ‘cats had licked their hair’ just like the rest of us. (I’m just full of Texanisms today.)</p>
<p>ldmom: I actually do think she would have been perfectly fine staying in the airport overnight–probably much safer than in the hotel–given all the security at a major airport. Not as comfortable as a hotel room, obviously, but it “sounds like” she had only 5 or 6 hours to stay, anyway, before having to board again? </p>
<p>Nevertheless, I’m very surprised that if United “automatically” booked her on the next morning flight, they wouldn’t have also automatically booked her a hotel room. I lost a connection once like that, and once landed, the airline personnel asked if anyone wanted to be booked in a hotel, so they took care of it. The other time, the plane had to divert to an airport about an hour away, because of bad thunderstorms. They had no other flight out that night, but immediately booked those stranded into a hotel for the night. I can’t remember the airline now, but I think one was Continental, and the other may have been United.</p>
<p>She actually landed at O’Hare at about 8:15 p.m…so her wait would have been about 12 hours in the airport. My husband just wasn’t going to spend 12 hours worrying about her. He’s one of those ‘life’s too short for unnecessary worry’ types. (He’s a very healthy person…so that attitude must work. )</p>
<p>I was surprised about the weather policy too, but dh says it’s pretty standard. The only nice thing about the whole experience was when ldgirl finally got to the customer service counter they did hand a ticket and boarding pass for the 8:00 a.m. flight to her immediately…with no fuss. And we rec’d an email later confirming the automatic booking. But they said absolutely no when she asked about hotel accommodations and said “NEXT!” when she asked where she could find information about local hotels.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think the level of rude just went off the chart because of the sheer number of missed connections they were handling that day.</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason for a young girl or anyone for that matter to have to stay at an airport for 12 hours/overnight. By all means I would get a room for my child if one could be had. This is not an endurance contest.</p>
<p>Btw…on the airport front. I live 20 minutes down the Beltway from Bush IAH in Houston, and getting to Hobby would not be a problem either. If ever one of your kids needs airport/flight/hotel/cab/any assistance, please p.m. me. (Embarrassing understatement that it is, I check this site pretty often )</p>
<p>ldmom-
Glad she is completing her lengthy travels. btw-- how come coureur got credit for the same thing I suggested to digmedia in my previous post (see post #49)
My s. is heading to Hobby to come home in a few hrs. How’s the weather there today? I am assuming he will be on time…
HOWEVER,</p>
<p>We’ve also had a few incidents like cathymee desribed- He overslept for an early Thanksgiving morning flight a few yrs ago-- got put on a later flight and barely made it in time for dinner. This yr he travelled through IAH (NEVER AGAIN) – what a ZOO! And the shuttle from theparking lot to the airport was delayed helping a handicapped passenger, and then got stuck in the jam at the terminal. He BARELY made it-- they had to open the door to the jetway to let him on the plane. Oh, did I mention the year he tried to fly standby for something (I forget what) on Airtan’s xfares (great deals for students, if you are flexible or flyng on an off time) but they ended up filling up-- the other flights to ATL were outrageously overpriced. So he ended up flying Southwest to B’ham and I drove the 2 1/2 hrs each way to get him and bring him home. Sigh… kids. But… I lov’em, and can’t wait til we pick him up tonight! :D</p>
<p>I don’t think any airlines will give compensation if there is a weather delay. The only thing I don’t understand is why they would have let her on the first flight if they knew she couldn’t make her final destination that night. </p>
<p>I once had a similar weather delay on an afternoon flight with a late connection, but the Delta agent immediately told me that my first flight from RDU to ATL would be late, so it wasn’t worth going on since I could be stuck in ATL overnight. Instead she offered to put me on the 7 AM flight the next day. It was much easier that way since I just went back to college to sleep.</p>
<p>ldmom: I had assumed that when she didn’t get settled into the hotel until 1 am, that she hadn’t arrived much before that. So she was at the airport from 8 pm until close to 1 am–nearly 4 hours just trying to secure a hotel and find some help? I’m really surprised the airlines and airport customer service folks were so unhelpful.</p>
<p>We were ONCE given compensation for a weather delay. We landed in Missoula Montana & they held us at the runway for hours & hours while waiting for all the other flights to land, during which time the weather got progressively worse until they cancelled all flights (if they hadn’t waited, we could have taken off fine & made it to our destination, Bozeman, as the weather was OK). They gave those of us who sat in the plane those innumerable hours credit for a hotel but no way to get there! Most folks slept in the airport (all car rental counters closed & no means of getting from the airport to the hotel) while we were lucky enough to beg the car rental agent to take us with her down the hill to the hotel when she closed her car rental counter. That’s the only time I ever got anything due to a weather delay/cancellation. It was definitely NOT FUN.</p>
<p>Cross fingers that the new departure time of 6:30 holds.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be a big deal, but she has a holiday party to go to that starts at 7:30. All of her friends, bf included made it in town and she is stuck.</p>
<p>I will be meeting her at O’hare with party dress, makeup and flat iron. </p>
<p>I am sure she will be a site while she cleans up in the airport bathroom.</p>
