Hurricane Lane US airline flight delays, cancellations, fee waivers

Hurricane Lane.
NOAA

• Hurricane Lane is a category
  three storm bearing down on Hawaii.
• Visitors and residents have headed to airports to
  evacuate.
• American, United, and Hawaiian Airlines have
  all indicated operations will be affected by the
  storm.
• Delta and United Airlines
  have both launched additional flights to Hawaii and have capped
  prices.
• Most major US airlines are offering travel
  waivers that will allow you to alter your reservation for
  free.

Hurricane Lane was downgraded to a category three storm on
Thursday. But with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, officials
still believe the storm remains a highly dangerous threat to
Hawaii. 

Some parts of the state have reported damage from heavy rain,
winds, landslides, and severe flooding. 

With Lane bearing down on Hawaii’s Big Island, many of the
state’s residents and visitors have flocked to its airports to
evacuate. 

As of early Friday, Hawaii’s 15 airports remain operational,
officials said in an emergency
alert. However, flying into and out of the islands may prove
to be challenging because of the inclement weather and high
traffic loads. 

“Please be advised that seats on flights for the next few
days remain very limited because of high load factors,” Hawaiian
Airlines said in a statement. “
While the path of
Hurricane Lane remains uncertain, it will likely impact our
flight schedule as it passes the Islands.”

There were complaints on Wednesday of exorbitantly high
tickets fares for flights out of the Islands. Both Delta and
United told Business Insider that they have capped their prices
for Hawaii flights. 

According to United Airlines, poor weather conditions have
forced it to cancel its Friday flights into and out of Kahului
Airport. However, United did increase capacity with two
additional Honolulu-San Fransico flights on Thursday. One of the
flights used a Boeing 777-300ER, the largest plane in the
airline’s inventory usually reserved for international
long-haul routes. The other flight operated a Boeing
757-300, the largest single-aisles aircraft in the fleet.
Together, there were an additional 579 seats available.

Delta also ramped up its Hawaii operations on Thursday with an
additional 199 seats via an extra Boeing 757-200. According to
the airline, operations are expected to be normal on Friday.

American Airlines initially told Business Insider that it
does not expect to cancel any flights due to the hurricane,
however, the carrier later told us that weather conditions in
Maui have forced it to cancel four flights into and out of
Kahului Airport. In addition, some flights will be delayed a few
hours due to restrictions that prevent aircraft from taking off
and landing during severe cross-winds. 

On Friday, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier expects
to operate eight flights into and out of Honolulu, three for
Kona, and three for Kauai.

If you have flights booked for travel to and from Hawaii,
most major US airlines are currently offering travel waivers that
will allow you to alter your reservation for free.

Click here for United’s travel waiver
information.

Click here for American’s travel waiver
information.

Click here for Delta’s travel waiver
information.

Click here for Alaska’s travel waiver
information.

Click here for Hawaiian’s travel waiver
information.