By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com
December 24, 2009
A major winter storm blasting the Midwest has thrown last minute holiday travel into disarray, with airlines struggling to cope.
Continental Airlines said customers scheduled on flights to, from or through affected airports through Friday, December 25, 2009, are permitted a one-time date or time change to their itinerary without penalty. If a flight has been canceled, a refund in the original form of payment may be requested. Complete details are available at continental.com.
The airline said customers should use its Web site, continental.com, to change travel plans. Customers should enter their confirmation number and last name in "Manage Reservations." Customers may also call Continental Airlines reservations at 800-525-0280 or their travel agent.
JetBlue Airways said it will waive change fees and fare differences to allow customers booked to travel to, from or through Chicago Wednesday, Dec. 23 and Thursday, Dec. 24 to voluntarily rebook their travel through Dec. 25, due to inclement weather forecasted to impact the region.
Customers may rebook their travel online at www.jetblue.com anytime prior to their originally scheduled departure. To check on the status of flights or to check the availability of alternate flights, customers are encouraged to log on to www.jetblue.com or to call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) for the latest flight information.
"All customers booked for travel to/from Chicago are encouraged to check the status of their flight online at www.jetblue.com prior to leaving for the airport. Customers with Web-enabled cell phones and PDAs may check the status of their flight via mobile.jetblue.com," the airline said in a statement.
Travelers on other carriers should check with an airline representative to determine whether similar policies are in effect.
The cause of the Christmas chaos is a major winter storm moving across the middle of the country, bringing a White Christmas, along with travel headaches and power outages. The worst part of the storm is heading across the upper Midwest and the Plains. Forecasters are calling for a foot or two of snow in some areas by Christmas Day.
The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings for Kansas, western North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northwestern Nebraska and the Texas Panhandle. It warned that travel would be extremely dangerous in those areas through the weekend.
The east coast of the U.S., meanwhile, is still covered in snow from last weekend's storm, but travel is just about back to normal.