<p>Our experience is that they certainly don’t OFFER hotel vouchers for either weather or something they like to call “air traffic congestion”. If there is any way the airline can claim it is not their fault, they will. It may be different for those who are frequent fliers or part of those special clubs they have. Exceptions can be made, and often are, based on the feelings of the agent you are dealing with (and how much you cry!) But air travel, in our experience, has been marked more by “what problem this time?” than “great flight, got in on time, with my luggage”. The latter remains a pipe dream.</p>
<p>Most recent experience – had to change terminals at JFK for an international flight. Got on the little tram thing that runs between terminals. COULDN’T GET OFF! The door malfunctioned and we were trapped. Ended up going out to long range parking before they finally opened. Had to get out, get another tramto get back to the terminals, and then stood in line to check in for the international flight for 30 minutes. When I finally got to the counter I was told “we don’t have to let you on the flight because you are late, but we will.” I didn’t find it amusing.</p>
<p>My daughter was also flying into O’Hare the evening of 12/14/06 (luckily Chicago was her destination with no connecting flight to catch). She was supposed to leave Oklahoma City at 5:15, pushed back to 5:30, then 5:42. American’s website says they left at 5:42 and she is expected to land at 7:25 (which is fishy because it’s a two-hour flight). My cell phone rings at 6:15 with her unique ring tone and I about faint because I’m sure the plane’s going down and she’s calling for some last words (did I mention I am a horrible passenger?) She says they’re still on the run way. Several phone calls later she states the pilot is getting really ticked because of air traffic control issues in Chicago (blaming the the air traffic controllers). They lose their place in line on the run way and go back to the end of the line. They get to the front of the line - honestly, how long can the line be in OKC? - and they are deferred again. Finally, the pilot comes on the PA system, tells the passengers to hold on tight, that they have 45 seconds to get down the run way and in the air or they will go to the end of the line again! DD says they were up in 25 seconds and she almost lost her dinner, except that she didn’t have dinner because she thought she’d be home by 7:15! They then got stuck circling above Chicago for about an hour. </p>
<p>When we picked her up about 11:00 at O’Hare, the place was a zoo, people waiting for bags that never arrived, none of the departure/flight arrival boards were working in terminal 3. There was a very small article in the paper the next day saying that the air traffic control system (based in Elgin) went out and they had to go to back-up (in Tinley Park) which is undersized for the amount of air traffic O’Hare handles. Amazingly, ORD does NOT have a back-up system in Elgin. Every time they go to back up in Tinley Park, this nightmare happens. </p>
<p>I’m just glad she’s home. Unfortunately, we have to face it all again in three weeks.</p>
<p>jym - you are RIGHT about the cut and paste!! I musta missed it! I’m hoping I get the hang of that little trick. (But the senility thing is working against me. ) Houston looks good…we are having muggy days which makes for foggy mornings; but after 10 a.m., both airports should be fine. IAH IS a zoo isn’t it? I actually ‘understand’ it better since I’m so familiar with it…but I still can’t break myself of the habit of calling it Intercontinental (like in the old days before they started naming every thing in Houston after one Bush or another).</p>
<p>jordansmom…if your d was in terminal 1 at 11:00 p.m she probably saw my poor daughter running around frantically…lol! I’d heard something went down at O’Hare from the rude United person I spoke with…but he said it was the whole airport for weather. I smell a rat. ;)</p>
<p>jack - I figured out after I posted that I wasn’t clear about her landing time. My bad. Yes…it took over FOUR hours to get her squared away. I think ‘to rough it’ or ‘not to rough it’ is truly a decision that is based on circumstances. If the only hotel we could have found for ldgirl would have required a cab ride into downtown, I would have to agree she would be safer just staying in a well-lit, high-traffic area of the airport than jumping into a cab alone in a city she wasn’t familar with… Luckily we were able to get her in somewhere that was virtually on airport property. It’ll be a judgement call everytime I guess.</p>
<hr>
<p>everyone -
Here’s an interesting thing we found out today after ldgirl finally woke up and was fit to visit with… She told the gate agent at RDU she didn’t think she should board, that she was sure she’d miss her connection at O’Hare because they were so late leaving Raleigh-Durham. And that agent actually told her that she would make her connection easily and she shouldn’t worry. I guess ldgirl must of thought they would just ‘step on the gas’…lol! As duke says, this would have been so much easier if she had just rescheduled for the next day and gone back to UNC for the night. Dorms didn’t close until the next day.</p>
<p>"Had I been her parent, I would have told her to find a nice set of chairs, curl up, and try to sleep. The airport is perfectly safe thoughout the night, and it’s common to see people sleeping through the non-connecting hours. "</p>
<p>I would have done the same, indeed actually did the same with S, 18, who had to spend the night in the Atlanta airport earlier this year after due to a late flight, he missed his connection flight. Come to think of it, my husband had to do the same about six weeks ago for the same reason. </p>
<p>I also have had to do the same as recently as this summer.</p>
<p>Airports are safe. Many people have to spend the night in them due to connections problems. One just needs to have the good sense to sleep in a way that no one can steal one’s belongings.</p>
<p>well…one reason to pick a college in a smaller sized city with a conveniently located airport…HE MADE IT!!!
