<p>Just need to vent. Bought plane ticket OHare to Minneapolis for S months ago. Due to winter storm in the Midwest, his original flight yesterday/Saturday and 3 subsequent rebooked flights were cancelled. The earliest that United can now get him to MSP is tomorrow/Monday evening. His flight is essentially 2 1/2 day late.</p>
<p>S has to pay for 2 nights at an airport hotel (airline wont pay for lodging and I talked him out of camping out in the airport). Oh, he has $1.75 cash in his pocket.</p>
<p>At least he is safe. Any one else affected by the storm?</p>
<p>You have my sympathies for the delay and any time spent at O’Hare. Do turn on CBS right now to take a look at this storm, and you’ll feel grateful that your son is anywhere in the world except in the air in the middle of it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on him getting home tomorrow either. I’m sitting in northern Indiana. My nephew’s baptism was canceled this morning in northern Chicago and my parents had to drive home in this. I know this must be very frustrating for you, but I agree with Hanna–be very grateful he is not in the air. Hopefully he will be home soon and all will be over and you can celebrate the holidays!</p>
<p>It’s affecting air travel over a large area. My H is currently sitting on a plane waiting to take off for a short flight to Atlanta then a connecting flight home. He’s already delayed two hours and it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to get a flight out of Atlanta tonight. I agree that it’s frustrating but it’s better than being in the air in such bad weather.</p>
<p>Vent away, DreamMom. That is a nightmare, indeed! </p>
<p>I guess families are lucky this did not happen Thanksgiving week… there would have been hardly any time to visit before turning around to go back to school.</p>
<p>Well…if DD were still in college, she would have been attempting to fly cross country…yesterday. Glad she graduated!! DH is supposed to travel on business on Tuesday flying via Charlotte…hope his planes are there.</p>
<p>To the OP…vent away…if there is that much snarled air travel at O’Hare, your son is lucky he found a hotel room!! It’s an annoying thing but weather can certainly snarl up air travel.</p>
<p>H did manage to depart Mpls. today (delayed 24 hours), but missed his connecting flight, so arrival on West Coast unsure. He was amazed at snow depths, white out conditions, and of course, today the below zero wind chills. He mentioned airline personnel were patient and doing their best. Most flyers were understanding, but a few jerks here and there. (Like the airline can control Mother Nature…!) </p>
<p>He did say to keep calling and talking to a live body, not just take what computer says you are going to fly…because people are missing connections, so a very fluid, changing situation. If your S is flying with only carryon bags, it may be beneficial to actually be at the airport, waiting to take any last minute seat that may become available.
But agree, while frustrating, I’d rather your son be on the ground, desperately wishing he was in the air, versus the other way around…</p>
<p>Got stuck one night due to snow at Ohare. Charter for UW students going home to NJ/NY for Christmas. We had a good time. I don’t expect airlines to pay for blizzards.</p>
<p>DD was supposed to be in Chicago yesterday and is snowed in somewhere in Manitowoc. At least she is indoors in hotel. Monday will be clearing but very cold and windy. So to all travel safe;)</p>
<p>Exactly. Far better to be on the ground and wishing you were in the air instead of the other way around.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I get to fly from here in San Diego to Minneapolis on business - which for me looks to be a more than an 80 degree swing high temperatures in one day.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support. I am glad that S is not flying through the storm. Just that it is so frustrating dealing with the airline (awful phone system - S was on hold for an hour this morning before getting to a live person) and the ever changing arrival times. </p>
<p>Now that the storm has headed south, ORD is the problem, not MSP. S plans to spend the day at ORD tomorrow and see if he can get on an earlier flight. </p>
<p>Another positive to think about-- S1 got stuck overnight at an airport T’giving weekend last year. By the time he made it home his holiday weekend was half over.</p>
<p>The last flight on SW from MSP to MDW looks like a go…right now. All the earlier flights have been cancelled. And as luck would have it, the reservation in question is on that flight. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Fingers crossed for your traveller, mafool. My H has made it to Atlanta and due to delays with his connecting flight may actually make that one, too. Hope so!</p>
<p>OP, when DD and her friend got stuck in SAlt Lake City due to the unplanned stop made by their JetBlue flight, I called a local hotel and gave them my Amex number to make a reservation for the girls who did not have much cash. I also told them to charge any meals they have at the hotel to their hotel bill. Does your son have a bank account where you can transfer some money for him? It might not make it into his account until Monday Good luck to him. I hope he makes it home safely soon.</p>
<p>We’ve had nothing but trouble for three years with S1 and O’Hare coming from Colorado. This year we’re sending him south to Texas and then direct up into Michigan I’ve heard that going south to come north avoiding O’Hare is a good plan. We’ll see next weekend. One year he lucked into the normally $1000 direct flight for cheap from Denver to our airport and his was the only plane that landed that afternoon, all the others were stuck because of O’Hare. Hopefully your son will find some college kids to “hang” with although it’s early. My son always made new friends from all sorts of colleges hanging out in O’Hare waiting for the blizzards to subside. Remind your kids to carry their cell phone chargers and not put in checked luggage. If they bring a laptop home in a carryon that can come in handy for checking airlines, entertainment, etc. but again charger in the backpack not the checked luggage. OP he’ll get home eventually hang in there.</p>
Good luck to him. I hope he makes it home safely soon.</p>
I’ve heard that going south to come north avoiding O’Hare is a good plan. We’ll see next weekend. One year he lucked into the normally $1000 direct flight for cheap from Denver to our airport and his was the only plane that landed that afternoon, all the others were stuck because of O’Hare. Hopefully your son will find some college kids to “hang” with although it’s early. My son always made new friends from all sorts of colleges hanging out in O’Hare waiting for the blizzards to subside. Remind your kids to carry their cell phone chargers and not put in checked luggage. If they bring a laptop home in a carryon that can come in handy for checking airlines, entertainment, etc. but again charger in the backpack not the checked luggage. OP he’ll get home eventually hang in there.</p>