<p>SJTH, is the reason he can't get into Portland because of weather in Portland, or is it just that he's on standby and the scheduled flights are all already fully-booked or over-booked... or ?</p>
<p>I'm just curious because while my son originally had a direct flight from SF to Medford, the only way they could rebook him for tomorrow night was to fly him up to Portland and then back down to Medford from there.... which is fine, assuming he'll even be able to fly into Portland tomorrow night.</p>
<p>What's the situation in Portland?</p>
<p>I can totally relate to your son's frustration. My son is more of a get-sad rather than get-mad personality... not sure which of those is better or worse than the other. Poor kids.</p>
<p>I want to first say that I am in no way a jinx to travel with it's just that my spouse is in the military so we travel all. the. time. </p>
<p>SJTH, If you have not already, text your son and remind him that it's not a good idea to be rude ever but it's really not a good idea when you want something from the person! I once had a gate attendant slide me a meal voucher because I was the first person that had said "thank you" to her that day. </p>
<p>This was awhile ago but one time when I got stuck in a situation like this (with my toddler!) my husband was able to work out a much better deal on the phone with the airline than the people on line with me were getting. Of course, now I suppose people could wait on line and use their cel phones.</p>
<p>Another time I got stuck (by myself), my husband sent out an email to everyone we know asking if they had a pass we could use on a different airline and, of course, we would pay them. It turned out a friend of ours had several passed for Southwest and I got out a day earlier than I would have. And our friend would not take any money, which still makes me a little teary thinking about it.</p>
<p>Okay, I'm putting out good travel vibes for all of these stuck CCers.</p>
<p>My sympathies with all those kids still trying to get home and all their parents anxiously waiting! I hope we have good weather when they all head back to campus.</p>
<p>
[quote]
he's been in Alaska air's line for 3 hours trying to get re-booked
[/quote]
Has he tried calling Alaska Airlines while in line to see if they can do anything for him? It might be quicker than the line.</p>
<p>Regardless of how he feels, he needs to be as courteous as possible to the agents he speaks with. They didn't cause any of these issues and he needs to see them as potential allies. These agents are stressed as well in times like this. If the previous person or two that spoke with the agents were cranky and your S is polite then he's more likely to get helped. I've definitely seen this happen before.</p>
<p>I was extra nice and patient when rebooking my son and they bumped him to first class.
Definitely pays to be nice. Also, when you are in a long line at the airport trying to rebook it can often be quicker to call the airlines 800 number on your cel phone rather than wait in line.
I have done this numerous times.</p>
<p>counting down, Midway weather can be different from O'Hare. It depends on which direction the weather is coming from and how far. Midway is more easily affected by bad weather, because the runways are short. </p>
<p>But, I, too, am thankful for Southwest. Obviously, they are as much at the mercy of bad weather as any other airline, but it is not a negligible advantage that they are very good at keeping you informed of what's happening re: flight status and they are usually very pleasant to deal with. There's nothing worse that to be stuck with a cancelled flight and to have to deal with an airline employee who obviously doesn't give a hoot.</p>
<p>S was flying from Buffalo through Midway to St. Louis on Friday. The worst part was actually the drive to the airport through the snowstorm. The flight leaving BUF was about an hour late but he had a 2 1/2 hr. layover at Midway. I knew from the Weather channel that the snow had stopped about 11 a.m. (his flight arrived at 3:30 or so). But they sat for nearly an hour waiting for a gate. He ran for his flight and just made it on board (don't know if they would have waited. They sometimes do). </p>
<p>When he arrived in St. Louis, he didn't think it was possible that his suitcase made it. He didn't think there was enough time, but lo and behold out it came. Bless them! Because we live 2 1/2 hours from the airport.</p>
<p>Wow. After reading all these horror stories I am so grateful D made it home from Rochester on Thursday morning before the storm hit. She was originally supposed to have a final Friday morning, but since it was for a large multi-section class, the exam was re-scheduled to Wednesday night. (LOL! Once she found out her last exam was over at 8 pm Wednesday, she demanded I get her out that night. No go, unless she wanted to spend the night in the Dallas airport on her way home.) I booked her a flight out early Thursday morning--and she managed to hit a sweet spot between storm tracks--6 am flights were delayed or cancelled, but the 7:30 am flight went out on time. </p>
<p>At O'Hare, she called me in tears because the leg home was overbooked and the airline was bumping folks off her flight. No volunteers so the bumpees were all involuntary--probably because the airline did not have any available seats to our city until the next day at the earliest. (That would have been Friday--and we know how well that would have worked out...) They bumped 10 people off a flight that seated 60--that's overbooking! Luckily D wasn't bumped and made it home only about a hour late</p>
<p>I knew that sending her through O'Hare this time of year is risky, but sending her through DC or Atlanta or Dallas adds hours and hours to her travel time. </p>
<p>D hasn't been home since August. Just glad she has 3 weeks at home and crossing my fingers that no major snow storm hits when she's on her way back.</p>
<p>Agree with the poster who suggested getting on the phone with the airline. I told my son last Christmas and this Christmas that if he got caught in weather delays and his flight was cancelled or he missed his connection to call on his cell phone immediately while walking to the line and stay on the phone line or in the line and settle with whomever got him straightened out first. I also told him he could call his dad and I and we would get on a phone while he was standing in line. For the most part these kids can't even rent a car since you need to be 21 so they don't have the liberty of "giving up" and driving the a leg of the trip.</p>
