Inbound flights began arriving at two of New York’s major airports – LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International – on Monday night. On Tuesday morning Newark Liberty began receiving inbound air traffic. The total number of flights cancelled at all three airports was around 1,500.

The first plane to land at LaGuardia around 7.40pm Monday was an Air Canada flight from Toronto. “Everyone was clapping toward the end,” said Patrick Wacker, a passenger on the flight. Mr. Wacker was trying to get back to New York after visiting family in Germany and was stranded in Toronto.

Thousands of stranded passengers turned airline terminals into temporary hotels as air travel in the nation’s most crowded airspace almost shut down. There was a long wait while planes took off and landed on ploughed runways.

Travellers spent an uncomfortable Sunday night trying to sleep on hard airport floors, then spent Monday in long lines trying to get taxis, begging for flights or scrabbling for hotel rooms.

No form of conveyance was exempt from the storm’s havoc: from the Times Square bus terminal, usually the nation’s busiest, to the area’s commuter trains, generally known for their punctuality.

Adrienne Leptich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storm was New York City’s sixth worst since records began in 1869. In February 2006, the 1947 record for the depth of snowfall was broken when a storm dropped 26.9 inches of snow on Central Park. Sunday’s storm, surprisingly, wasn’t a record-breaker, leaving 20 inches of snow in Central Park.

New York taxi driver Shafqat Hayat spent the night trapped in his car on an unploughed street, then struggled to get it moving on Monday.

“I’ve never seen so many cars stuck on the roads in 22 years,” Hayat said.

At the Newark airport Frank Mann turned the situation into a game for his 9-year-old son Stephen and his girlfriend Jackie Douglas, treating their “accommodation” on the terminal floor like a camping trip. They turned luggage trays upside down to make beds and hit the snack bar for hot dogs when they got hungry. Stephen was even able to use his Kindle to finish the book he started at the beginning of the trip.

Reference:

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2010/12/28/thousands-stranded-trains-planes-northeast-storm/#

Storm Leaves Thousands Struggling To Get Home was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Photo Credit: www.NOAA.gov

In the midst of what is often the strength and height of hurricane season, travelers who have plans to visit Florida, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and other more hurricane-prone vacation destinations are never surprised when a named storm or hurricane steers their way in September or October. But, what is strange and not expected is a hurricane or strong tropical storm threatening the Northeastern coast of the United States, especially Maine. This, however, is exactly what happened with what was briefly named Hurricane Kyle (currently downgraded to a tropical storm as of the 11pm EST advisory on Sunday, September 28^th).

This storm has caused Royal Caribbean to change its itinerary for one of its New England voyages. Based on a Royal Caribbean weather alert, Explorer of the Seas, which departed the Cape Liberty Port on Sept. 25, did not visit Charlottetown, Price Edward Island, on Sunday. Instead the ship traveled through the Saguenay River on Sunday and was scheduled to visit Quebec City on Monday and stay overnight. The rest of the itinerary remains unchanged. For more information, visit www.royalcaribbean.com.

This altered vacation demonstrates the importance for flexibility when traveling during hurricane season or other times of the year prone to Mother Nature’s influence. One benefit to cruising is that often, even when a hurricane stands in an itinerary’s path, the voyage can be altered resulting in an unaffected vacation. Once when traveling during Hurricane Ivan, the storm took an unexpected turn to the South, resulting in Royal Caribbean to cancel its port of call to Curacao, but instead calling on St. Lucia as a bonus visit.

To ensure that all bases are covered when traveling, it is advisable to purchase a third-party travel insurance policy via sites including Squaremouth.com or Insuremytrip.com. This type of protection gives added layers that a policy purchased directly through an airline, cruise ship or tour operators do not.

Two months are technically left in hurricane season (Subtropical Storm Laura has developed most recently) and just as it comes to a close, the whipping winter storms will come into play just in time for holiday travel. Flexibility and protection are key vacation survival items needed when traveling.

Never Discount Weather in Travel Plans was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

“We all look forward to that last trip to the beach or to a final summer visit to see friends or relatives,” Roger Dow, Travel Industry Association’s (TIA) president and CEO says. “But what most of us don’t know is that the benefits of our summer travel will stay with us long after we’ve returned home.”

