Snowbound and Down

Some first week of travel guidelines fresh from the icebox

Al on the Airlines was on assignment this past week, which meant the first air travel trip of the year.¹ The trip included, but was not limited to, single-digit temps, two broken de-icing trucks, and a ground stop at O’Hare due to a busted pipe in the control tower … so much for a gentle start.

Still, all of that preceded the actual storm which hammered almost two-thirds of the U.S., forced thousands of flight cancellations, and left many of us staring out the window wondering why we don’t live in Southern California anymore.

As usual, I digress.

The more you fly, the more you learn to expect the unexpected and gird yourself for the worst possible outcome. Still, that doesn’t make things any easier.

Now, it would be way too easy for me to play the role of the cynical, grizzled frequent flyer and lob criticisms at my fellow travelers as we all navigated less than ideal conditions here at the start of 2026.

So, I’ll do it!

1. You’re not the only one getting on the plane

It’s freezing on this jet bridge. Let’s go!

It’s 11 out. 11! Get. On. The Plane.

2. You’re not the only one connecting

If you are flying into a hub, the majority of the people on your plane have another flight. The majority of those people have a flight that is leaving about the same time your flight is leaving. Almost all of those people want to get to where they are going.²

But please, push your way to the front of the plane with your bag in your arms and announce to everyone that you have a tight connection.

Yes, I also long for the days when the crew would make an announcement about passengers with tight connections, and those who could afford to wait would remain in their seats to let others hurry off to Gate 42. Unfortunately, that was also probably when all those onboard got a free meal and watched a movie on a big screen on the bulkhead.

3. You’re not the only one in the lounge

I know what you’re thinking.

“I’ve got two hours between flights here in Houston. I have a lounge membership. Let’s use the time wisely and have that Teams call about yesterday’s sales report in the lounge. Even better, I’ll do it in the middle of the lounge where I can speak at full volume. I’ve got my AirPods in, so I can keep loudly pontificating while I make my way through the salad bar. ‘Thanks, Lisa, for acting on that! I think we’ll see better returns on that issue moving forward.’”³

Only this well-placed lampshade and my respect for privacy shielded this fellow lounge-goer from shame for conducting a FaceTime call at full volume.

4. You’re not the only one who got hosed this week

Putting aside lost airline and airport revenue, there were a lot of plans thrown by the wayside this past weekend. Conventions, concerts, reunions, basketball games, weddings, funerals, you name it . . . all postponed, canceled or significantly affected by this crazy weather.

This is not a “heavy dose of perspective” blog. But occasionally, we will remind our readers that hurtling through the sky from one end of the country to another is not a given.

And today, neither is backing out of your own driveway.

Notes

1. Sorry for last week’s sparse posting - with nowhere to go this week, I promise to make up for it!

2. There are at least one or two people headed to purposeless meetings that would actually love to miss their connection — I have been this person

3. My personal recent favorite was someone watching a football game on his phone at full volume while the exact same game was on a TV eight feet away