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We had a family problem this week, the sickness of an aged and beloved relative, and all three of our kids came in from all over. Son Brett flew in from Gibraltar, Kevin flew from Boston, and Melanie, thank goodness, drove in from Atlanta. Everybody had serious travel troubles except Melanie.

Kevin and Brett ran afoul of this week’s widespread nasty weather. Kevin’s flight was delayed out of Boston just enough to keep him from catching his connecting flight out of Atlanta (surprise, surprise). He finally arrived a bit over two hours later than scheduled. No big deal.

Brett, however, arrived more than twenty-four hours late. Getting from Gibraltar to New York’s JFK was no problem. At JFK everything hit the fan. His late afternoon flight was canceled, and they rebooked him on a flight scheduled to leave at 8:30 the next morning. It didn’t. It left just late enough to make him miss his connection out if Atlanta (does someone have a super computer that works it out that way?) so they booked him for another flight that also arrived later than scheduled. And that wasn’t the worst part…

Now, more than twenty-four hours after Brett’s actual arrival, he still doesn’t know where his luggage is.

Except for the (inexcusable) missing baggage, I’m not even mad at the airlines about this one. Weather is just not their fault. Many disagree with me on this (good friend Clyde will probably write a nasty comment below). They think the airline should pay for room and meals when flights are delayed/canceled because of weather. I don’t. I want them to cancel flights when the weather is bad, and I don’t want cost to be part of the decision process.

When I was flying genav aircraft I canceled when, in my opinion, I wouldn’t feel comfortable tackling the weather as I saw it. I got right determined about that.

I once called the FBO for which I sold airplanes to report that, because of icing, I was leaving an Aztec more’n 100 miles from home and coming in via rental car. A good friend and high-time pilot said there wasn’t enough ice out there to worry about in an Aztec. Said if it was him he would fly it on home. I said, “Hell, I didn’t say you couldn’t fly it. I said I wasn’t going to fly it and I’m not.”

I want airline pilots thinking the same way, and I don’t want them worrying about the cost.