Air travelers dodge much of Superstorm Sandy's wrath
Reagan National Airport in Washington was nearly deserted Monday ahead of Superstorm Sandy.
Andrew Avis, a construction safety consultant on vacation from the United Kingdom, has been stranded in New York since Saturday.
He and his wife, Sandy, marked their 38th wedding anniversary on the Amtrak train from Orlando on Friday night - but were planning to splash out more lavishly when they arrived in New York, before traveling on to visit friends in Rhode Island.
Instead, they found their train out of New York on Sunday was canceled and were forced to hole up in the city as it braced itself for the incoming storm.
He and his wife, Sandy, marked their 38th wedding anniversary on the Amtrak train from Orlando on Friday night - but were planning to splash out more lavishly when they arrived in New York, before traveling on to visit friends in Rhode Island.
Instead, they found their train out of New York on Sunday was canceled and were forced to hole up in the city as it braced itself for the incoming storm.
Airlines resume limited service
"I wasn't anticipating coming here with two Sandys," said Avis, 64.
Their Manhattan hotel was buffeted by high winds but the streets around it were left largely unscathed as the storm rolled in. The couple might have tried to stay on longer in New York but learned Tuesday night that the hotel couldn't extend their booking, so they were trying to rent a car Wednesday morning to drive the 250 miles to their Rhode Island destination and fly out of Boston on Friday.
"We still don't know if we have a plane out of Boston on Friday," said Avis. "That's the next problem."
Stranded far from home
As the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy after Superstorm Sandy, many visitors are stuck where they are for the moment. At the same time, residents of affected areas remain stranded in California, Illinois and other locations far from home.
And yet it could have been so much worse: Airports filled with stranded travelers sleeping on chairs. Harried airline ticket agents unable to rebook people on already full flights. Airport food courts running out of essential ingredients as the delays dragged on.
When Sandy was a tropical storm heading toward the Caribbean, airlines began addressing several chief concerns: rebooking or canceling flights for passengers scheduled to fly during the storm's expected landfall; protecting their multimillion dollar aircraft; and placing those planes and crews in position to resume service quickly after the storm passed.
"They did everything right," said aviation analyst Michael Boyd. They anticipated problems, canceled flights early and staged planes properly. "
"We really expected it to be like a snowstorm ... with hundreds of people sitting in blankets (at the airport) and the food court running out of food."
Paying attention to the warning signs
Website link: http://articles.cnn.com/2012-10-31/travel/travel_post-sandy-travelers_1_jetblue-full-flights-tropical-storm
"I wasn't anticipating coming here with two Sandys," said Avis, 64.
Their Manhattan hotel was buffeted by high winds but the streets around it were left largely unscathed as the storm rolled in. The couple might have tried to stay on longer in New York but learned Tuesday night that the hotel couldn't extend their booking, so they were trying to rent a car Wednesday morning to drive the 250 miles to their Rhode Island destination and fly out of Boston on Friday.
"We still don't know if we have a plane out of Boston on Friday," said Avis. "That's the next problem."
Stranded far from home
As the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy after Superstorm Sandy, many visitors are stuck where they are for the moment. At the same time, residents of affected areas remain stranded in California, Illinois and other locations far from home.
And yet it could have been so much worse: Airports filled with stranded travelers sleeping on chairs. Harried airline ticket agents unable to rebook people on already full flights. Airport food courts running out of essential ingredients as the delays dragged on.
When Sandy was a tropical storm heading toward the Caribbean, airlines began addressing several chief concerns: rebooking or canceling flights for passengers scheduled to fly during the storm's expected landfall; protecting their multimillion dollar aircraft; and placing those planes and crews in position to resume service quickly after the storm passed.
"They did everything right," said aviation analyst Michael Boyd. They anticipated problems, canceled flights early and staged planes properly. "
"We really expected it to be like a snowstorm ... with hundreds of people sitting in blankets (at the airport) and the food court running out of food."
Paying attention to the warning signs
Website link: http://articles.cnn.com/2012-10-31/travel/travel_post-sandy-travelers_1_jetblue-full-flights-tropical-storm
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