Flight cancelled? How to find out why?
 

CO Flight 519 from Tampa to Newark was cancelled today (maybe even last evening), and I can't figure out why.

Newark and Tampa both are clear weather wise, and no major delayed reported at either one per a few websites I checked.

Is there a way to find out the *real* reason why?

At around 6pm Dec 30, west coast time, our SOCC (system control) was cancelling flights due to forcasted bad weather (sleet and ice) in EWR. I can only assume that the flight you are inquiring about was one the "selected" flights to be cancelled. As to the reason why this flight was selected, I can not answer.

Sonic says weather pre-cancellation.

Thanks for the information - - a few more questions then:

1) What is SONIC?

2) If it was cancelled the evening before, doesn't Continental make attempts to contact the people affected like other airlines do? We received no notification. Since weather wasn't an issue, what compensation would we be entitled to? This will end up in a hotel stay (per gate agents at our expense since it is "weather" delay) due to Continental being unable to reroute.

Don't know about CO specifically, but the general advice seems to be go to the cargo website of the airline.

For some airlines that works. With Continental's cargo site it simply links to information from flightview.com.

SONIC is the internal computer system the CO agents use.

This was a weather related cancellation therefore CO does not issue any compensation.

Too funny, weather related for weather that never happened.

I remember when flying used to be less painful... it's just rediculous these days... pretty much all the airlines are sub par... I have to admit I've had better luck with AA and UAL with notification when stuff like this happens.

Ugh.

I believe that the traveling public will continue to face pre-cancellations of weather related issues because no airline wants to have the type of publicity that followed JetBlue, American and United over their problems with planes being stuck on the tarmac with no gates available during bad weather.

The difference is that in the cases of JetBlue and UA, the customers perceive the weather problems (ice/snowstorm). With CO in EWR, you've oversaturated the airspace, so even a cloudy day brings your schedule to its knees (like when I was there on 12/27). The problem comes in that customers perceive that things should be OK. They get to the airport, and it's another story.

No, the problem is that they schedule flights that they have little chance of following through with. Don't schedule 100+ flights an hour landing at EWR if it can't be supported unless it's a pristine day.

Don't advertise and sell flights you can't push through. Planes land in clouds all the time. It's not a weather issue, it's a scheduling issue.

I think you are agreeing with me (and I with you).

Just like jetblue and delta have done at JFK.

ATC has an agenda as well.

CO is usually very good about informing people that a flight has been canceled--either by phone or e-mail. Did CO have contact information for you? I know that colleagues that used to buy tickets through a travel agency had problems getting updates.

It sounds to me like you're due no compensation. If I read an earlier post correctly, the reason the flight was canceled was weather related. Had there been no forecast of foul weather, your flight would have gone ahead as planned.

Ask the gate agent if he or she can arrange for a distressed traveler rate.