Hey FlyerTalkers,

I am flying SFO-EWR-TLV on Friday. SFO is supposed to have rain and gusts of wind up to 55mph. Am I correct in worrying that this may cause a delay?

I have a three hour layover at EWR, so hopefully I will still make the second flight, but is CO likely to hold up the EWR-TLV flight in the event of a serious delay out of SFO? There are usually a few passengers connecting between the two flights.

I really hope I don't miss the EWR-TLV leg - I just saw that they changed the plane to the new 777

Thanks, as always, for your insights.

I guess it depends from which direction the wind is coming. Erratic, 50 mph gusts could delay things.

CO will not hold the TLV flight for connecting SFO flights. Check weather at EWR--that could delay departures a little.

Right now they are reporting winds SSE at 25mph, with gusts between 45 mph and 60 mph.

Sounds like fun, huh?

The aircrafts that make up the morning flights, out of SFO, arrive the night before, so if there is a plane on the ground you should be ok. Most of the delays are based upon EWR's weather. Wind is usually not what causes delays from SFO but fog/low clouds/rain.

Thanks sfogate.

The forecast includes 100% chance of rain. Looks like a fun Friday - not much I can do but worry I guess Only bummer is that if I miss the TLV flight, there won't be another one till the next afternoon.

How did your flight go today, Jan 4? The weather seemed worse than predicated. I can't believe how many flights were diverted.

It looked bad today!

CO349 was scheduled to depart at 7 a.m., it actually left at 1:30 p.m., arriving in EWR at 10:29 p.m. (rather than 3:23 p.m.).

The flight scheduled to leave at 8:15 a.m. (CO1049) left at 1:11 p.m. (arrived at 9:51 p.m.).

The flight at 11:25 a.m. (CO449) left at 1:58 p.m. and arrived in EWR at 10:34 p.m.

And, here's the kicker, CO549 left on time at 1:20 p.m. and arrived at 9:43 p.m.--the first flight from SFO to arrive in EWR!

CO649, scheduled to leave at 3:45 p.m. left early at 3:43 p.m., so things must have improved in the afternoon.

As for flights to TLV, CO84 was scheduled to depart at 3:50 p.m. but left at 4:14 p.m. The only flight from SFO that could possibly have connected to CO84 is CO349 which is scheduled to arrive at 3:23 p.m.--a 27 minute connection time. Would CO schedule such a tight connection for a flight to TLV?

CO90 to TLV was scheduled to depart at 10:50 p.m.; it actually left at 10:59 p.m. CO349--the first SFO flight of the day--could have made it (10:29 p.m.), but it would be tight. CO1049 could have made this connection too (9:51 p.m.). CO449 was the latest to arrive at 10:34 p.m., finally, CO549 arrived at 9:43 p.m. If gates were available, etc. any of these flights could have made it, but for a flight to TLV, it would have been tight.

The OP said he had a three hour layover, so he must have been going out on CO90 and planned to arrive on CO449. CO449 was the last of the "morning" flights to arrive. The OP had a 16 minute connection. The arrivals gate was C128; CO90 departed from C138--just two gates away. So, it was close; if the OP made it, the door closed very shortly after boarding.

Well, the good news is that I made it on time (early even) to Tel Aviv. But SFO was a total mess in the storm. I was on CO 449 and, as ContinentalFan indicated, we left super late. The CO agents in San Francisco were smart though - they put all the TLV bound passengers on CO 449 (all 34 of us) so as to increase the chances that they'd wait for us in EWR. They pulled the plane into the neighboring gate and we rushed off and onto CO 90, TLV bound, and they closed the door right behind us. Alls well that ends well, but I feel really lucky (and grateful - all the CO agents were great all the way through).

Glad you made your flight to TLV. My co-workers are pretty smart and that was a great idea of putting all of you onto one flight to "force" EWR to hold.

I know the SFO day shift would love it if you could write complimenting their efforts during the storm. We do get brownie points for good letters.

sfogate: I'd be happy to send in a positive note (I'm sure it's nice to receive some positive feedback). What's the best way to do so?

Use this link.


http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...FAEC9911AC640&

Cool - I wrote in and commended everyone involved in making my experience positive, mentioning names where I remembered them.

FWIW, SFO is still pretty much a mess today, and CO 548 which is the inbound for 549 (the 1:20p SFO-EWR) just diverted to SJC. They actually made an announcement in the PC to this effect and asked all the TLV customers to come to the counter so they could work out alternatives. Pretty good customer service ^

darn SMART of them. Had everyone stayed on their reg booked flights, I doubt CO would have held up the 90. By putting them all onto 1 flight , it pretty well made sure the 90 would be held as long as it wasnt gonna be a long Hold. Not easy to find 34 seats on the 84/90 and although CO would claim WX and not give out free Hotel rooms, it took what could have been some really bad PR and turned it into great PR.

Although I dont fly via SFO its nice to read where there are Agents that Think for themselves and lookout for the Passengers benefit. Now if we could only get some of the EWR/PHL to do likewise!