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Hectic Holiday Travel
Aired November 26, 2003 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Turkeys, suitcases and airplanes. Name three things getting stuffed on Thanksgiving eve. With apologies to Karnak, we bring you up to speed on what may be the heaviest Thanksgiving travel year since before 9/11.
CNN's Michael Okwu is going nowhere fast at New York's La Guardia Airport. And yet he's had a very sunny disposition, telling about great stories about how everybody is moving through lickety-split.
Hello, Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, hello.
Everybody's very happy, and it makes me very happy. Lots of travelers here today, lots of traffic, but, at the same time, absolutely no hangups, at least up to this point. You can see over my shoulder, not only the security here, the baggage security, but also passengers checking in here at the American Airlines terminal at La Guardia Airport. None of those passengers up to this point have complained to us about any kind of hangups.
And here's the proof in the pudding, so to speak. Here, on the big board that lets you know of course whether your flight is on schedule, Nashville, Austin, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, all day, we've been telling viewers that these flights have been on time.
Now, we've been here since about 7:00 this morning. And not once have I actually seen a flight that appears as if it's delayed, which is something of a miracle, specifically given the heavy travel this weekend. One of the reasons, we are told by Port Authority officials here, is that American Airlines and other airlines have in place kiosks, self-check-in areas where you can buy an electronic ticket and check yourself in.
So that means, if you don't have any baggage to check in, you can literally do it yourself and then go straight to the gate. And, in fact, we're told by some officials, some people are actually doing this at home. You can actually print your boarding pass at home. Remarkable. It is actually working.
Here's what some of the passengers had to say to us about their travel earlier this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hasn't been too bad, actually. I'm surprised. I think a little bit later -- I scheduled an earlier flight, so it hopefully wouldn't be too bad. But I think, later, it is probably going to get a little worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tried to play the odds and leave early this morning, thinking that it would be busier later on. So who knows.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming back Saturday to beat the traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's got it all planned out. He's very methodical about this. So it's all about beating the traffic. That's the goal of Thanksgiving, really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Now, in case you're home and you're getting very comfortable watching all of this, Port Authority officials tell us that they expect the most volume later on this afternoon and into the evening.
So, even though, miraculously, nothing on that board says anything other than "On time," that may very well change later on in the day. But everyone's keeping their fingers crossed. And there a lots of happy faces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Michael Okwu, saying that about New York City travelers, that's news in and of itself, isn't it?
Let's send it over to Rally Caparas, who is watching the big picture there as things go in the sky.
What are you seeing?
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Hi, Miles.
We're looking at 7,100 airplanes now. We've gone up yet again. And the volume is building. It's about to peak. And we should start to see some delays slip into the pictures at some of those airports, such as La Guardia. I can tell you that they are seeing delays going into Chicago. Let's talk about the delays.
That's an unbelievable picture. I still can't get over it, and I look at it every day. Boston to Miami, excellent conditions, on-time flight schedules. The volume-related delays during the peak period are going to start here in just a little while. I'm starting to see some taxiing difficulties at places like La Guardia, Philadelphia, Chicago O'Hare. Expect delays to be around 45 minutes into and out of those major airports as we get between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Chicago O'Hare, they are already seeing some of those delays, 45- to 60-minute arrival delays. Those gusting winds aren't really gusting. It's only a 5-knot wind. The problem is, is that the wind is coming out of the south and it creates a crosswind. And they have a land and hold short rule that forces airplanes to stop before they get to another intersecting runway. They can't do it under these circumstances, so they have to reduce the hourly arrival capacity at that airport. That's why your delay is happening.
Houston's George Bush, a delay-free start. It's continuing delay-free. But we will likely see delays 30 minutes or so, scattered thunderstorms later on. I'll be back in the next half-hour from your eye on the sky, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 26, 2003 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Turkeys, suitcases and airplanes. Name three things getting stuffed on Thanksgiving eve. With apologies to Karnak, we bring you up to speed on what may be the heaviest Thanksgiving travel year since before 9/11.
CNN's Michael Okwu is going nowhere fast at New York's La Guardia Airport. And yet he's had a very sunny disposition, telling about great stories about how everybody is moving through lickety-split.
Hello, Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, hello.
Everybody's very happy, and it makes me very happy. Lots of travelers here today, lots of traffic, but, at the same time, absolutely no hangups, at least up to this point. You can see over my shoulder, not only the security here, the baggage security, but also passengers checking in here at the American Airlines terminal at La Guardia Airport. None of those passengers up to this point have complained to us about any kind of hangups.
And here's the proof in the pudding, so to speak. Here, on the big board that lets you know of course whether your flight is on schedule, Nashville, Austin, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, all day, we've been telling viewers that these flights have been on time.
Now, we've been here since about 7:00 this morning. And not once have I actually seen a flight that appears as if it's delayed, which is something of a miracle, specifically given the heavy travel this weekend. One of the reasons, we are told by Port Authority officials here, is that American Airlines and other airlines have in place kiosks, self-check-in areas where you can buy an electronic ticket and check yourself in.
So that means, if you don't have any baggage to check in, you can literally do it yourself and then go straight to the gate. And, in fact, we're told by some officials, some people are actually doing this at home. You can actually print your boarding pass at home. Remarkable. It is actually working.
Here's what some of the passengers had to say to us about their travel earlier this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hasn't been too bad, actually. I'm surprised. I think a little bit later -- I scheduled an earlier flight, so it hopefully wouldn't be too bad. But I think, later, it is probably going to get a little worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tried to play the odds and leave early this morning, thinking that it would be busier later on. So who knows.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming back Saturday to beat the traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's got it all planned out. He's very methodical about this. So it's all about beating the traffic. That's the goal of Thanksgiving, really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKWU: Now, in case you're home and you're getting very comfortable watching all of this, Port Authority officials tell us that they expect the most volume later on this afternoon and into the evening.
So, even though, miraculously, nothing on that board says anything other than "On time," that may very well change later on in the day. But everyone's keeping their fingers crossed. And there a lots of happy faces here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Michael Okwu, saying that about New York City travelers, that's news in and of itself, isn't it?
Let's send it over to Rally Caparas, who is watching the big picture there as things go in the sky.
What are you seeing?
RALLY CAPARAS, TRAVELOCITY BUSINESS: Hi, Miles.
We're looking at 7,100 airplanes now. We've gone up yet again. And the volume is building. It's about to peak. And we should start to see some delays slip into the pictures at some of those airports, such as La Guardia. I can tell you that they are seeing delays going into Chicago. Let's talk about the delays.
That's an unbelievable picture. I still can't get over it, and I look at it every day. Boston to Miami, excellent conditions, on-time flight schedules. The volume-related delays during the peak period are going to start here in just a little while. I'm starting to see some taxiing difficulties at places like La Guardia, Philadelphia, Chicago O'Hare. Expect delays to be around 45 minutes into and out of those major airports as we get between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Chicago O'Hare, they are already seeing some of those delays, 45- to 60-minute arrival delays. Those gusting winds aren't really gusting. It's only a 5-knot wind. The problem is, is that the wind is coming out of the south and it creates a crosswind. And they have a land and hold short rule that forces airplanes to stop before they get to another intersecting runway. They can't do it under these circumstances, so they have to reduce the hourly arrival capacity at that airport. That's why your delay is happening.
Houston's George Bush, a delay-free start. It's continuing delay-free. But we will likely see delays 30 minutes or so, scattered thunderstorms later on. I'll be back in the next half-hour from your eye on the sky, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