Dow cited decades of research on how individuals and families benefit from traveling in the areas of health, education, career success, relationship-building and creativity.

“The evidence is overwhelming that when you take a trip, the benefits are everywhere,” Dow said. “Despite the fact that Americans get less vacation time than in any country in the industrialized world, because of the personal benefits gained, we can’t afford not to travel.”

Among the findings of various studies* conducted during the past few decades:

-Travelers rate their overall health one full point higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) while on vacation. They also get three times more deep sleep after their vacation and sleep almost 20 minutes longer after their vacation.

-An annual vacation can cut a person’s risk of heart attack by 50 percent.

-Women who take more vacations are more satisfied with their marriages.

-More than half of employed Americans say they come back feeling reconnected with their family after vacation (53%).

-Three out of four executives believe that vacations are necessary for them to prevent burnout (78%) or that vacations improve their personal job performance (75%).

-Travelers experience a 25% increase in performance on vigilance tests after returning from vacation – travelers 45 or older show a 50% increase in performance.

-Two out of three executives believe that vacations improve their creativity (68%).

There are some who intend to not have Labor Day be the end of 2008 travels.

TripAdvisor® just released the results of its annual fall travel survey revealing that 82 percent of U.S. respondents plan to travel for leisure this autumn, up from 70 percent who said they took pleasure trips last fall. Twenty-six percent of U.S. respondents said they will travel more this autumn than last, while 49 percent intend to travel the same amount as one year ago. Nearly 60 percent percent of travelers said they plan to fly this autumn for their leisure travel, while close to 50 percent plan to drive.

According to the TripAdvisor survey results, 31 percent of U.S. respondents are planning to travel on Labor Day weekend, nearly equal to the 30 percent who said they traveled the same timeframe in 2007. Those who are traveling Labor Day weekend are doing so via automobile (67%) compared to just over a quarter (26%) of people who plan to fly.

In comparison, AAA projects a slight decrease of 0.9 percent in the number of Americans traveling during the Labor Day holiday weekend, representing the first decline in Labor Day travel since 2006. However, even with a slight predicted decrease nearly 34.38 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday weekend.

“More travelers concerned about the economy, gasoline prices and rising airfares are opting to travel by train, bus, motorcycle and cruise ship to their holiday weekend destinations,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “This trend points to a desire on the part of the American public to seek alternatives to flying and driving to enjoy the traditional end of summer vacation.”

According to the AAA report, more than 83 percent of all holiday travelers expect to travel by automobile to their destinations over Labor Day, which represents a higher percentage than the TripAdvisor survey revealed.

The national average for self-serve regular gasoline is $3.69 per gallon as reported by AAA, but this is already changing by the minute with the approach of Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna in the Atlantic.

*Studies referenced through www.tia.org by clicking here.

Photo Credit: The Weather Channel

NOTE: Storm names and conditions were accurate at time of publishing on August 29, 2008.

Official End of Summer Vacations was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

Shoveling snow is a prime source of emergency room visits. Using improper posture and inadequate shovels can lead to serious back or other injury. There have been many reported cases of heart attack due to the stress shoveling imparts on the body. Spend the money on a good solid snow shovel in the beginning. Buying cheap, plastic ones will only end up costing you more money as you may need to continually replace them when they break. It may also increase your risk of injury. New shovels are designed with your physical health in mind and help take the weight off your back and knees.

If you already suffer from health problems, consider buying a snow-throwing machine. There are many options now available, including a compact and lightweight model that can easily be maneuvered by the young and old to clear smaller areas like sidewalks. They are relatively inexpensive and may not work well in deeper snow. The bigger industrial ones are good for clearing bigger areas and are able to work in higher depths of snow. Find a neighbor who has a snow-thrower and offer to pay a reasonable amount to come and clear your driveway. You could even try the barter system – your homemade blueberry pie for his snow-blowing services. Always use common-sense during inclement weather. You will end up saving yourself a lot of frustration, pain, injury, and money!

Practical Tips for Staying Safe in A Winter Storm was created by and is property of American Consumer News.