Just returned on Sun 8/6 from a trip to Nassau (topic being air travel, US related).
What should have been a 3 hour flight cost us 13 hours! The flight from Nassau to Miami was delayed due to Mia and FLL being "closed" for a period during which they blamed "rain". When we finally reached MIA 45 minutes late for our 1:05 connection to Newark, we were re-scheduled on a flight that left at 5:18 pm. At boarding time we were told That flight was postponed until 9 pm due to "weather" in Newark, a "ground stop", they called it. Finally, after being told to stick around in case the airport re-opened, we actually left MIA at 6:30 pm, after being in airports and planes since 8:30 am that day. We arrived in Newark at 9:20 pm.
Has anyone had similar recent travelling experiences? We are thinking that airport/plane personnel from other airlines are somehow involved in United's contract problems, either in sympathy, or just by having to help out with the overloads because of cancelled United flights. In any case, people at each airport location didnt seem to think the weather was as bad as we were told. Have you had a similar experience this month?

Boy, did we have an experience! We were travelling from San Diego to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, August 5. Our United itinerary took us through Chicago. Our first flight was late and before landing we were joking that all United's flights are late these days so we would probably make it. Upon arrival, we discovered that our connecting flight to Columbus was cancelled (1:25 pm) and the NEXT flight to Columbus (4:55 pm) was ALSO cancelled. After standing in a long, long, long, line we arrived at the
Customer service desk only to be told the next flight to Columbus would be at 9:45 pm, we could be placed on standby but would be numbers 36 and 37 for standby! We asked for a room for the night (this was about 3:00 pm by then) and were told no rooms could be given when there was a chance we would get on that 9:45 flight. We thought that our odds of getting seats were pretty slim, so we rented a car and drove (six hours) from Chicago to Columbus. Upon arrival at home (about 1:45 am) we checked the Internet for that flight we were on standby for and it had been delayed till 1:00 am then CANCELLED! Those people waiting for that flight didn't get out before Sunday morning, and some of them probably not then! Does this qualify as a similar experience? It sure ruined what had been a pretty enjoyable trip up to that point!

We flew out of SFO a month ago when UA had canceled three out of four of their flights to Chicago. The boards at the airport reported that SFO was experiencing fog related delays, but when we checked in the gate attendant said that advisory had been lifted an hour previously. It seems that UA still was using weather as an excuse to cancel/delay flights.The skies which we could see from the windows at the airport were mostly clear with a few clouds, not the infamous fog of SFO! I think the airlines are grasping at straws here. They'll tell you anything you'll believe to try to make it a "weather related" delay so they aren't responsible for you.But, we, the traveling public, keep booking, so we're supporting the system. As long as "budget" travelers are willing to put up with such treatment, so will all of us be subjected to it.

It isn't just United, although that outfit has been doing it the most just recently. Over-booking, plane failures, and all kinds of plane location problems occuring because of combining flights are constantly happening and the "weather" excuse is used. I am sick of being lied to and being stranded. Bettina, the same thing has happened to me with two other airlines twice now. Both times I have been lied to and told it was "weather." We ended up driving home to Chicago from New York with strangers last time. Next time I am not waiting beyond a reasonable time of say, 3 hours. I'll book a hotel or take a train right away if I have to. Last time I saw an entire family crying like crazy over missing a wedding and a elderly woman who was terrified. These
outfits are contracting to do a service and if they can't do it then let them at least tell you the truth and immediately refund your fare.

I also can't stand being lied to by airlines, which is why I posted this problem. If they "know I'm coming" since I bought the ticket, I dont feel they should be permitted to delay my flight for other than safety issues. And it seemed that they were using the weather thing as an excuse, because it didnt seem bad weather at all, although there were "sprinkles" but not wind or major fog. If passengers are scheduled, nothing but safety should prevent timely departures. I think pasengers should be told specifics on delays and cancellations (like wind speed, etc) to force airlines to be honest about booking, over-booking, strikes, and under-staffing!

The horror stories just keep getting worse. It seems as though the concept of actually providing transportation in a timely manner between two locations has been lost. I'm tired of flying, but I'm also tired of hearing that the flying public is somehow responsible for this situation! I don't pretend to understand the economic realities of running an airline, but with the huge increase in air travel since deregulation, how could the airlines NOT be making huge profits? And yet we have this mad system of 80 gazillion different fares in which we are expected to tolerate any amount of delay and discombobulation. I don't know how folks who have to travel a lot for business stand it, but all my leisure flights for the last few months have been very unpleasant. What can you do if you want to see the world?

