Flying During a Snow Storm? Check These Travel Tips

Great report there from Sean. It does look like fun. Well, besides the fun, though, flight tracking website FlightAware reports that more than 11,000 U.S. flights were actually canceled yesterday. And joining us now to discuss the weather disruptions is travel blogger and author Jen Ruiz. Jen, did you stay warm yesterday? Did you did you stay safe? Thankfully, I did. I managed to get a flight out of New York City on Saturday night. So I am warm. I am safe. I am in Yes. Yes. There are plenty of disgruntled travelers, as you've been hearing, and I'm sure you're aware of. So what are what are you seeing in terms of the impact on travel? So we're seeing a lot of people that are unexpectedly being stranded after a connection. So if wherever possible, avoid taking a connection because that additional flight gives you an extra chance of being delayed. I saw somebody who connected through Key West and then was unable to move forward because the Key West flight was coming in from Dallas. So it's not always where you're departing from, but where your incoming airplane is and whether they're having disruptions. Additionally, you're having issues with crews timing out across the country. There are federally mandated limits on how long airline crews can work. And so because of that, you're having shortages related to staffing that are directly related to the weather and don't trigger Right. And how about the folks who may currently be stranded? Any advice for how to deal with that or anyone who may encounter that kind of thing? Certainly, you always want to be prepared when you know a situation like this is coming. And if you can try to cancel or change your flight ahead of time, airlines will issue a weather advisory where they're able to waive those fees so that they can alleviate that pressure the day of. Otherwise, if you're traveling, you have the option, even though you don't have compensation through federally mandated programs by the airline, you are able to get compensation through your credit card, your travel credit card, perhaps, or any other airline or travel insurance programs that you have. I do recommend having a plan either for a specific trip or year long when things like this come up. If you don't have any of this, then at the very least, you can still file a complaint with the airline after the fact. As I mentioned, since it's weather related, they're not mandated to cover it, but some might still issue perhaps an award of points as a gratuity or just a kindness that they're offering. Otherwise, you may want to look to see where you can find last minute deals like a hotel tonight. Okay, and how about the week ahead? Folks who may be uncertain as to whether their travel will be impacted, what are the prospects? So definitely, you want to double check and make sure if your airline is offering that ability to waive any changes. I think beyond Wednesday, you should be okay, but it's really the next immediate two days because you had those mass cancellations from Sundays, those flights now filled for Monday, everybody rebooking for Tuesday. I think Wednesday moving forward, you should be all right, but if you are planning to travel Monday or Tuesday, you may want to see if there's any alternatives. You definitely, if you already have a ticket, want to make sure that you are checked in, that you are doing everything early and on time so that you don't have any chance of potentially losing your ticket and you want to get there very early because you never know what the delays might be. A site like FlightAware, which you mentioned when we started, will tell you where your aircraft is coming from so you can have a better idea if it's coming from a region that specifically has been affected. Very useful. I'll be taking a flight on Wednesday, so thanks for that. Okay, now the one travel group that is celebrating is actually skiers, you could say, the Northeast having a great year, but many places like Colorado are behind in snowfall this season. So how's this storm being received? I think that travelers are definitely disgruntled. Nobody likes to see that disruption, but it is nice to have the season, right? I just saw the footage that you aired of New Yorkers being able to enjoy Central Park in a different way. So definitely skiers, definitely anybody that's interested in winter wonders, right? This is a great time. We've seen Northern Lights activities like nowhere else this year. It's been the most activity ever. You can do ice caves, you can do, I've seen dog sledding, and I've seen people looking for animals like polar bears, even. So with this increased Arctic activity, you do have the ability to celebrate in style. Canada does ice castles, they do dining out on frozen lakes. So there's a lot that you can anticipate with the season. It can definitely be celebrated and used to the maximum. Amazing. And final thoughts for any folks who might be missing out on all of this snowy fun? Stay warm and be happy that you're not having to deal with any potential travel disruptions. Anybody that is can also look at potential road trips, but definitely keep in mind also that you want to be prepared just in case. You want to have an emergency kit in your car, you want to have food, you want to have blankets, because the cold can be much more impactful than any potential blockages or delays on the road. And so you definitely want to be prepared for that. And if you are lucky to be out of the cold, then just enjoy and try to avoid traveling until later this week. Certainly dug up my flashlights and made sure that we had all our emergency supplies over the weekend, just to be sure. Right there with you. Thank you so much, Jen Ruiz.