airport delays are hell!

[nissan tuner]

+5 hours in the terminal isnt fun thank god for the excellent wi-fi

 

[McLaren]

Welcome to the end of spending vacation in other parts of the world. I had 2 friends were recently stuck at JFK & at Ohare on their way back to Texas, so I predict it's going to be the same for others trying to return home.

 

[Slick Rick]

I had a 6hr delay once, delays are terrible. Best thing is to try and get some sleep.

 

[TB]

Not to try to one-up you, but try that with 2 kids at or under the age of 4. After a while, movies on the laptop don't work anymore. It did indeed suck.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Try a 24 hour delay

First, flight was 2 hours late, then we boarded, then we taxi'd, then we parked. Then we waited, for an hour. The we disembarked, still at Gatwick. And got put in the Hilton for the night (swish), then a 2 hour delay on when we were supposed to fly the next day bringing us up to 24 hours!

 

[Jondot]

Try a 24 hour delay

First, flight was 2 hours late, then we boarded, then we taxi'd, then we parked. Then we waited, for an hour. The we disembarked, still at Gatwick. And got put in the Hilton for the night (swish), then a 2 hour delay on when we were supposed to fly the next day bringing us up to 24 hours!

Oh don't say that... I'm flying out of Gatwick on Wednesday... Which airline?

 

[Philly]

I think I came home for five different breaks from school, and also there and back at the beginning and end of the year. I don't think a single trip went as planned.

That's air travel. Being on schedule is very rare, especially on the big airlines. I find that Alaska tends to be pretty good though.

 

[YSSMAN]

When I came back from Miami last summer we were delayed in the airport for about five hours due to some storms that we wouldn't have ever ran into on our way back to Cincinnati (and on to Grand Rapids). I think I ended up spending more money in the airport on drinks, snacks and magazines attempting to pass the time than I did for most of the week while actually on vacation. It was odd, because we'd never seen Miami get backed up like that, and it was bad for everyone on Delta.

...Oh well...

I'm praying that Virgin America will eventually expand to Chicago and Miami to make my life easier.

 

[JacoJa]

Haha... Yep. I'm laying on the ground in JFK as we speak. We also sat on the tarmac near a runway today for over 5 hours... So I missed both my connection flights to Australia. Now, I'm also using the WIFI... And I'll be sleeping on the cold floor.

Two GTP members in the same situation

Edit: But oh, It's ok... Because they've given us a $25 refund

 

[Philly]

Is the wifi at least free in JFK? I find that it isn't in major airports (LA, Seattle, Chicago, Cincinnati ect.) and free in smaller ones (Boise, Grand Rapids).

I'm praying that Virgin America will eventually expand to Chicago and Miami to make my life easier.

Only if you feel like flying through San Fran or LA. If you're going to go through the West Coast, you might as well pop over through Seattle on Alaska too. Although I've heard Virgin America has class-leading seating. And flying a small airline without a major hub probably helps too. And you were on Delta? I've never had good experiences with them.

 

[Kylehnat]

^PDX is my favorite. Free wi-fi, a kick-ass restaurant/bar right in the middle, and no lines at security.

Air travel is going to Hell in a handbasket. I'll gladly pay extra for nonstop flights, if I can get them, because the whole hub-and-spoke concept is torture, especially with airlines who haven't had an on-time flight in 10 years.

True story: In August 2006, I was stuck in New York overnight when my 8:30PM flight to Richmond was canceled, and the subsequent flight (the next morning) was lost. "We don't know where the plane is" was Delta's excuse for the 3-hour delay. My mom did some dirt-digging, and found that the missing plane was actually sitting in Burlington, Vermont for 2.5 hours. I had left the hotel at 4:30AM for a flight that ultimately left at noon. I arrived at my destination 16 hours late, and did a job interview on 3 hours' sleep. Up yours, Delta.