<p>I feel so happy that D made it home today! The local news just announced that Alaska, Horizon and JetBlue cancelled all flights in and out of Seatac. Alaska ran out of deicer, and the next shipment is coming sometimes on Monday.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone. I live in the northeast and feel so fortunate there are top quality schools here in the ne. All 3 of my kids go to great schools not too far from home. The problems getting them home are so minuscule compared to the stories I'm reading on this thread. </p>
<p>S and D1 were both suppose to come home Friday night but had to stay at school because of the snowstorm. They were certainly not alone because many kids were stranded. But my kids were home by Sat. afternoon. They have friends from school still not home. </p>
<p>I do not envy you guys and some of your travel stories. But at least many of you get sunny, warm weather all year. Not sure when we will see the sun again (haha). But it looks like a white Christmas.</p>
<p>Hope you all have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable time together this holiday.</p>
<p>My son is stuck in Phoenix tonight. His flight from DC to Phoenix was fine, but his flight from Phoenix to Portland was cancelled after first being delayed due to bad weather here. Yesterday we foresaw this possibility so I booked him a refundable flight on Southwest for tomorrow. Good thing we did, because it saved a seat for him that would have otherwise been taken. So he is now booked on a flight for tomorrow, and we have back-up flights scheduled for a couple more days as well, just in case. He's at my niece's house near Phoenix tonight and she will get him to the airport in plenty of time to catch his flight tomorrow.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone's kids trying to get home. This is a MESS.</p>
<p>While I waited for my daughter in the Philly airport today ( after her calling me to say the flight was leaving ) I noticed not only that her flight wasn't even on the monitors , but there was a lot of confusion and upset in there...many people waiting for loved ones wih not much help in determining what was going on...it turned out that a lot of the weather delays made for a very frustrating and disorganization on the part of airport staff....I will say that Southwest , in keeping with their exellent customer service had a rep out, and a mighy friendly one too to try to help out ALL customers waiting outside this terminal, even those on other airlines. I talked to a few people waiting and they were getting pretty miffed over the lack of info available...</p>
<p>The good news was that even though my daughter was 3.5 hours late, she came off the flight in a great mood because she met a nice guy on the flight...this was music to my ears after spending this semester nursing her wounds of a broken heart....finally she realizes that there is life after jerky boyfriend !! Great way to begin her holiday break, and well worth the waiting for her flight to arrive</p>
<p>Yes, son was polite (despite his mood!) and was re-booked. He has a Southwest flight Tuesday and an Alaska air flight on Weds. He found an In-N-out Burger which miraculously improved his mood. To answer questions, yes, Portland is a mess--i've lived here all my life and never seen anything like it: 10 inches of snow, followed by 1/2 inch of ice, followed by another 1-2 inches of snow. Chains required everywhere, mountain passes closed; airport virtually closed, as well as Amtrak. If S1 were here, there would be much coziness and merry-making! Well, we're cozy, but I will feel complete when S1 is here! After a good sleep tonight, we'll ALL be in a better mood!</p>
<p>Yeah, SJTH, after I asked you about Portland I saw a lot of video on the news here about Portland locked in snow. Wow.</p>
<p>My dear, dear friend in SF that has now taken my son in twice during his failed attempts to get home, has made him some warm wonderful food, sent him to a warm bath, and set him up in a warm, homey bedroom. I hope by now he is passed out asleep and that he'll sleep for 12 hours.</p>
<p>Tomorrow we'll all start in again on this............</p>
<p>My goodness, it seems my daughter is in good company--all these stranded students! DD is stuck in Salt Lake City for the night, all alone in a hotel room courtesy of Delta Airlines. Her flight out of SFO was delayed so that she missed her connecting flight to O'Hare. She was a bit perturbed by the disruption but otherwise unconcerned and delighted to be able to watch the Giants game. I am (oddly) calmed by her nonchalance (and my inability to change anything)--also, driving to the airport today to pick her up would have been very risky on this end anyway, so it's probably for the best.</p>
<p>SJTH--yes! never have we seen this and have been here since 1979....Our D changed her flight fromJFK a day early--JetBlue waived her fee--but that actually turned out to not be needed.
If any of you have students here stranded at PDX let us know--we will do our best to help out--the Max is still running so maybe we could collect them one way or another because this is going to go on for a few more days. We lost power for 6 hours but are fortunate to have gas fireplaces and stove so were fine and all is back now. Hope all of your students are safe and warm.</p>
<p>I wish my D was as lucky as Schmoomcgoo's D re: hotel room paid for by airline. On 12/18 she was stranded in Dallas due to weather in the midwest and AA wouldn't pay for her hotel room. They said a weather cancellation is something out of their control, hence no obligation to pay! Like earlier poster, we were relieved not to have to attempt to drive to the airport that night, as travel was not recommended. Hope everyone's kids arrive home soon and safely!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these things happen and can be expected even in good weather during the big travel days. One thing I have learned is to book D on an EARLY flight, if possible, so that she has a better chance of getting out than if she were on a 3PM flight. With an apt. now that is much easier to wait an extra day. Parents and students need to decide before a child goes away how much this will bother them. We know we have no control over it and she gets here/there when she gets here/there. And it is always in the back of our minds that she might not make it out at all. Just another growth experience! Good luck to all....we were fortunate the weather cleared this weekend for her 10 hour drive home!</p>