<p>So my son had to stay to the bitter end of finals week because he had a final on Friday. He stayed up very late Thursday night studying for it. He had a shuttle reservation for around 1 pm on Friday to get him to the airport to start his 3-flight cross-country trip home. It's an hour to the airport from the college.</p>
<p>First the shuttle company notifies us it's moved up the departure time to 11:20 am on Friday... at which time he was supposed to be taking his final. No other options, they say... it's then or not at all. Kind professor lets him start his test an hour early. Gets on the shuttle, enroute finds out his flight has been cancelled. Gets to the airport, they put him on another plane that ought to make it possible for him to make his connection in Philadelphia. He boards, they pull away from the gate, they sit on the tarmac for 2 hours. They de-board him to wait until the next morning. Then suddenly they say, no, come now... you're on this other flight now. He finally gets to Philadelphia, long after his connecting flight has left. He waits in two different interminable customer service lines. Finally they send him out to sleep on the floor all night in Baggage Claim.</p>
<p>This morning he's on a flight to San Francisco. He gets there after a long miserable flight --exhausted of course after his second night of little sleep -- and he tries to get re-booked on the last leg of his trip home, but no-go. No seats available until a flight Monday (a 2-day wait). He tries standby, but it's hopeless. There are many people ahead of him on the standby list, and only small planes fly here so there is very little movement for standbys. He said only 1 guy got off the standby list and onto a plane after waiting through 3 later flights today.</p>
<p>So an old friend from San Francisco picked him up at the airport and they went out for burgers. Tonight he's catching the Greyhound Bus there at 1:00am for a nine hour bus ride home. He'll be in --hopefully if the pass isn't shut down by snow-- tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>The plane ticket was expensive to begin with. Now we have a $100 bus ticket on top of it. </p>
<p>We haven't seen him since he left in August for freshman orientation, we won't see him again until next summer... and he only gets to stay home now for one week before he has to be back.</p>
<p>So, parents who are thinking of a school a l-o-n-g way from home... this is one of those stories about the kinds of things you might have to deal with, especially if the school is far from a hub airport and you live far from a hub airport. I've read this same story here on CC before my kid went to college, and now I'm writing one myself. :(</p>
<p>Oh, that's terrible! DS is looking at some schools on another coast, but my parameters were no more than 45 minutes from an airport with non-stop flights home. Still...your story gives me concern about the trips.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear about your sons horrendous trip home. My older son goes to school 650 miles from our house. After sitting on the tarmac in Detroit for two hours last Thanksgiving weekend (a year ago) he vowed to never fly again. He brought his car back to Michigan with him this year. He did fly home this Thanksgiving, and his flight was actually early! He drove home on Thursday, beating the snow in the northeast. After he got home, he heard from many friends that they were stranded in airports. There are very few direct flights around - and that becomes a problem when weather (or anything else) delays your first leg of the trip. The bottom line here is you are at the mercy of mother nature when flying. It definitely adds complications to the process of getting home. However, unlike other people we know who have to travel hours to get their children from college, we only go to the airport. If your child likes the school enough to endure the travel nightmare flying has become, thats fine. However, most students and parents don't realize what could happen until it already has happened. I hope your son arrives home safely and you enjoy your time together!</p>
<p>So sorry to hear about his travel problems.<br>
This is pretty much my worst nightmare, and definitely is on the list of concerns when D chooses a college next year.</p>
<p>My D goes to school in the midwest; we live in Southern California. She got home today -- 24 hours after she was supposed to. This trip, like several others she's had, was a combination of at least two cancelled flights, one for weather and one for some other reason; bad weather (lots of snow, no visibility); and having to fly through O'Hare .... </p>
<p>In fact, on her first trip back after Christmas, as a freshman, she got to O'Hare only to have her flight cancelled. Luckily, there were a bunch of other girls from her college in the same boat, and they got a hotel room together. One of life's learning experiences.</p>
<p>Getting in and out of Chicago can be enough of a hassle; but connecting flights to smaller towns are often the first cancelled .... and we begrudge every day of break we have to give up.</p>
<p>But 'rentof2, your S had quite the nightmare trip!</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely a nightmare, and it's not over yet. There's still the 9 hour Greyhound trip. It departs at 1 am and he has to transfer in Sacramento to another bus at 3 am. Poor kid. This will be his third night without a real night's sleep.</p>
<p>I do not regret his college choice, even though we live in Oregon and he's going to school in Massachusetts. It's a fantastic college, an amazing opportunity for him on many, many levels, he's happy there, the school is --apart from being fabulous-- also terrifically generous. I mean, if we had to do it again even knowing how horrendous the trip home can be, we would still do it without a moment's hesitation... but it's just hard now because it's hard on him and it's costing us a lot of precious time to spend with him when we have so little to begin with. If it weren't for his involvement in a winter-season sport we'd have a nice break of some weeks time like nearly all the other students do.</p>
