Weather questions
 

Hi All
We are scheduled to leave from Boston to LAX this Thursday Jan 4th 2018. AA 1045AM flight.
It looks like they are predicting wind and snow. Since we have never flown with any weather issues, I am wondering what would cause them to cancel the flight? The winds are predicted at 25 to 35 MPH with snow....
Thank you

Unsafe conditions would cause them to cancel the flight. That can be any combinations of a number of conditions.

Snow isn't really an issue, as long as the plane can be de-iced and the runways kept clear. The A321 looks to be OK in crosswinds up to the low 40mph range. The forecast I see shows winds at 18-20mph from the NNW, a direct headwind on 33L, so not an issue (unless gusts are out of the ordinary - I would expect 30-35 if the winds are 18-20)

But snow certainly slows down ground operations, and forecasts are sometimes worth the paper they're written on. A mix of a sudden snow squall, gusts above what is expected - who knows.

In snowy conditions, landings are more of a problem than take offs, however if it is bad enough take offs can be impacted as well...de-icing times, safe aborted take off speeds, runway ice, runway de-icing etc. Even if your flight can take off safely in the weather, the odds are high of a delay because of problems in the whole chain...connecting flights, late aircraft arrivals, delays all along the system have a cascading effect.

The wind may not be a problem if the runway is on the proper heading, into the wind. Crosswinds..when they cross a runway rather than go down the length are a challenge as well, especially in IFR conditions (low visibility).

about half the problems we have incurred are when the plane cannot get here, there just is no plane to take you home. or due to yesterday's problems there is no plane today.

I appreciate all the replies. So here is another "newbie" question:
So if it is delayed, I assume that means until they can take off safely...When does it get to a point when they cancel it? And if cancelled what usually happens? We are in F/C and love the fact it is a 32B with those cool seat/pods. And we paid a fortune for them, would hate to be placed on another flight without the same seating..espeically since we paid....if that is what they do...
Again sorry for these questions, we dont fly often and when we do, we have been Blessed with minimum ( 30 minute delays) and no cancellations.
thank you

There is no black and white rules for when severe weather causes a flight cancellation instead of a delay. Those decisions are made based on information that is only available at the time and includes factors well beyond the weather reports.

Don't forget that in bad weather, there can be traffic delays, significant ones, even if the planes are taking off without huge delays.

Make sure that you arrange extra time to get to the airport.
If there's, say, an accident on a highway en route, and traffic is at a standstill, you might risk missing your flight.
At the least, double check cancellation/change fees/rules for you ticket just in case, and make sure you call IF you are going to miss the flight.

As someone already mentioned, often in bad weather, it's more a problem of flights arriving than departing. But... a flight can't take off, if the plane wasn't able to land...

Try to monitor the flight schedule prior to arriving, and sign up for notifications if they are offered.

Quite some weather in Boston these days!

GC

When there is a weather forecast that is likely to cause flight disruptions, airlines often act proactively and allow passengers who are booked on flights that are likely to be affected to change their reservations, within reasonable limits that vary from situation to situation, with no penalties or charges. For example, AA has this right now about any scheduled travel from BOS (and basically every other AA destination from Newark through Bangor) on Jan. 4 or 5. You can rebook on any flight from Jan. 2 through 8 between the same two cities and in the same cabin.

Given the current forecast, and the fact that it will have been snowing heavily for six hours (give or take) when your flight is scheduled to leave, I'd jump on this before everyone else does. Assuming space is available, you can rebook on any kind of aircraft you want, so you won't have to give up your pod.

I don't know what the rest of your itinerary is, but if you're planning to fly onward from LAX, keep in mind that AA's responsibility ends where their ticket does. If you have, for example, a separate ticket to Sydney with Virgin Australia, that's not AA's concern. It's not VA's, either: their flight will take off as scheduled, and if you're not on it, they don't much care why. That's one reason why it's a good idea to book long trips on a single ticket if possible. If you had a ticket with AA that was supposed to get you to Sydney, no matter on what airline, it's AA's responsibility to make sure they do.

The weather forecast has been changing, and it now appears that there may be "blizzard conditions". (OTOH, don't forget how fast weather predictions can change, as can the actual weather.)

I agree that you might want to be proactive, and ahead of the others (to the extent possible at this point), and re-book.
Any chance you could get out tonight if there are seats?
Are you pressed for time in LAX?

Good luck!

GC

The forecast obviously changed, and this flight was cancelled, though the 9a looks like it got out.

OP, let us know what happened.

Not a good day for travelling on the east coast.

Hi all
stuck here until Sunday.
our child may miss Monday school, more importantly my
husbands heart meds running low, only took a 3 day extra set, and it’s costing is a fortune

Update
Sunday :12:50 take off Boston , arrive CLT at 3:22, connecting is 4:20 pm to LAX
And none of the seats in Fc are together on both legs, hoping someone will let our kid sit with us, but more importantly, we are really worried about the 58 minute ...
thanks for any input

I wouldn’t worry about a 1 hour connection.

DD