 

[wrcsti]

My dad is a pilot and I can tell you that most delays don't come from weather but rather from how overworked most hubs like JFK, O'Hare, Denver etc may get in the begining of the day. Problem is airlines send waves of planes all at the same time in the morning which get delayed waiting to take off just to repeat at those airports I just mentioned. Most airlines counter this by adding a extra delay time to the total time for that airplane on that day.

 

[Kylehnat]

That's true. You can leave the gate on-time, but not take off for an hour. Seattle and Portland never have that problem, and have half as many runways as some of the mega airports . As airlines are forced to cut flights (and they will), this problem will relieve itself a little bit.

 

[Philly]

^PDX is my favorite. Free wi-fi, a kick-ass restaurant/bar right in the middle, and no lines at security.

From what I've heard (all from you), Portland does seem like quite the airport. Problem is, I'm an extra hour or so away from it compared to you, and when Sea-Tac is a whole 10 minutes from home, a three hour drive isn't all that appealing.

Air travel is going to Hell in a handbasket. I'll gladly pay extra for nonstop flights, if I can get them, because the whole hub-and-spoke concept is torture, especially with airlines who haven't had an on-time flight in 10 years.

That's part of why I really like Alaska. You can get to anywhere anybody would want to go direct from Seattle. And then there are the major (both domestic and foreign) airlines who will take you to 5 European and 5 Asian airports direct.

 

[Kylehnat]

Yeah, you're quite a bit closer to one than the other . For me, it's really nice having the choice. Though, if you were to get stuck at either airport, I think you'd be bored out of your mind. Airports need movie theaters or something. Drinking will pass the time, but that's not really a family-friendly option.

 

[Philly]

Especially considering that they know that they will have flight delays. But you know they wouldn't help you at all on the $15 ticket to see Batman...

That's true. You can leave the gate on-time, but not take off for an hour. Seattle and Portland never have that problem, and have half as many runways as some of the mega airports . As airlines are forced to cut flights (and they will), this problem will relieve itself a little bit.

The major hubs also have to keep their gates and runways open for the peak times when a huge wave of traffic goes through all in two hours. But there is something that O'Hare and others are doing wrong because Seattle and Portland can run on two runways no problem. Hell, even Heathrow, Frankfurt and many of those Asian airports get by with only two or three runways.

 

[YSSMAN]

Is the wifi at least free in JFK? I find that it isn't in major airports (LA, Seattle, Chicago, Cincinnati ect.) and free in smaller ones (Boise, Grand Rapids).

That's because the GR Ford airport rocks. I could save more than $150 by not flying out of GR, but I love that airport too much.

Only if you feel like flying through San Fran or LA. If you're going to go through the West Coast, you might as well pop over through Seattle on Alaska too.

I spoke with a Virgin America representative a few months ago and she said they were looking to expand into Chicago and Miami, but they didn't know how soon they could do it, or for that matter, if they could do it at all. Considering you can get cross-country tickets for $175 (last I checked, JFK to SF), that's a steal. I'd happily drive three hours to Chicago for a connecting flight to Miami if I end up saving $200.

And you were on Delta? I've never had good experiences with them.

Yeah, we've been flying Delta to go south. Get a 30 minute flight to Cincinnati (I love that airport) and a four hour direct-flight to Miami with a layover that is usually under 30 minutes. We could probably do better, but they're usually pretty competitive rate wise, and its usually the shortest flight time.

 

[Philly]

That's because the GR Ford airport rocks. I could save more than $150 by not flying out of GR, but I love that airport too much.

I have to agree. It does everything you need it to do, and rather efficiently.

I'd happily drive three hours to Chicago for a connecting flight to Miami if I end up saving $200.

Take the train. It's a $55 round trip (from Holland), and I'm sure it can't be much to get from the station to the airport. Although you would have to deal with all the delays associated with rail travel. Although it is just as fast as driving. And are they going to be operating a hub out of Chicago? That might be a good airline to take if they plan on doing that.

