Another example to not fly in day of cruise

MSN is reporting that ALL American Airlines flights are grounded due to computer issues. Just another example of why I fly in a day early.

I don't know how to post link if someone can. It's on the front page of MSN.

Learned my lesson flying out of MCO to San Juan ... had a 8am flight cruise was leaving at 10pm..

Flight canceled till next day. Long story short took taxi to West Palm.. $500.00 after calling and itching... got my $$$ back.

But the stress almost killed me..

MSN is reporting that ALL American Airlines flights are grounded due to computer issues. Just another example of why I fly in a day early.

 

I don't know how to post link if someone can. It's on the front page of MSN.

The airline told NBC affiliate WMAQ that it was working on resolving the issue but that it did not know how long it would take to resolve it.

A company spokesman later told Reuters that all domestic flights departing from Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare and Miami had been halted.

Computers at O'Hare later reportedly started to come back online later, and only 10 departures had been delayed, WMAQ also said.

I learned this years ago flying from Chicago O'Hare to Miami, FL in the month of January. Our flight was delayed so we jumped on another flight that connected in Atlanta while our bags were still in Chicago. We were the last passengers to board the ship while the muster drill was going on and we spent two or three days without any clothes or luggage. RCCL gave us RC t-shirts to wear until our luggage met us at the first port of call: Barbados airport. It was a mess! Never again.

I learned this years ago flying from Chicago O'Hare to Miami, FL in the month of January. Our flight was delayed so we jumped on another flight that connected in Atlanta while our bags were still in Chicago. We were the last passengers to board the ship while the muster drill was going on and we spent two or three days without any clothes or luggage. RCCL gave us RC t-shirts to wear until our luggage met us at the first port of call: Barbados airport. It was a mess! Never again.

Learning how to pack a proper carry-on is a new reality, and is a skill you should pickup anyway. Save the $25 each way on checked bag fees and use the laundry sack instead. It will save money, and you'll never have to deal with lost luggage, or the TSA taking things, or so many other hassles.

This would be my worst nightmare, we split our clothes and then take enough in the carryons, just in case.

Hope all arrive safely.

Sea Ya

While I agree with your premise, it was just Dallas, Chicago and Miami that were grounded and they are now operational again. Not ALL AA flights. But absolutely, there is no way I would risk flying in the same day - too many variables.

I hope it didn't affect a lot of cruisers. That's a bad way to start off a vacation....

I always fly in at least one day before and I like to use the laundry onboard but sometimes it just takes so long to get it back. Unless you pay for next day. I probably will always have at least one checked bag because with next day laundry service I might as well pay the airline the $25 for the luggage as I will pay more for onboard for next day service...

I like the day they give us the "stuff the bag as much as you can for one price"...but again it's usually on day 5 and you get it back late afternoon Day 7...just in time to pack it up...

Travel is stressful enough! We've always planned to arrive at least the day before the cruise departs. We've never had any delays getting to the port city, but we have getting home. Not worth the risk for us!

I love reading the posts about the struggles people have gone through and why they have learned the hard way the lesson and now ALWAYS fly in the day before.

That is wonderful.....but for many, it isn't realistic or possible for them to do for many many reasons.

Some people have to calculate every day of vacation and other personal time off from work that they get and use them carefully. Some people might be independent business owners who have total control over their schedule and have to account to no one but themselves. There are many many reasons people can't leave a day or two prior to their cruise, and they are all good reasons....even though some would probably disagree.

Thousands upon thousands of people fly in the day their cruiseship departs and do it without any problems.

So for those that do fly in the day of your cruise....leave early in the morning. I do subscribe to the philosophy of smart packing.

Learning how to pack a proper carry-on is a new reality, and is a skill you should pickup anyway. Save the $25 each way on checked bag fees and use the laundry sack instead. It will save money, and you'll never have to deal with lost luggage, or the TSA taking things, or so many other hassles.

I don't pay baggage fees on AA and I still try to pack everything in a carryon. Waiting for my bags to arrive is one of my least favorite things to do when on vacation. My record for a 22" bag plus knapsack is 19 nights away from home; I'm shooting for 25-29 next year.

I love reading the posts about the struggles people have gone through and why they have learned the hard way the lesson and now ALWAYS fly in the day before.

 

That is wonderful.....but for many, it isn't realistic or possible for them to do for many many reasons.

 

Some people have to calculate every day of vacation and other personal time off from work that they get and use them carefully. Some people might be independent business owners who have total control over their schedule and have to account to no one but themselves. There are many many reasons people can't leave a day or two prior to their cruise, and they are all good reasons....even though some would probably disagree.

 

Thousands upon thousands of people fly in the day their cruiseship departs and do it without any problems.

