I am in Ft. Lauderdale now (its really windy with some rain, but so far the house is fine ^ ) I will try to tell what I know.
Originally, on Wednesday and Thursday morning, the news media was reporting that FLL would stay open until winds reached 40 mph. Then, Thursday afternoon, Broward County (who runs FLL) stated that they had changed the policy, and that the airport would be completely shut down at 10am on Friday. It is unfortunate that the Weather Channel broadcasted false information.
There was nothing that the airlines could have done, Broward County made the decision. Rather than using an unrealiable source such as the Weather Channel, perhaps you should read what was put out by Broward County, since it is probably more accurate. @:-)
From the Broward County website, posted Thursday evening
The Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport will remain open today, however, travelers should call their airline prior to arriving at the Airport. The Airport will cease both inbound and outbound passenger airline flights effective 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. The terminals are not hurricane shelters and no one will be allowed to remain in the buildings during the storm. Motorists are also advised that the airport’s parking facilities are not suitable for vehicle storage during the hurricane.
The complete text can be found here:
http://lsta.broward.org/newsrelease/...?MessageID=529
Miami-Dade County took a different approach. Miami International Airport (21 miles south of FLL) announced that it would remain open for the forseeable future. In this case, it was up to the airlines to make a decision regarding flights. Most airlines ceased operations sometime between 11am and 4pm on Friday, with the one exception being United. United was the only carrier operating after 5pm, and their 6pm flight to IAD was the last commercial flight to leave the airport.
Based on UA choosing to be the last commercial carrier operating at MIA, it seems that they were trying to do everything possible to get as many people as possible out of South Florida, operating ALL of their scheduled flights from MIA on Friday.
Did UA price gouge! NO, you were just the "victim" of the way airlines price. Any airline will sell their last seats at the highest possible fares. It may not seem fair, but it is the way things have always been done. Granted the "best" seats on the plane were still available when you booked, but I have been on many Ted flights, and there are usually plently of seats open in E+ and the exit rows even just hours in advance, as they cannot be reserved in advance by anyone other than full fare and Premier passengers. I doubt that 40% of the travellers between IAD and MCO on a holiday weekend are Premiers and full fares, so this is likely the reason for the good seats still being available.
Originally Posted by cordelli
I can't believe we use tax dollars to pay people who get their news from the weather channel and blame airlines because they don't fly into hurricanes.
I couldn't agree more!
