Cancelled flight

There may be a new world order emerging for how US airlines deal with storms and other potential delays.  Instead of fighting to get fights off the ground, airlines may be more inclined to simply cancel them entirely.

Ushering in the change are new federal rules taking effect April 20th that guarantee air passengers adequate water, food, and sanitation if they’re stranded for hours on airport tarmacs, and heavy fines for violations.

One proof point is the havoc that the ides of February reaped on recent flight schedules. According to the ATA, US airlines cancelled about 13,000 flights that would have served almost a million customers between Feb. 5th and Feb. 17th.  Clearly, airlines are becoming more risk-averse than they’ve traditionally been when nasty weather is forecasted.

So, what can you do then next time you’re planning your mid-winter trip and want to avoid getting stranded?  Be sure to reference your farmer’s almanac first.

Here’s some more travel news you can use:

  • Philadelphians have a new reason to ring that Liberty Bell one more time.  Southwest Airlines is ending the strangle-hold that US Airways has on flights between Philadelphia and Boston. US Airways had been charging (fleecing?) passengers more than $1,100 for a round-trip flight.  Southwest will fly five round-trips per day starting at $139, including taxes and fees.
  • A Hong Kong-bound businessman was booted from a Cathay Pacific flight when he apparently smarted-off to a flight attendant after she asked him if he wanted his coat hung up, telling her that he had a bomb in the coat pocket.  San Francisco airport police arrested him for making a false explosives report – which could land him in jail for a year and make him a little lighter in those coat pockets.
  • There’s a new travel company called Packlate.com that’s making it easier for people to book affordable vacation rentals online at the last minute.  The website is a place where second homeowners can connect with people who are interested in renting a place (that would have otherwise been unoccupied) at the last minute, potentially at a substantial discount.  Distressed inventory anyone?