The Wall Street Journal
By Susan Carey
Nov. 28, 2014 1:26 p.m. ET
After
canceling more than 750 flights on Wednesday, a busy travel day before
the Thanksgiving holiday, due to snow, rain and winds across the East
Coast, airlines were operating close to normal on Friday.
The
Federal Aviation Administration’s Air-Traffic Control System Command
Center website showed no major airport problems from coast to coast at
midday Friday.
FlightAware.com, a live tracking service, reported
only 27 flight cancellations by midday Friday, although 533 flights
were delayed. Normally, U.S. airlines operate about 25,000 flights a
day.
United Continental Holdings Inc. warned on its website,
however, of light snow in Boston and Chicago and high winds in New York
on Friday.
Wednesday was a far different story, as a wave of low
pressure over the Gulf of Mexico shifted northeastward, bringing
widespread rain from Florida to Maine. The storm, which developed into a
nor’easter, brought significant snow from the central Appalachians into
the inland parts of the Northeast U.S.
With 2.27 million
passengers scheduled to fly that day, one of the busiest travel days of
the year, airlines ended up canceling 751 flights and nearly 4,900
others were delayed.
The worst-hit were flights headed to and
from Newark, N.J., Philadelphia, New York’s La Guardia and JFK airports
and Reagan National Airport near Washington.
Passengers whose
flights were canceled could opt for refunds. But those determined to
make their holiday trips were offered opportunities to change their
flight times during a limited window without financial penalty.
Delta
Air Lines Inc. said Friday that it was able to rebook some of its
passengers on Wednesday within 3½ hours of their scheduled arrival
times, with others being reaccommodated up to seven hours later, meaning
some weren’t on their way until Thursday morning.
American
Airlines Group Inc. also said it was able rebook its passengers who had
planned to fly on Wednesday, without having to put on extra flights.
United
also said it made good on its customers’ travel plans, with some
delays, and operated 12 extra flights Thanksgiving morning to help the
effort.
On Thursday, Thanksgiving itself, there were 85 U.S. flight cancellations and nearly 1,000 delays, according to FlightAware.com.
Friday’s
weather forecast was benign. U.S. government meteorologists said that
while average temperatures in the eastern half of the country will be
colder than normal, there will be no major snow, just some lake-effect
showers downwind of the Great Lakes.
An arctic front across the
northern Rockies and Plains also will usher in colder temperatures this
weekend, but the greatest concentration of heavy snow should remain
north of the Canadian border, according to the latest forecast.
Sunday
is slated to be the busiest travel day of the year, with 2.61 million
people expected to fly on U.S. airlines, according to trade group
Airlines for America. Monday will rank second, with 2.41 million fliers
expected.
Delta said that Sunday is shaping up to be the busiest
day in its history, with 5,700 flights on the books, including those of
its Delta Connection regional partners. A spokesman said the weather is
supposed to be good that day.
- Source: http://online.wsj.com
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