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Anyone else worried about flight delays soon?

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by jamesxnj, Apr 19, 2013.

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  1. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    News from FAA does not sound good for travel through busy hub airports beginning Monday..I'm flying through ATL the following week on a Wednesday with a hour to catch a SW flight to LAS...Would sure hate to get stuck in ATL,would rather just cancel trip.

    At least I'll have 9 days to check the flight #'s and see how bad the delays are. Good luck to those travelling this Monday!
     
  2. rebirth

    rebirth High-Roller

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    I always check where the flight is coming from and check the weather there. If they're late or delayed. My flight gets delayed.
     
  3. atcmurph

    atcmurph Watcher Of The Skies

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    I am an air traffic controller, so of course I have been reading a lot of stories about how travel will be delayed. Yes, I am worried. I read a recent article that singled out the busier airports, ATL being one of them, for the biggest delays. For example, O'hare has 2 towers, which, when both open, can handle a lot of traffic. Now, if they don't have enough staff they might not be able to open the second tower, which will cause delays. I am flying out the Tuesday from IND-LAS, which would seem to be a flight not subject to delays. But what if my plane comes from somewhere else where it was delayed?

    Sorry to go on for so long, but we, as a profession, are more than slightly irked that the government has deemed it OK to furlough us. We sort of think of ourselves as an important part of air safety.

    And as a side note, at least one airline and the pilot's union have filed a suit against the agency to try to stop the furloughs. They stand to lose a lot of time and money over this. We'll see what happens. :peace:
     
  4. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    Yeah I kinda think of you guys as an important part of safe air travel :nworthy:

    Talk about a thankless job and underestimated by the freaking politicians.

    This whole deal is a shame. Thanks for the reply and good luck to you.:thumbsup:
     
  5. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    Flying ORD-LAS on Monday. Zero concern. I fly almost weekly and am so used to delays it doesn't phase me any longer. I've got 4 movies on my laptop, and zero expectation of timely service. I'd say average delay for my last 10 flights was 75 minutes. It's a joke.

    The technology for entertainment and remote work has made it pretty bearable though.
     
  6. Tbone3336

    Tbone3336 VIP Whale

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    I am wondering if we will hear any updates from travelers now that the furloughs are in full effect? Will be interesting to see what some upcoming trip reports have to say about delays or whatnot. Definitely has the potential for adding significant time when there is another reason delaying flights, such as weather or such in one part of the country. As BeeeJay said, many flights are delayed now, for a minimum of 15-20 min and many longer, taking a 5-1/2 hour flight from the east coast to Vegas, adding getting to the airport an hour and a half early, then add in a delay, (in philly, we always seem to leave the gate near on time, but taxi and wait in line for no less than 35 mins and much longer every time, no matter where I am going.), and you get almost 8-9 hours travel time if your lucky. Can definitely make deciding on traveling a longer thought process when we stay at max 4 nights.
     
  7. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    Are you able to fly out of MDW? I'd say average delay for my last 10 flights is 5 minutes. I fly SWA so MDW is my only option, but it's more convenient for me anyways. ORD is the definition of a clusterfuck.
     
  8. KellyLovesVegas

    KellyLovesVegas Earthling/retired space nerd

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    Yesterday my husband flew from IAH to LAX as he does every 6 weeks on business. He said it was a typical Monday trip to LA - no delays or other issues.
    In 13 days I'll report our flight experience to Las Vegas.
     
  9. Smo

    Smo Mr. Las Vegas

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    Anyone else worried about flight delays soon?

    Not at all, I'm used to it! :evillaugh

    Fly Allegiant from the Phoenix area and they run about a 50% failure rate for on-time flights. My last flight out 3 weeks ago was 2 hours delayed.

    The rates are cheap and free wi-fi helps pass the time while I wait (which I don't mind BTW). I'm never in a hurry to be somewhere, so I enjoy watching and listening to others bitch and moan about the delays while at the airport.
     
  10. undathesea

    undathesea Grandissimo

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    First of all, I'm not in support of furloughs. I've been contracting with the FAA for about 11 years, 7 of which was traffic management (which is pretty much anything that affects an aircraft on the ground, rather than en route).

    I have read some news on the ATCs that are being furloughed from the towers. These towers are smaller airport towers that don't see heavy traffic volume. The major airport towers will be unaffected (ATL, ORD, LAX, etc). The responsibility for control at the smaller airports will simply shift to the local TRACON facility. TRACONs are staffed with ATCs as well and they already handle the transition from the local tower to the en route facility (ARTCC). So, really it's more of a consolidation of responsibilities.

    You may or may not realize, but most smaller general aviation airports operate without ATC tower presence already. So, this has already been in practice for a very long time.

    Does that mean there won't be any delays caused furloughs? It's really hard to say at this point. There's always a trickle down affect. When a plane misses its schedule it affects many other factors. Including crew schedules, equipment schedules, passenger schedules, etc. This is more of a burden on the airline then people realize. While the FAA manages the airspace by reducing capacity at an airport or imposing restrictions/delays, the airline is really responsible for managing their schedules and aircraft and they have many tools at their disposal for reducing and managing that delay.

    I'm sure we won't know how the furloughs have affected delay throughout the NAS for several months and probably several months more before that analysis is published.

    Personally, I wouldn't worry about it all. And, if you're flying through ATL and ORD, you should expect delays anyways. Those two airports have the highest amount of air traffic volume in the country and frequently experience delays. Especially ORD.
     
  11. DonnyC

    DonnyC VIP Whale

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    I'm flying with Allegiant out of Grand Forks (though I live in Canada). You mentioned free wi-fi, is that airport or airplane?

     
  12. atcmurph

    atcmurph Watcher Of The Skies

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    Just to clarify here. Every single air traffic controller in the country is being furloughed. That includes the "major" airports. One might argue, in fact, that they will be the most affected because they handle the most traffic. The available man/woman power will be overtaxed and the delays will fall like dominoes.
     
  13. undathesea

    undathesea Grandissimo

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    I just did more reading on it after I responded. The last I'd read it was only going to affect contract towers at smaller airports, but it seems that isn't the case any longer.

    I feel for you atcmurph and sorry this has affected you. I have many friends and coworkers in the same position. Though, as someone who worked for the FAA and airlines in the area of traffic management for many years, I don't believe this will have a major impact on air travel. Although, it's way too early to determine what impact it will have, if any. I'm sure the airlines are upset with the move... any potential additional delay has a big impact on their bottom line and they work hard to avoid it.

    I will be keeping my eye on it to see what the impact will be now the furloughs have started though. BOL.
     
  14. Jimbo338

    Jimbo338 VIP Whale

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    I think it's time some politicians got furloughed! Probably won;'t be any delays then. When they are all working it's all about delay and time wasted!

    Jimbo338
     
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