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- Feb 18, 2003
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Airports are rarely "shut down" by snow, as defined as no runways open for arrivals or departures. It is usually the airlines that pre-emptively cancel flights due to snow to avoid getting equipment stuck there. During major snow storms, the FAA ATC website will often show airports open with minimal delays, when the reality is that the absence of delays is due to no flights using the airport. While airlines do not usually offer vouchers for weather-related delays, airlines still give vouchers for delays due to mechanical, crew availability, or other issues within their control.If an airport is shut down, is is very likely that all flights on all carriers will be cancelled also!Then again there are more primary options (such as routes and carriers) and secondary resources (such as hotels for sleeping and car rentals for personal travel) at most airports than there are at most train stations. It's true that airport areas can still run out rooms and cars and such, but I'm not sure that's quite as bad as never having any of that in the first place.This is precisely the reason we will always, always, always use Amtrak for Christmas travels. I hear horror stories about flights getting delayed/canceled every single year.I'd much rather be on a train getting to my destination - maybe a little late - than stuck at the airport for the next flight out with seats available! And sleeping at the airport!And airlines no longer pay (or give vouchers) for hotels! And if it is snowing so bad that an airport is shut down, would you really want to rent a car and drive on the snowy highways to your destination?
I remember a few years back when MKA was shut down by heavy snow. The smart people who were going to STL got there that day!How?They didn't drive - they took Amtrak, and arrived on time!
And just because it's sunny an 80º in SAS and LAX, that doesn't mean the flight could not be cancelled due to snow! That flight may be arriving from JFK, and JFK is shut down due to snow!
My problem with using Amtrak long distance trains in winter is that the train reliability is affected by the weather all along the route. A blizzard in the Sierras or a rockslide in the Rockies can cripple the Zephyr, but will have no impact on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago. If the point of the travel is riding the train, and you build your itinerary with lots of cushion and alternate plans, then winter train rides can be fun. However, if I really have to get somewhere and I only need transportation, then I avoid Amtrak LD's in winter.
Two years ago my wife and I were heading from Philadelphia to San Francisco. The day we were leaving a major blizzard was moving up the east coast. We got out less than two hours before the storm hit (I was sweating bullets all day). When we got to SFO, the terminal was a zoo. All the red-eye's heading for the east coast were cancelled. Boy, were we lucky, but at least once we got off the ground, were in the clear. We flew over the storm while having dinner. Even if Amtrak had been a viable transportation option for PHL-SFO, it would not have mattered. The storm was in the path of the westbound trains and Amtrak had already cancelled everything heading that way.
[smartA**]
I don't recall Marianske Lazne Airport (MKA) in the Czech Republic ever being shut down by snow, and if it was, I'm not sure how Amtrak could help. Milwaukee, WI, USA (MKE): maybe. MKA: I not sure.
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