Hi
Strewth, I didn't expect to open a can of worms with a simple
question.
On Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:33:24 -0500, kernow <hugh.col.DeleteThis@ix.netcom.com>
wrote:
<SNIP>
>You didn't mention the airline on which you were flying, but as you were
>going to the UK via ORD, if my memory serves me correctly there are only
>five airlines with non stop flights to the UK from ORD.
American Airlines.
I personally find it very hard to believe, but according to several AA
staff I chatted to, the reason for closing ORD on that day, was that
during the bad weather 2 planes had literally touched wingtips over
Chicago with no damage to either. At that point the airport
authorities decided enough was enough and shut down the whole airport.
As I say, I find it hard to believe and I am not going to argue about
it, but was told this independently by quite a few AA (and airport)
staff. If true - and I stress IF - then Chicago was very lucky.
>
>In view of the fact that you didn't indicate if you had checked the ORD
>weather before or during check-in, what would you prefer should happen?
> Have the aircraft return to the gate and get kicked off the flight as
>it would almost certainly be cancelled and have to rebook yourself on
>another flight and hope that didn't suffer the same fate. Have the
>flight depart and then leave you stranded in St Louis or Omaha as O'Hare
>was still closed and the flightdeck crew would be out of hours. Or do
>what the pilot did, i.e. wait in the bull pen until O'Hare reopened and
>be one of the first planes to get in after the storm.
It wasn't a complaint; merely a description of what happened - If you
had read my original post (or the above post correctly) I was
initially just curious as to what is defined as departure time. In
the above case, there was a 4-hour delay between pushing back from the
gate and the wheels leaving the runway. IF departure were defined as
leaving the gate (as Roland Perry suggested) then surely this would
have extended the "in flight" time by 4 hours, which doesn't make
sense to me. Had I been a relative meeting the above flight in ORD
and knowing it took off on time, but after nearly 4 hours on a
relatively short flight it still hadn't landed, I would have been
getting seriously worried.
>I agree it's a pain in the ass having to wait in the bull pen, but it
>does mean that your aircraft will depart before later flights still at
>the gate. Remember airlines don't control the weather and unlike the CAA
>in the UK the FAA does close airports when the weather is considered to
>be below minimums.
Actually it didn't bother either my wife or myself too much; having
done a lot of flying over the years we have become resigned to such
things. However some passengers were going to business meetings and
were a trifle upset (to say the least) that they would obviously miss
their meeting and waste a day.
>
>If the point of your post is to record that you had an on time departure
>but a four hour late arrival then fine. Point made.
My sole point was to wonder what the time of departure would be
defined as in this case - perhaps I should have phrased the post
better
>
>Here's a tip, that perhaps I shouldn't offer, that could save you a lot
>of trouble and delay in future. Check the weather before you go to the
>airport or at least at check-in and if your connection point looks iffy
>request a rerouting. In the case of the flight routing you took AA, BA,
>UA, and VG have flights from other east coast cities in addition to ORD
>and if there are seats available to New York or Washington Dulles, have
>the agent reroute you before all the delays and the fight for seats on
>alternate routes begins.
Not possible on the ticket I was flying on - nor, as a UK tourist, is
it all that simple to check the weather in ORD before going to the
airport in SLC - particularly as we were staying in a tent at the
time.
>
>I do this all the time and it has saved me hours if not days in wasted time.
>
>If the flight you're sitting on does become cancelled do something about
>it before you even get back to the terminal. You can legally use your
>cellphone whilst the aircraft is on the ground (US airlines typically
>tell you when you can't use your phones),
My UK cellphone won't work in the USA - I like it that way so I cannot
be contacted on holiday.
>so call the airline
>immediately and get seats on another flight routing away from the bad
>weather and by the time the plane gets back to the gate you'll know
>exactly what you're doing without having to spend a long wait back at
>the gate trying to rebook.
Being a foreign tourist, unfamiliar with US airline timetables - plus
having already checked in a ton of luggage (all our camping gear) - it
is far simpler to let the airline sort it out.
>Or in the worst case get yourself an hotel
>room rather than an uncomfortable night at the airport as all the rooms
>at hotels are full.
Actually, AA provided a free hotel in Chicago plus rebooked our
International flight for the following day. My wife and I made it
quite plain to AA staff that we realized they were doing their best in
difficult circumstances; but rather interestingly, the British couple
in front of us who were shouting and making a big fuss about missing
their International connection and demanding all sorts of compensation
weren't given a flight for over a week - (serves 'em right we
thought)!!!!!
>
>Don't worry about flight on time statistics, make sure you do all you
>can to avoid delays before you check-in.
We do our best. My next TransAtlantic flight is out of Heathrow on
9th Jan (2 days after the scheduled BAA strike) so I have spent the
past few days working with my travel agent trying to find a workaround
should my flight be affected - fortunately it has just been announced
that the strike is off, so hopefully my flight will leave on time
(whenever that is defined as).
>
>kernow - a Cornishman in America
Not related to my mother in law are you?? she is from Cornwall - I am
just an emmett!!!! 8^)
Regards
KGB
>> Stay informed about: The Eagle has landed.........err, when exactly!!!! 
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