Alaska - Escape from Kodiak!

I came to this beautiful little spot to do some work with the US Coast Guard. Now, the weather has turned decidedly worse, and no one is getting in or out. The ferries to...anywhere don't show back up until Monday Jul 7. Alaska Airlines is trying to get their planes in, but the fog/ceilings are so low that they just turn around and go right back to ANC.
Ahhhh....Alaska! More sushi at The Powerhouse, I guess...

I've never been to Kodiak. Would love to sometime (if airfares weren't so high...). I have a friend who runs a flightseeing service down there with a standing offer for a tour of the island, too.

Strange how different the weather is just a few hundred miles away. It's lightly sprinkling here in ANC, yet it's storming so bad in ADQ that the airport is virtually shut down.

Hope there's enough of a break in the morning to make eggs benedict at F Street...if you miss that, though, don't leave ANC without saying hi!

It could be worse - you could be stuck in ORD...

When I was in (or should I say 'on'?) Kodiak, a very popular passtime was asking if the plane had come in. The plane! The plane!

We would stay in a cafe drinking coffee until there was an actual sighting of the plane on the ground and then go to the airport.

Escape possible!

That's Kodiak!

Things are looking good according to the ANC arrivals website (http://aia-mufids.dot.state.ak.us/)...

Kodiak Alaska Airlines 7240 C7 Sun 07:55
Kodiak Alaska Airlines 48 C0A 2 Sun 08:56
Kodiak Era Aviation
Alaska Airlines 887
4887 Sun 09:50 On Time

Update:
There are 2 flights this morning. AS has added a 737 at 7am for those who have been stranded here the last few days, and the scheduled 737 at 8am. I am on standby for the 7am, confirmed on the 4pm. Keeping my fingers crossed. :cool:

Good luck! I know the feeling! You want off the island.

Hey flyinryan, keep us posted. What happened?

Hey flyinryan, keep us posted. What happened?

OK, Alaska scheduled an extra 737-700 for this morning to accomodate all the stranded pax, in addition to the regularly scheduled 737-400 "combi" flight. Both flights landed at ADQ around the same time, thanks to what I can only describe as some really intrepid flying by some damn good pilots. The weather in Kodiak was awful again this morning, very very low fog and lots of rain. I would have lost a bet on whether those planes would have landed. When my flight took off from ADQ, we did not break through the cloud deck until at least 10,000 ft AGL or higher. I don't know what the AS company minimums are for landing a 737, but I am pretty certain both ANC-ADQ flights this morning were right on the edge.
I am at ANC right now, continuing soon to SEA and OAK. I love flying Alaska, very very nice, helpful people (and good F seats.) Many thanks to a couple brilliant and caring agents at ADQ, Judy and Jacqueline, two angels who rebooked and rebooked again until I finally left. ^ ^ :-:

OK, Alaska scheduled an extra 737-700 for this morning to accomodate all the stranded pax, in addition to the regularly scheduled 737-400 "combi" flight. Both flights landed at ADQ around the same time, thanks to what I can only describe as some really intrepid flying by some damn good pilots. The weather in Kodiak was awful again this morning, very very low fog and lots of rain. I would have lost a bet on whether those planes would have landed. When my flight took off from ADQ, we did not break through the cloud deck until at least 10,000 ft AGL or higher. I don't know what the AS company minimums are for landing a 737, but I am pretty certain both ANC-ADQ flights this morning were right on the edge.
I am at ANC right now, continuing soon to SEA and OAK. I love flying Alaska, very very nice, helpful people (and good F seats.) Many thanks to a couple brilliant and caring agents at ADQ, Judy and Jacqueline, two angels who rebooked and rebooked again until I finally left. ^ ^ :-:

I have always found the AS personnel to be very helpful and friendly. Unlike other airlines when I have been stranded at closed airports or with almost all the flights cancelled, I find the AS GAs work extremely hard to get their PAXs to their locations however they can. It can be a bit crazy at times, and you may end up with a crazy route, but they will always try to get you home as best they can as quickly as they can. ^^:)

Glad the escape worked! Flying in and out of Kodiak taught me to appreciate drinking. Need I say more?

Glad the escape worked! Flying in and out of Kodiak taught me to appreciate drinking. Need I say more?
What???? You don't like landing into a mountain at the end of the runway? They do miss it, most of the time;)

Glad the escape worked! Flying in and out of Kodiak taught me to appreciate drinking. Need I say more?

I already have a Master's in Drinking Appreciation, but a week on Kodiak (when all I wanted was a few days) made me that much more appreciative. ;)

We could start a club! Appreciation of drink caused by Kodiak.

We could start a club! Appreciation of drink caused by Kodiak.

Pub crawl starts at the Mecca;)

I already have a Master's in Drinking Appreciation, but a week on Kodiak (when all I wanted was a few days) made me that much more appreciative. ;)

:D Glad to hear you made it out safe and sound. Well, safe, anyway. ;)

I've only flown AS once and it was a good experience. Its always nice to hear when an airline's front line employees are as good as the AS folks sound. ^

I'm scheduled to take the ferry to and from Kodiak next week. How bad does the weather have to be to suspend ferry service? (or the bear flightseeing flights for that matter).

I'm scheduled to take the ferry to and from Kodiak next week. How bad does the weather have to be to suspend ferry service? (or the bear flightseeing flights for that matter).

The ferry is seldom suspended too many people depend on it, but it can be delayed. The ferry is kept moving as much as possible to keep up the schedule.

You don't have to notify anyone on Kodiak if the ferry is off schedule. It is part of the pulse of the town and all know what is going on with the ferry and with flights.

As far as the bear flightseeing flights, they are suspended often. The weather on Kodiak is notoriously awful. Ask the Japanese who tried to bomb the island during WWII!

I am reading all this with some fear. We are scheduled to arrive in Kodiak on the 16th of July (via ferry from Homer) and do a two-day fishing lodge stay that involves a small plane flight on the island. I am crossing all of my fingers and toes that the fog is not a problem while we are there. To get off the island, we have ferry reservations on the 18th, and there is another ferry leaving on the 19th if things really go squirly and we get stuck at the fishing lodge for an extra night. I seriously hope it doesn't come to that. We need to be back in Homer to pick up our car on the morning of the 20th at the very latest!

I think I am going to buy some trip insurance for this one. Never done it before, but this time, it really seems warranted!