 

So for those that do fly in the day of your cruise....leave early in the morning. I do subscribe to the philosophy of smart packing.

Agreed. DH is about to stop working for other people, so we'll be able to fly in several days early no matter where we're going, assuming that the petsitter is available (we book her as soon as we book the trip). I'm quite looking forward to that luxury.:)

MSN is reporting that ALL American Airlines flights are grounded due to computer issues. Just another example of why I fly in a day early.

 

I don't know how to post link if someone can. It's on the front page of MSN.

I agree with you but what if today was your "fly in one day early day" to fly ?? The fickle finger of fate can strike anytime.

While AA suffered the dreaded glitch other airlines were flying. BUT add AA and Delta's recent spat where they will no longer cover each other's backs during IROPS and you really do have a potential mess!

I always advise people not to fly in the day of the cruise.

For those of us who have flown often over the years we have seen things go very wrong.

I laugh when people say, well it's OK to fly in the day of the cruise in September because it's not winter as if weather is the only impact to the on time arrival of flights.

Keith

I love reading the posts about the struggles people have gone through and why they have learned the hard way the lesson and now ALWAYS fly in the day before.

 

That is wonderful.....but for many, it isn't realistic or possible for them to do for many many reasons.

 

Some people have to calculate every day of vacation and other personal time off from work that they get and use them carefully. Some people might be independent business owners who have total control over their schedule and have to account to no one but themselves. There are many many reasons people can't leave a day or two prior to their cruise, and they are all good reasons....even though some would probably disagree.

 

Thousands upon thousands of people fly in the day their cruiseship departs and do it without any problems.

 

So for those that do fly in the day of your cruise....leave early in the morning. I do subscribe to the philosophy of smart packing.

I totally agree. Everyone's situation is different. But, I think it's good to try to encourage those who can do it and just haven't thought about it. It's one of those thing that people don't think about, i.e. ways of packing in case something happens with luggage.

I agree with you but what if today was your "fly in one day early day" to fly ?? The fickle finger of fate can strike anytime.

I always advise people not to fly in the day of the cruise.

 

For those of us who have flown often over the years we have seen things go very wrong.

 

I laugh when people say, well it's OK to fly in the day of the cruise in September because it's not winter as if weather is the only impact to the on time arrival of flights.

 

Keith

I totally agree. Everyone's situation is different. But, I think it's good to try to encourage those who can do it and just haven't thought about it. It's one of those thing that people don't think about, i.e. ways of packing in case something happens with luggage.

Challenges with flying can happen on any day, at any time and for a long list of reasons. If you think that Sept weather can never be a problem, understand the following...although for northerners snow is a main worry, if you are cruising out of Florida, September is the height of hurricane season....so you can worry about that as well.

To me it seems, that those that are trying to encourage people to fly in a day early, are at time really being overly rude and almost obnoxious to the point of in many cases implying that the person who chooses to fly in the same day of being 'crazy'.

I never look into someone else's pocketbook or planner and tell them 'what to do or how to spend their money'....which does need to be a consideration when flying in a day earlier....unless of course there is a fund somewhere on CC where people can withdraw the cost of the hotel and the lost wages that may be incurred by the cruiser, along with the added expenses of food and entertainment.

There are always going to be those people who decide to fly in the day of the cruise. They're going to remain those people until they have a problem.

Challenges with flying can happen on any day, at any time and for a long list of reasons. If you think that Sept weather can never be a problem, understand the following...although for northerners snow is a main worry, if you are cruising out of Florida, September is the height of hurricane season....so you can worry about that as well.

 

To me it seems, that those that are trying to encourage people to fly in a day early, are at time really being overly rude and almost obnoxious to the point of in many cases implying that the person who chooses to fly in the same day of being 'crazy'.

 

I never look into someone else's pocketbook or planner and tell them 'what to do or how to spend their money'....which does need to be a consideration when flying in a day earlier....unless of course there is a fund somewhere on CC where people can withdraw the cost of the hotel and the lost wages that may be incurred by the cruiser, along with the added expenses of food and entertainment.

Many people actually who fly in the day of the cruise haven't thought it all through, fly very much or have experienced problems.

I do advise people to fly in early. I don't think I am rude about offering this advice and many people are actually thankful for it.

Keith

Many people actually who fly in the day of the cruise haven't thought it all through, fly very much or have experienced problems.

 

I do advise people to fly in early. I don't think I am rude about offering this advice and many people are actually thankful for it.

 

Keith

It's absolutely not rude. I have read many of your posts, Keith, and have never seen you post anything even remotely rude.

Thanks you very much, Grugrats. I appreciate your comments and I also have learned a great deal from your posts on this board as well as some of the other boards.

