<p>Try Rule 240...
Stranded</a> at the airport? Don?t forget Rule 240 - TODAY: Travel - MSNBC.com</p>
<p>nothing wrong with the open airport, its not ideal, but eh, no biggie....my d used her northface as a pillow...and she was one of dozens and dozens of people stuck, after while, you make friends....</p>
<p>Yup, CGM is right (and we never agree) I flew through O-hare several times to NJ and got stuck once overnight. I was with about 50 other UW students going home and we all sat on the floor together and had a nice time. You meet people you would never meet at a big school. Just have some extra cash for food and drink and stay relaxed. It will be fine.</p>
<p>Did you see this from the Northwest airline website:
Northwest</a> Airlines Weather Waiver
Updated February 21, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. CST</p>
<p>Due to an ice storm that is expected in the Midwest U.S., Northwest Airlines has issued a weather waiver to assist passengers traveling in the area.</p>
<p>Passengers with confirmed tickets for travel February 21 or 22, 2008 to, from or through the states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio may:</p>
<p>Reschedule travel to begin between February 21 and February 25, 2008 in the same cabin of service as originally scheduled, without penalty or administrative change fees, subject to availability.
Reschedule travel to begin between February 26 and February 29, 2008 in the same class of service as originally scheduled, without penalty or administrative change fees, subject to availability.
Reschedule travel to begin between March 1 and March 7, 2008 without advance purchase requirements or administrative change fees. Additional fare collection may apply.
Self-service rebooking is available. Customers are encouraged to reschedule their trip under these waiver guidelines using nwa.com's Manage My Reservations</p>
<p>For assistance with changes outside the guidelines noted above, please contact Northwest Reservations at 1-800-225-2525.</p>
<p>All passengers should check flight and gate status prior to leaving for the airport.</p>
<p>Excellent advice given. A byproduct of the airport security is nobody except passengers can get to the areas he will be waiting for a flight- far less worry about theft, etc. And the weather should be good on Saturday when we drive to near Louisville, KY to return M-in-L to her D and head SE. Last winter we got stuck at a relative's house in Orange County, CA- the reason we choose to drive this year (NWA is not my favorite- but Mpls and Detroit are nicer than O'Hare as hubs). I am really looking forward to seeing green. Don't worry, he's an adult and can enjoy his time traveling- he can think of it as an adventure, unlike us old folks who have had all the bad experiences to dread the inconveniences.</p>
<p>As one dad said a couple of years ago on this site about flight disruptions to and from school "They're college students. They're supposed to suffer." I, myself, spent mucho hours in airports, including most of the night, back in the day. My son's friends have had to sleep in airports (he's been luckier himself). They will live; it is nothing to panic about.</p>
<p>If he/you can afford it and want to spring for it, my best suggestion would be to reserve a hotel room NOW (that is cancellable). If the flight goes, cancel the room. If the flight doesn't go, he's set. If you don't do this, and will consider springing for the airport hotel, make sure he makes that call FIRST when he hears of the cxlation - those rooms disappear fast.</p>
<p>If you're not going to spring for the hotel, he just needs to prepare himself mentally and phsyically (fleece that can be a pillow or a pillow, jacket that can be a blanket, cell phone, entertaining books/computer/power cord) for the possibility of delays.</p>
<p>Mom, if he is a freshman, you will probably be more able to let this go in a year or so when he has successfully flown by himself. He can do it.</p>
<p>With Rule 240, does that become impossible on a connecting flight if you've checked bags?</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your help. I just got off the phone with Northwest, and they will provide a plane from Detroit to Laguardia if the plane from Columbus can't take off. The ticket agent I spoke to was extremely optimistic about tomorrow's flight taking off - I just wish I was as optimistic as he is. The problem is that all of Saturday's flights are booked because it's spring break. Hopefully I'll be able to update you with good news tomorrow night that he arrived safely!</p>
<p>I don't think Rule 240 works when a delay or cancellation is weather related. Two suggestions - encourage him to get to the airport as early as possible before his flight, even if it's hours before (unless there's an issue with his transporation to the airport, and he's limited) and request to get on an earlier flight. The airlines are pretty good about honoring people's wishes to leave earlier if there is impending weather coming in. While some have mentioned that this particular weather system doesn't appear too ominous at this point, you have to remember that his plane has to come from somewhere. If that somewhere is located in an area that is being hard hit by weather, then decent weather in Detroit or New York may not matter. You need to be prepared.</p>
<p>Some really helpful advice based on a nightmare of an experience we had last summer (got stuck in Philadelphia Airport the night of an air traffic control computer outage that effected the entire East Coast). Everyone was scrambling to reschedule their flights, etc. I was more concerned about getting a room since my daughter and I had been rear-ended by a semi truck on our way to the airport (in a rental car) and we were upset and sore, and just wanted a place away from the noise. My husband (from our home - he was not with us) tried Expedia on line after calling a few hotels directly that were all full. Then he thought to CALL Expedia to get a room, and they were able to secure us a reservation right away, while hordes of other people were navigating reservation systems that were on overload. So if you don't have hotel numbers, computer access, etc., have the Expedia 800 number on hand and call them.</p>
<p>By the way, I thought MY daughter's spring break was early - it doesn't start until the following week.</p>