I can certainly sympathize with everyone's frudtrations here, but why is it so impossible to believe that some delays actually *are* weather-related? I'm not saying that the airlines aren't using weather as an excuse, but, for instance, there have been storm warnings (and rain) in NY/NJ the past few days, and the airports have been closed repeatedly for several-hour stretches. All my life there have been weather delays for summer flights (much more often than for winter). I will agree that the airlines suck now, but weather does exist, and it does endanger or make impossible air travel.

I live in the Midwest, and we have been plagued by one storm after another this summer. Just yesterday, we had severe thunderstorms from around 11am to around 6pm. Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit has been receiving the same weather pattern. This has been one of the wettest, stormiest summers I can remember. Add the UA pilot situation on top of that and you have a real mess!

I, too, am perplexed by those who refuse to believe that weather can delay their plane. Just because you are can see clear skies from your departure point does not mean there is not severe weather along the flight path or at your destination. Here in the Washington, DC area, we have been plagued with storms every evening for over a week now. Sure, some airlines may occasionally use weather as an excuse, but don't jump to conclusions and think every time your flight is delayed because of weather, it's a lie. Think rationally.

People, when it happens to you: then you will understand. IT IS NOT THE HORRIBLE WEATHER. Chicago has horrible weather most of the time, although this summer the rain is more evident. I have patience and do not harry gate agents with questions and grief. I go to the people who have the most "truthful" answers. I got one to admit fully that it was not the weather and that the planes had not be allocated to the right areas because of lack of personnel. I got another to tell me that this "happens about 4 times a month
now" because we don't have the right equipment all the time. I'm not talking
waiting about 3 or 8 hours. I'm talking waiting 28 hours and being told that you may get a flight out in another 1-1/2 days on another carrier if you are lucky. This is NOT on a budget ticket either. I am down to about 3 carriers that I WILL use. Just bad luck! I sure hope so, but there are a lot of you with rose-colored glasses on that love to travel and don't want to see the forest for the trees. We've had it better in the past. The management now seems to think they are above reproach and have so much business that they don't really care if they lose some.

Jeannette-Yes, the United situation is bad, but there have been a lot of delays due to weather. Remember, the plane you are taking is coming from somewhere else. We flew out of O'Hare and the plane we were taking was coming from Kansas and they had storms that prevented the plane from taking off on time. You can check weather related delays on the weather channel or weather.com.

As for United-it stinks. I would write letters like crazy. (There is another thread on that and where to write.) I know there are a lot of people here anti-travel agenty, but they usually know what's up with relation to work related stoppages/delays and can get you on another flight.

Living in the Boulder-Denver area, where United has a hub, I have been hearing stories like this every day. The local news stations have been spending quite a bit of time at DIA lately. There seems to be a report every night.

I have wondered if one of the reasons that United can't seem to solve its pilot problem is that it is mostly employee-owned. The confusing relationship between management and work force may contribute to a lack of a resolution.

The quickest way to resolve this problem is for the pilots to go on strike, or the airline to lock the pilots out. Until now, neither side has had the courage to bring this problem to a head.

At least United has cancelled a fair number future flights and are not taking money for flights that they know are not going to leave the ground.

Of course I believe that weather-related delays must sometimes be a factor. But the problem goes beyond that, in that the airlines seem to feel free to schedule way more flights than they have personnel, equipment and airport space for. Then they just go ahead and combine or cancel flights as they please so as to maximize passenger loads. At least, that is how it seems to me. For example, American will creat a 9 am flight to Los Angeles to compete with United's 9 am flight, but then, for some funny reason, the 9 am American flight usually winds up being cancelled in favor of, say, an 11 am flight, and the poor unwary passengers are just out those 2 hours. Well, I'm tired of booking a flight at a certain time because THAT'S WHEN I NEED TO TRAVEL, only to be screwed over by the airlines. The other thing that seems to happen frequently is, you make a reservation weeks early for, say, an 8 am flight, only to find by the time you travel that the 8 am flight has morphed into a 6:45 flight. Now, obviously the airlines know that all the flights can't leave on time at popular time slots, so they shouldn't claim that they will!

Steve, interesting idea about the unusual ownership structure at United. The more mundane explanation for the work slowdown was a little different. Apparently, the pilots have been working without a contract since April. Federal law says they can't strike until they've worked without a contract for a year. But they can refuse overtime, which is what they are doing.

So does that mean this nonsense will continue until April 2001, at which time the pilots will strike and really put the screws to the flying public? For the record, I'm not buying any more United tickets until the pilots actually have a contract.