Winter storms beating the US

Winter storms are hammering the US causing numerous flight delays and cancellations.

Winter storms are hammering the US causing numerous flight delays and cancellations. The National Weather Service currently has winter storm warnings posted for Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and Washington state. The following airline updates have been received.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air unable to resume Portland operations due to runway conditions
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have been unable to operate any flights out of Portland as planned this morning due to runway conditions.

The airport is working to clear runways and taxiways following more snow and low temperatures overnight. The airlines are also working with airport personnel to clear gate areas and hopes to resume operations on a limited basis this afternoon as soon as conditions allow. As always, Alaska and Horizon’s first priority remains the safety of passengers and employees.

Before leaving for the airport, all customers are advised to check for the most current flight status information online at alaskaair.com or horizonair.com or by calling 1-800-252-7522 or 1-800-547-9308.

The airlines are working to re-accommodate passengers whose flight schedules have been disrupted. Passengers booked on a canceled flight may re-book on the next available flight without penalty or apply for a full refund of the unused portion of their ticket. Passengers wishing to exercise either of these options should call Alaska Airlines Reservations at 1-800-252-7522 or Horizon Air Reservations at 1-800-547-9308. Reservations lines will remain open 24 hours to serve customers who have been impacted.

AirTran Airways customers affected by winter storms in Chicago and Milwaukee
AirTran Airways advises passengers that due to a severe winter weather system in the midwest, some flight operations may continue to be affected over the next few days.

Passengers holding reservations for travel scheduled on December 23, 2008 on AirTran Airways to, from, or through Chicago (Midway), Illinois, may make a change without penalty as long as changes are made one day prior to or up to five days following the date of the original scheduled departure date, based on space availability.

In addition, passengers holding reservations for travel scheduled December 23 and December 24, 2008 on AirTran Airways to, from, or through Milwaukee, Wisconsin may make a change without penalty as long as changes are made one day prior to or up to five days following the date of the original scheduled departure date, based on space availability.

Passengers holding reservations for travel to/from these destinations should check http://www.airtran.com/ under “Flight Status” for updates or call 1-800-AIRTRAN (247-8726).

Frontier Airlines issues stormy weather travel advice
Frontier Airlines today issued the following travel advice to its customers and other air travelers: If at all possible, check your carrier’s web site for flight status information before calling reservations.

“While we certainly will help every one of our customers who calls in to our reservations group for assistance, the vast majority of calls are inquiries about the status of a particular flight,” said Cliff Van Leuven, Frontier’s vice president of customer service. “That information is quicker and easier to access via a visit to our web site during periods of bad weather.”

By far, the better route for customers who want to find out the status of their flight, Van Leuven said, is the company’s web site, FrontierAirlines.com, where they can easily find this information. “The flight status information on our site is updated in real time,” Van Leuven said, “and has up-to-the-minute accuracy, so no one will go wrong by checking the status of their flight on our site.”

According to Van Leuven, the industry has always told its customers to call their airlines to check their flight status in times of bad weather. “We now have technology – in this case the Internet – that can help with this better and faster than calling in and having to wait on hold to get the same information from a representative facing a lengthy queue of people in need of assistance.”

“The new mantra should be, ‘Go to your airline’s WEB SITE for the most updated information about the status of your flight,'” Van Leuven concluded.

Most, if not all, carriers offer the same flight status information on their sites, he added.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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