(I love that airport)

I used to like it until we were delayed 2 hours each way there for the 2005 USGP. Now I haven't had a good experience there since.

 

[Jay]

+5 hours in the terminal isnt fun thank god for the excellent wi-fi

Yeah, I spent 9 1/2 hours at sinagpore airport a couple months ago after a 9 hour flight, to go on a 13hour flight...... No you are right, not fun.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I used to love flying, and still do. But I can't put up with all the crap at the airports. So we drive and use ferries now.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Oh don't say that... I'm flying out of Gatwick on Wednesday... Which airline?

We were Holidaying with Travel City and I believe it was a European Airlines plane. Old and crap.

The delay was because one of the "generators" wasn't being shown as "on" by the cockpit monitor even though it quitye obviousley was. So after an hour of watching men dissapear down a hole in the floor of the fuselage they told us they had to fly the part in from Southampton and install it over night.

 

[Pupik]

It was odd, because we'd never seen Miami get backed up like that, and it was bad for everyone on Delta.

Use FLL (Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International) next time; nearly the same capacity as MIA, just an extra 30-minute drive but in a less congested area. Or use PBI (Palm Beach Int'l Airport), both with a much better on-time ratio, and far less international flights to hold things up for security reasons.

The worst I had was a 3-hour delay from San Jose to Vegas back in '01; the plane we were diverted to had about 10 less seats, so they spent more time asking people to bump themselves. Of course, there was a group tour of about 50 people from China, so they weren't getting bumped, although once we got on the plane, we took the seats next to the emergency exits for the extra leg room. The rest of those seats were occupied by many of the said Chinese tour group; they then had to find 6 people who spoke English and could lift 50 pounds. So that took another comical 20 minutes...

I couldn't imagine getting delayed with a child; its bad enough getting to the airport 2 hours early; inevitably you wait for 90 minutes anyhow with your kid.

 

[wrcsti]

FLL and PBI are very good airports, nice security too. My worse delay was once went skying on colorado atvrested Butte, weather incoming so the dash-8 couldnt leave the airport, so we drove to denver (3 hour mountain drive I believe) to wait for a flight to FLL, no flights so we took a red eye to Boston logan, there had a 5 hour wait time and a 3 hour delay at the gate. Once we landed in FLL there was a 45 minute wait for a open gate. Doesnt beat driving from STL to FLL in a truck with a 2 hour rest after packing all your belingings during the day.

 

[Moglet]

I work in Birmingham Airport and although it's mainly a holiday airport in the terminal I work in, the flights are pretty good with times. We have the odd delay but it's rare to have a massive delay on a flight.

 

[Barracuda]

I always fly southwest and have never had any big delays. I've never had any delays at the Orlando (Florida) airport, and have only just recently had a 4 hour delay out of Manchester (New Hampshire).

The only time I've had an issue with a delay was out of somewhere in California. The flight was delayed so when we landed in Texas we had to literally run to catch our connecting flight to Orlando.

 

[nissan tuner]

im still scratching my head, wondering why america doesn't have bullet trains? its a great achievement over in japan and id rather take that than a commercial jet inside my country

 

[Joey D]

im still scratching my head, wondering why america doesn't have bullet trains? its a great achievement over in japan and id rather take that than a commercial jet inside my country

A lot of people wonder that, but I think the main reason is that our infrastructure isn't designed around them.

 

[wrcsti]

I'll take planes any day of the week. Way safer, and faster for long distance. It works in Japan because Japan is not thousands of miles wide and long.

 

[Loon]

It works in Japan because Japan is not thousands of miles wide and long.

Yeah it is...long at least.

 

[Philly]

If all of America was crammed into the space between the Pacific and the Cascades, we'd probably all be running around in Bullet trains. I do wonder why you slackers up in the Northeast don't use trains that much, seeing that you're all bunched up into a small area.