Keith

Many people actually who fly in the day of the cruise haven't thought it all through, fly very much or have experienced problems.

 

I do advise people to fly in early. I don't think I am rude about offering this advice and many people are actually thankful for it.

 

Keith

This is absolutely correct in many cases.

Many travelers (or those experienced in <anything>) sometimes forget what it was like to be a "newbie".

Additionally, some people are just better at "thinking ahead about 'what if's" than are others, sometimes because they already got hit with a "what if", and decided to try to anticipate, and sometimes just because they are generally "good at planning for contingencies".

Hints and suggestions given here, with respect and in a helpful spirit (and most are), could be invaluable for just those few who notice, make a change in how they do something, and then... sure enough... encounter a "what if" and avoided some negative outcomes.

Something may "seem obvious", but not if one didn't think about it yet...

We've gained a lot from suggestions/hints here on CC (and other forums of course).

We've always flown (or even driven) in ahead of time if it's critical, be it a cruise or business meeting.

But there are plenty of other suggestions we've read here that have been extremely helpful.

GeezerCouple

Many people actually who fly in the day of the cruise haven't thought it all through, fly very much or have experienced problems.

 

I do advise people to fly in early. I don't think I am rude about offering this advice and many people are actually thankful for it.

 

Keith

Very valid points. And certainly not rude. :)

I often see those negative comments thrown out, because they conflict with what the poster thinks. Some, aren't receptive to blunt facts. Add to the mix- they give "reasons" for being successful flying in the same day of the cruise, but deep down, aren't all that purposeful with that decision and would plan differently perhaps- but due to other issues have to compromise. So the name calling makes them feel better. as example

It's interesting the comments- "Challenges with flying can happen on any day, at any time and for a long list of reasons.", of course they can. The big difference the more time you have to "fix" it can make a big difference in you making your cruise or not. Flying in the same day- maybe has one additional flight- which isn't going to have seats- very likely. ;)

Certainly interesting discussions, and hopeful smooth flying and sailing.

I like to use the laundry onboard but sometimes it just takes so long to get it back. Unless you pay for next day

I sail on Carnival and if my room steward gets my laundry first thing in the morning, I get it back that evening.

I like the day they give us the "stuff the bag as much as you can for one price"...but again it's usually on day 5 and you get it back late afternoon Day 7

Yes, that is what I use. Still same day service. I can't imagine waiting 2 days. That would be a pain, what's the point then? :p

While I agree with your premise, it was just Dallas, Chicago and Miami that were grounded and they are now operational again. Not ALL AA flights. But absolutely, there is no way I would risk flying in the same day - too many variables.

DFW, ORD, and MIA are 3 of AA's largest hubs. Although what you say is true, there's a ripple effect as aircraft and crews end up out-of-position. It also affected flights *to* those hubs as well. A single aircraft stranded at DFW for example, can end up cancelling all the following flights on that plane's dispatch, even though it might not visit any of the affected airports. I didn't see the stats, but I bet hundreds of flights were severely delayed or cancelled and a good portion of those weren't to/from DFW, ORD, or MIA.

Thank you very much GeezeCouple and Budget Queen. By the way, Budget Queen you are a wealth of information on the Alaska Board.

I will relate a story.

Was flying on business from Dallas Fort Worth to St. Louis with a plan to arrive to St. Louis at 1:00 PM.

Got on first flight. After one hour we had to get off the flight because of mechanical difficulties.

Sat for a couple of hours.

Got on second flight. What do you think happened? This second plane had mechanical difficulties and about an hour later we were told to get off the plane, they gave us a voucher for dinner and we got on the plane three hours later.

We took off. Great. About 30 minutes before we arrived to St. Louis the pilot came on to say there were terrible thunderstorms so we would circle for awhile. We did. He came back on a little while later to say we had to go back to DFW because of the weather. Well, about 45 minutes later they said we would be going to North Carolina which at the time was one of the hubs for American Airlines. We landed there and a couple of hours later after the thunderstorms cleared we boarded again and landed at St. Louis.

We eventually landed at 3:00 AM.

Things happen. And this was back in the day when planes were flying half full and we were taking off from one of America Airlines hubs.

I can give you other examples from an airline computer glitch to an FAA computer glitch to being on a flight that was canceled because of lack of flight attendants to being on another flight which was delayed for several hours and then the pilot was no longer eligible to fly, or how about a security breach at the airport or the specific flight.

When I worked full time and we only took short cruises I would always fly in the day before. Often that meant having to book the cruise around a holiday where I got an additional day off. I did this because I learned early on when I flew for business about all the things that could go wrong. Again that was back in the day where there was a lot more flexibility because of occupancy on flights.

I can list so many other things that can go wrong as can many of the other experienced fliers on this board.

Keith