Left dorm in 5 minutes after frantically banging on the door of the person giving him a lift to Columbia SC airport.Made it to airport in under 10 minutes.Ran in to USAir checkin,no lines,ran to security…no lines.Sitting at the gate with 25 minutes to spare.This never would have been possible in a bigger city with more traffic,or a bigger airport with more congestion and lines.He said the check in people weren’t fased at all,no mention made of a 60 minute window for check ins or security.Hooray for small regional airports!!!</p>
<p>I am going to weigh-in here. As a result of a mechanical problem, I recently missed a connection at DFW airport and had to spend the night at an airline provided hotel. The hotel was absolutely awful - dirty, ugly, etc.<br>
I have heard from friends that have been in similar situations that they have been placed in less than desirable hotels as well by the airlines. I recall a recent conversation regarding a really really bad airport hotel in Atlanta.<br>
I bring this up because if your DD or DS is in a similar situation, s/he may be better off sleeping in the airport rather than going to an airline-provided airport.</p>
<p>cathymee - so glad to hear he made it! I fear we are just beginning this little adventure show I shall call “Kids on Their Own in Airports: The College Years”.</p>
<p>You have point there msmsdad. In our case, of course, the airline wasn’t offering…but probably just as well. Knowing United, it would have been a hotel exactly as you described. Interestingly, my d told us when she checked in at the Doubletree, there were two lines…her line which was very short line and for regular customers paying full price, and one very long line for those with discount vouchers. Say what? That long line was full of customers from airlines other than United. Seems as though some airlines viewed this situation as mechanical (as decribed in a previous post) and not as ‘weather’. Something to remember when choosing your airline.</p>
<p>Ds came home with no money…none in his ATM account, none in his pocket. The car to take him to the airport on Friday no showed. He was able to get the girl he was going to share the car with to pay for a cab. They got to the airport in plenty of time because I had booked the car early after arguing with him about it. Then he gets to American and his bag is heavy. As he put it "I puppy dog eyed the girl, sweet talked her, told her “you know you are going to let me” and she rolled her eyes and tagged my bag. Good thing it wasn’t a male attendant or he would have been throwing things in the trash at Logan to get underweight. Lesson learned. He is keeping some cash in an account here so I can send some at the very last minute and he won’t travel with zero cash. Talk about Amazing race…I guess he could have panhandled for money for the cab or for enough to take the T to the airport. Boys! Anyway, he is home safe and sound for now…</p>
<p>As for hotels provided by airlines, generally in my experience they have been crappy and sometimes a long shuttle ride from the airport. I usually opt to the sleep in the airport with my cel phone in hand.</p>
<p>I’m hoping if S has to be stranded at LAX, I’ll give our mutual friends a call & they’ll pick him up & put him up overnight & be sure he gets to his airport. Sheesh, hadn’t been thinking too much about any of this, but perhaps he did when he chose his U. One of our best family friends happens to live 20 minutes from his U & near LAX. Whew! He caught a ride from his friend (whom he refuses to name–privacy is so precious), so he didn’t end up spending any money getting himself to the airport. He still has lots of money in his wallet & accounts & debit card as he’s not much of a spender.<br>
He grumbles that the food on campus is a huge rip-off but we told him to just consider it part of the price of living on-campus.</p>
(I’m just full of Texanisms today.)</p>
)</p>