I'm scheduled to fly through Houston Friday evening. I called the Elite Desk to see what was what and they said they'd "protect" me onto a Northwest flight that'd take me away from harm's way. However, the fee would be $350 ...and the seats would be in coach, even though I'm flying confirmed F on CO. That news after a 20 minute hold with them. (They said they'd waive the change fee once my flights cancel, but not a moment sooner.)

So for now I'll stick around on my scheduled flights and will just play it by ear on other carriers. If availability gets wierd, I'll just fly to a city that has some space, regardless of how remote it is, and rent a car back.

With Hurricane Rita now the third strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane ever recorded (and possibly getting stronger as I write this), you'd think CO would have some better contingency plans in place ...especially with the forecasts in such good agreement this far out.