<p>As a military spouse I am all too familiar with the long trip home that becomes the long, long, long trip home. It's so frustrating and it always winds up being expensive as well.</p>
<p>The upside is that he'll never have been happier to see you! </p>
<p>I hope he is home safe and sound very soon. Enjoy your visit!</p>
<p>'rentof2, you have my sympathy. My D is flying home from MA and she is currently on a plane 34 thousand feet above the MN, but I have no clue where her plane will land. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that her trip will not involve a Greyhound bus.</p>
<p>Wow - your S sure had a time of it. Traveling in winter can be a pain and of course, that's when a lot of students are traveling back home. I've been stuck in Chicago in the winter due to weather a number of times but at least that was in the days when the airlines would pay for a hotel if you got stuck. </p>
<p>If at all possible, limit the flight segments to as few as possible and try to avoid Chicago, Denver, and other weather-risk stopovers - even if the ticket costs a bit more. Couldn't he get a coast to coast flight and avoid the middle?</p>
<p>Well, my D's non-stop flight just became a flight with at least one stop. And I paid extra for this flight since I was trying to avoid a stop in Chicago and the like! So there is no guarantee that a non-stop flight would get your kid coast to coast without troubles. :)</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, is you D on a flight now? this time of morning? I had to book a flight home for my D on Thurs. with a stop just for it to be afordable, but I was nervous with her changing planes in an unfamiliar airport.</p>
<p>rent'of2, this is ga2012mom, I had to create another screen name, for some reason CC would not log me in at all! Sorry he had to stay till Friday, D had her last final Wed so she made it out just in time! Her roommate and several others could not get out due to flight cancellations, thank goodness the school kept all dorms open till Monday! The weather here is crazy, she landed with cold weather clothing on, jeans, sweater, jacket, UGG boots, and it was 72 degrees! She was sweating on the train! We were 70 again yesterday, but tonight, we are going down to 21! Hope you enjoy your very short time :( together!</p>
<p>Well...let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weekend(s) these kids fly BACK to college, there are no weather issues. Both of our kids leave here on Jan 3 to back (assuming the one who is supposed to arrive on Wednesday actually GETS here). One is flying by way of Midway, the other Phili. Neither is a great choice when the weather is bad.</p>
<p>It's still snowing here in CT ...again... and it is supposed to miraculously end at 6:00 p.m. tonight. In the meantime, it's slick.</p>
<p>'rent of 2, I am so sorry for your S's travels. We were so lucky. My D flew out of LGA on Tues, we dodged a bullet there. Hoping for good weather for her flight back. My S came home on Fri. during the big storm but lucky for him his ride missed most of the bad weather. </p>
<p>Both of my kids are more than 500 miles from home. I wonder about the distance all the time, it's so hard, and we don't get to see them much. But they are both so happy at their schools, they are absolutely at the right choice, I know that we made the right decision to let them go so far away.</p>
<p>Similar stories on the I'll be home for Christmas thread. My son is still trying to get out of Logan. Was supposed to be home Friday pm. Is finally booked on a flight Monday pm.</p>
<p>GAmom, D's flight was diverted due to really bad weather here in WA. We were watching the flight in "real time", and H noticed that it made a sharp 90-degree turn, then disappeared from the screen! Yikes! The flight re-appeared on the screen with a new status: diverted... D and friends are supposed to fly to Seattle this morning. Last night our airport shut down, and thousands of people spent the night on the floor, and according to the news, the concessions ran out of food because there weren't any deliveries due to bad roads.</p>
<p>I'm sad to hear of all these travel troubles! We have one of our own. My S is flying from DC to Portland through Phoenix today. I fully expect the Phoenix to Portland flight will be cancelled due to all the snow and ice here, but no official word yet. Fortunately we have relatives in the Phoenix area who will take him in until our weather clears up.</p>
<p>ebeeeee, my daughter is sitting in Providence right now waiting for her flight. She took the bus from Boston early ..now her flight has just been delayed so I am waiting in limbo to see when I should leave for the airport.
The storm is winding down here now, and it came in the form of rain ( though I heard some freezing rain in Philly )
this is round two for us of storm delays...my other daughter drove with her roommate's parents in Friday's storm...that was a long trip !!</p>
<p>My daughter flew into LaGuardia yesterday between snowstorms. Even though her flight arrived on time, she had a two hour wait on the tarmac before her plane was allowed to taxi to the gate -- too many planes grounded due to weather delays elsewhere. Then another two hour drive home to Connecticut. By the way, she flew in from Kansas where she attends college -- when she left, the temperature was 1, with a 30 mile per hour wind. Now THAT's cold!!!</p>
<p>This would be a good time for all CC parents to be available for stranded kids! A little late now, but in case it happens again in january when all going back.</p>