<p>My son got stuck over winter break. Ultimately, it was because of mechanical failure, not weather. They couldn't get him on anything until the next morning. He found a hotel nearby, took the airport shuttle there, and spent the night. Not his favorite thing but it worked ok. I strongly suggest that your kids who have to travel have a credit card with enough of a cushion to be able to purchase things in an emergency. Our kids each have one of OUR credit cards specifically for this. They know to check with us before they use it but don't have to worry about it being denied because they don't have a much of a credit limit.</p>
<p>I would call the airline to see if they would rebook him on a flight for next day. They would normally do that with no charge if there is a big storm. I would do that rather than have my flight cancelled then trying to get on the next flight. The reason is that if a flight is cancelled due to weather, the only obligation airline has is to try to get you on the nex AVAILABLE flight, not the next flight. If you rebook it for next day, then you are guaranteed a seat. It happened to me on a flight to Detroit. They couldn't get me on a flight until 2 days later. I decided to drive from Newark to Detroit instead of waiting for a seat.</p>
<p>Seasoned travelers refer to this site:
Best</a> and Worst Airports - Budget Traveller's Guide to Sleeping in Airports</p>
<p>Speaking as a regular traveler who is Platinum on two different airlines (one of which is Northworst...uh, I mean Northwest) and has lived through countless weather delays and flight cancellations, I can offer four key pieces of advice (some of which have already been covered):</p>
<ol>
<li><p>NEVER check your luggage. Pack light so that you have carry-on only. Having checked luggage can sometimes sharply limit your rebooking options.</p></li>
<li><p>If bad weather is scheduled to hit the same time as your flight, get to the airport way early a try to get a standby seat on earlier flights.</p></li>
<li><p>Move fast - at the first hint of a cancellation, jump on the phone to your airline and start rebooking. Don't waste any time dithering about what to do. Sometimes there are banks of dedicated rebooking phones at the airport. Those are handy if available and are often faster than dialing in on your cell. Remember there are only a few if any rebooking seats available and they will go to those who move on them the quickest.</p></li>
<li><p>If the worst happens, keep a cheerful attitude. Chewing out the airline people or generally cursing your bad luck won't help one bit. Don't wallow in your misery. Treat yourself to a nice dinner at the airport and settle in to wait this out and get to your destination.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>More advice for the traveler:
If a flight is cancelled, remain as pleasant as possible with the harried airline employees. I was upgraded twice as a result, I think, of being a refreshing breeze of kindness and consideration when the employees were being dumped on by irritated passengers blaming the employees for problems beyond their control.</p>
<p>If an employee is not helpful, just calmly ask for their supervisor. Don't get into a debate. I've only run into a surly employee once, and immediately handled it by calmly requesting his supervisor. He got the supervisor, who handled my situation professionally.</p>
<p>Another option--my D travels with her laptop. When she got stranded, airline said it could not get her out for 2 days--and it was a 4 day trip. She found a WI-FI connection and found there were flights available on other lines; the airline had denied that there were. So, don't take their word for it.</p>
<p>We had an experience once others might learn from. Daughter's connecting flight from LaGuardia to home (from her semester abroad) was cancelled and she was almost stuck in the airport. She was in line to rebook, while I was on the phone, holding for an agent. Just about the time she got up to the gate agent, I was on the phone with the airline. I also had my computer up in front of me so I could offer suggestions to the agent I was speaking to. As my daughter and I were talking back and forth, considering all options, the gate agent at the airport realized my daughter was talking to me, and I was talking to the airline (cell phone and land line going at the same time). She immediately told my daughter she wasn't going to help her if I was talking to the airline also, so she told her to step aside and let the next person in line come up. </p>
<p>Lesson learned - if multiple people are negotiating with an airline for rebooking, don't let either one know you're working with someone else as they might blow you off. In our case, when I told the agent I was talking to what happened, she pooh-poohed the gate agent who refused to help my daughter just because I was on the phone with an airline representative.</p>
<p>Book the hotel as an option. Is your son in college? If so, relax. You are probably much more worried about this than he is. Good luck!</p>
<p>Well - I now have serious doubts that my son will make it home for Spring Break. Northwest (or as another poster has dubbed it NORTHWORST), cancelled both early morning flights this morning. I found it interesting that the American Airlines early morning flights from Detroit to Laguardia were able to take off! I called the airline to see if I could reschedule - they don't have anything available until SUNDAY, and they will charge me to make the change since my son's flight hasn't been cancelled yet! I believe another poster sent me a link that says I can change with no charge. The money isn't even the issue - I'm really angrythat since American Airlines raised their fare from Detroit to Laguardia to the exorbitant fare of $540 for this break - that's only a trip of 600 miles - (I payed $330 for both Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks), I decided to book with Northworst (at half the fare) and now my biggest fear of him not coming home are coming true.</p>
<p>Oh michone, so sorry. I hope he gets home.</p>
<p>"Several airlines, including JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines, are letting passengers flying to or from the area rebook their tickets without paying a change fee."</p>
<p>This quote is from the web site of NYC's local NBC site, WNBC.com. Perhaps one of the airlines they are talking about is the one you have a ticket on. </p>
<p>In any event, I am sure your son will come home. This storm is not supposed to last too long. It will be inconvenient, sure, and there will be long delays, but he will be there! I know you must be VERY frustrated.</p>