This is a good question because anticipation is preparation. Here in New England, we don't leave for a winter car trip without a full tank of gas, warm clothes, gloves, a hat, maybe a blanket, and something to eat and drink in the car because many of us know from experience that we may very quickly find oneself in a difficult situation. On Sunday, December 26, friends took six hours to drive from Hyannis to Worcester, MA, normally a two hour drive. What would happen to them if they ran out of gas while stuck in traffic?

Similarly, experienced flyers like nytraveler know that there is a lot you can and should do to prepare for a trip at any of the times of year when there is likely to be bad weather: winter snow, May and June thunderstorm and tornado season, and hurricane season in September and October. There will always be lots of cancellations and delays during these periods, and if your plane originates in the US, the airline essentially does not have to do anything for you.

If you know that, it follows that you have to have a Plan B. You should look at the weather that is somewhere else but will hit you on flying day, and you should look at the weather in the area your plane will be coming from to assess your danger of being delayed or cancelled. You should at least think about where you will sleep and how you will eat if you are delayed one, two, or three days. Do you have enough money? Will you find a hotel? Will you be able to get there? Will you have anything to read if you don't have wifi? Because the airline essentially does not have to do anything for you.

Plan C is something you need to think about in relation to the other end. You are going to Disney World, let's say, for a week, and you can't get there until late on Day 4 and still have to return on Day 7. Is it worth going? Will Disney let you cancel or reschedule your stay? Should you have insurance to cover the loss if you can't go?

It would be great if the travel industry could do standard brochures explaining things like this, but no one ever wants to admit that vacation travel can be anything but bliss.

The one good side of all this is that if you live in the orginating city, have a flight out the day after the storm, and aren't in a hurry (you are going to your own condo in FL or AZ), you can almost always offer to go standby to a later date and wind up flying free or better.

All of the airports servicing New York City were closed last week. That left thousands of people without flights. Those of you who were lucky enough to find hotel rooms--good for you. When there is such a HUGE volume of cancelled flights, hotels in the area book up quickly...hence...stranded at the airport IS a possibility no matter how much cash you have with you.
How about a little compassion instead of bashing your fellow travelors!

Let us not forget all the military who travel to get home to their families. I see them in the airports each time I fly. I doubt they have much cash in their pockets or a ton of credit on their cards - yet, like everyone else, they can get stranded with few options.

Seems there are two types of "stranded". The biggies like a natural disaster or weather event where no amount of preparation or money can get you out. And individually stranded, where you simply were not as well prepared as you could have been to deal with the unexpected situations that come up when traveling.

Hi! We have been stranded in the airport last vacation not because of the weather but with airplane issue. We should be boarding at 6PM but 12midnight we were still there waiting. The airline company offered us free meal and gave us one way ticket free valid for 1 year!

Ah, yes, mechanical failure, critique. That is a different set of rules. And of course, if you are in Europe and your flight is cancelled, you generally have more rights, even on a US airline.

Speaking of military personnel, my grandson got home on leave before Delta cancelled at their flights, or most of them anyway, out of Atlanta. He is not flying back until after NY's
and so far from what I have heard there will not be a problem.

Just a note. We have my grandson's checking a/c number and if he was stranded and running out of cash one of us can deposit money into his checking a/c and of course he can retrieve at an ATM.

Even with plenty of cash and lots of hotel availability, it's no fun to get "stranded". The airlines have a way of stringing you along for hours and hours without being able to tell you that after all is said and done, you're not going anywhere after all. You don't want to book a hotel until you're sure that you're plane is going to depart...because hotels don't refund within their 24 hr cancellation period.
And whenever I've had bad luck, it always seems that they finally tell me at midnight that the flight is definitely grounded, and then book me on the 6am flight in the morning. This puts me into a hotel for about 3 hours...and I get a great night's sleep . Only to call the airline in the morning to hear that all systems are go at 6am, and then to arrive at the airport and wait until noon until we finally leave.

Cash and pre-planning has little to do with it. Even if it is "mechanical failure" and the airline pays for the hotel, what good is two hours sleep?....Most times I should have just stayed in the airport and snoozed rather than worry all night that the hotel shuttle bus wasn't going to show up in the snowy morning.

And how's about getting stuck in the plane, on the tarmac for ten hours??? What good is a credit card going to do you?

Sure obviously there are situations a credit card will be of no help. But there are plenty when it could save the day.

I have a question for Cate_W...

Why did you choose to post this question in the United States forum? Isn't this the type of thread you want us to put in The Lounge?

I have been stuck on an airplane, from SFO to PHL during thunderstorms. I prefer not flying to the east coast during the winter, but hadn't realized that summer storms can wreck havoc as well.

Since I had eaten breakfast before the 5 hour flight, and we were planning on eating with family when we arrived, I hadn't taken any food or snacks with me, so when we were delayed and diverted for an additional 4-5 hours, I was ravenous.

So, my "tip for coping" is to take regional snacking gifts representative of my origin or destination on board with me so that I can raid my stash if necessary, and even distribute them generously to the starved among me. This also can include gifts for the people at your destination, like sourdough bread in alligator shapes, and local cheeses.

Most of the time this involves a six-pack of Mauna Loa macadamia nuts from the Kona Costco. They are the best, because the small cans keep the nuts fresh and crisp.

I also buy delicious cookies from the airport deli. My friend always brings spicy nuts for the gang from Mexico. I just try to buy something unique and reasonably nutritious.

Sorry - most big cities have a huge number of hotel rooms and there is almost always someplace that has room. and as I mentioned - better to sit in the warm comfy lobby of a large hotel than a drab, dismal uncomfortable airport with no food. Just head into town to be very large hotel.

as for airlines stringing you along - it;s your job to be smarter than they are. If you are flying from O'Hare to LGA and see that the flights from further west are grounded - even if the airline doesn;t tell you - it's obvious your flight will not depart.

I'm always amazed at people interviewed who say they cam to the airport because their plane was scheduled - ignoring every piece of information that there will be no flight. Do not trust the airlines - figure out what's actually going on and ct accordingly.

Dear nytraveler, It is very difficult to understand your insistence that travelers who are stranded are doing so solely out of mismanagement. Even in the face of all the examples given, you seem unwilling to compromise. What is the point you wish to make?

I believe the point nytraveler is trying to make is that he/she is smarter than all the rest of us and that they have NO compassion for other people.

I think ya'll scared Cate away!

I put Cate to sleep with my long post.

nytraveler, trying to outsmart the airline was what got us into trouble in the first place. We thought they wouldn't fly. They did. We were wrong and got stuck.

suze - I posted in the U.S. forum because of all my relatives stuck in the Northeast with the storm last week.

Birdie and iamq - I think I was busy traveling myself and then digging out a parking spot for my car when you posted! Shoveling the snow only took 30 minutes, which is nothing given the season.

Thanks to everyone who shared their stories!