'Living' at DIA? Expect to stick around awhile

Chris Walsh and Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News

Published December 21, 2006 at midnight

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Airline travelers stranded in Denver should plan on hunkering down for a long layover.

As for those trying to get here - you might not see the Mile High City until this weekend.

Most carriers have canceled flights into and out of Denver International Airport until at least early evening today , while others are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Exactly when flights resume depends on the weather, and airlines will have to wait until DIA officially reopens after its first closure in more than three years.

Passengers booked on flights this evening might be in luck, although there likely will be delays.

But thousands of stranded travelers will have a tough time getting out today, regardless of when the airport opens.

Airlines, already flying full planes as the busy Christmas travel season heats up, have few available seats to reroute passengers affected by the blizzard.

"It's going to be extremely difficult to rebook all these people," said Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas. "All the airlines are full for the holidays, so when you cancel a bunch of flights it's really tough" to find enough space for all the stranded travelers.

Wednesday's blizzard hammered flight operations in Denver as heavy snowfall and strong winds created low visibility and treacherous flying conditions.

Only a fraction of the roughly 1,600 flights scheduled to take off and land at DIA did so successfully.

United Airlines canceled 341 departures and a similar number of arrivals Wednesday at DIA, company spokesman Jeff Kovick said.

The carrier, which is Denver's largest, operates 441 daily departures at the airport. United has canceled all flights through early evening today.

Frontier Airlines axed 250 flights, and Southwest Airlines suspended all service to and from Denver by midmorning Wednesday.

Stranded passengers had claimed all of the plush couches near the passenger screening area by noon. Others slept on the floor.

Mike Murrow thought he was doing the right thing Tuesday night when he gave up his seat for a passenger who needed an urgent flight to Kansas City, Mo.

Murrow was booked Wednesday morning on a United flight, which was canceled, and he might miss Christmas with his family.

"No good deed goes unpunished," said Murrow, a 33-year-old construction worker from Santa Cruz, Calif. "Maybe my luggage is in Kansas City hopefully."

Mason Pilkinton, 25, and his 24-year-old fiance, Alisha Andrews, were looking for a place to settle for the night.

Andrews was supposed to fly out of DIA and spend Christmas with her family in London.

Pilkinton said he had to drive to DIA from their home in Morrison with his head out the window because the screws on his windshield wipers fell out.

"You just crash out here and find lots of stuff to do, like look for a screwdriver," said Pilkinton, who planned to spend the night at DIA.

As he waited in a long line for a shuttle service, Reese Mitchell, 17, asked passers-by if they had any chewing tobacco. He was trying to pass the time as his flight home to Houston was canceled.

"I just want some snuff," he said.

Mitchell and his 17-year-old buddy, Jeremy Carter, spent the past five days of their high school winter break in Breckenridge.

The two Texans make a snowboarding trip to Colorado every year, but that pattern may change next year.

"I don't like snow anymore," Carter said.

The challenge now is figuring out how to get stranded passengers to their destinations. Most carriers are waiving rebooking fees for customers who choose to fly at later dates, but many travelers want to get out of Denver - or into the city - as soon as possible.

Frontier, which is Denver's second-largest airline, said its planes are roughly 90 percent full for the next few days because of the holiday rush.

Other airlines report similar occupancy levels, pointing out that there simply isn't much room to immediately accommodate stranded passengers.

"This clearly couldn't have come at a worse time, right at the start of the holiday travel period," said Henry Harteveldt, a vice president at Forrester Research, which compiles data for several industries, including airlines.

Major carriers such as United can route passengers that were supposed to connect in Denver through its other hubs in, say, Chicago or San Francisco. But Frontier doesn't have that luxury, as it routes the majority of its traffic through Denver.

Carriers say customers should call them to rebook, and those who are scheduled to leave today should check individual airline Web sites for the latest updates.

And with frustrations and tensions running high, carriers are asking travelers for one thing above all others.

"Patience," said Frontier's Hodas, "is the key."

Canceled

Some of the larger flight cancellations on Wednesday

• United: More than 680 departures and arrivals

• Frontier: 250 departures and arrivals

• Southwest: 58 departures and arrivals

• Check out www.flydenver.com for the latest information on conditions at DIA. Airport officials, though, say to call individual airlines directly to get the status of flights.

Things to do in Denver when you're snowbound

Single and snowed in?

• Finish wrapping presents and addressing those holiday cards you've been putting off.

• Call your neighbors and arrange an impromptu wine tasting.

•Try a newrecipe. The oven will heat the house and make it smell great, to boot.

• Surf dating sites! It's like shopping for someone to keep warm with, and no commitment is required.

• Give in to the lowest common denominator: watch TV.

• Call friends and relatives in another city, while they're at work, and note that you are watching TV and drinking wine at home.

See a flick

If you have a collection, or can walk to a video store, check out:

• Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Homesick travelers might identify with-but not want to emulate - this intrepid duo.

• It's a Wonderful Life: A Christmas movie with a blizzard of its own.

• Ice Age or Ice Age II: We need toexplain this?

• Do the Right Thing: The summer heat in Spike Lee's film will warm you up.

• Miracle on 34th Street: Because how many times canyou watch It's A Wonderful Life anyway?

With your dog

How to entertain those hounds who won't get their regularly scheduled walks:

• Throw snowballs. The single greatest dog game ever. Where did it go? Wait! What about that one?

• Spend an afternoon crawling on the floor. Your dog may be stuck inside, but at least he/she will feel huge.

• Put on some music that you can both sing to and howl away the afternoon.

• Take the opportunity to put that dog in a sweater!

Make snow cream

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon snow

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups milk

Directions: When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar andvanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desiredconsistency. Serve at once.

Source:Allrecipes.com

With the kids

• Have a snowball fight or build a snow fort.

• Get creative with cooking-it takes up time and stretches your food, because it might be a few days.

• Dig out your old photo albums and finally show them those embarrassing ninth-grade pictures of you. Or find some old ones of them.

• Every rise isnowa sled hill. Grab cardboard like you used to when you were a kid and get out there.

• Snow shoe or cross-country ski around the block or a nearby park.

• Read a loud to your children, especiallyThe Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. After reading about the family nearly starving to death, even a power outage will feel bearable.

walshc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2744

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