Stranded Southwest passengers exploring alternate journey choices

San Jose, California – The ripple impact of this week’s canceled Southwest Airways flights is creating demand for an additional sort of resort room and rental automobile.

There have been clear indicators of turbulence at Mineta San Jose Worldwide Airport on Wednesday. The automobile rental counter was extra crowded than the ticket counter. Crowds of potential renters had been scouting, scanning, texting and looking for different journey choices.

“I got here from Denver for my brother’s marriage ceremony,” mentioned traveler Faciha Farooqi.

She and her cousin Javaria Farooq deliberate to fly to Orange County. However the flight to the southwest was canceled, like all different flights. So driving was the following best choice.

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If you consider meals, lodging, leases, and fuel for a 300+ mile drive, it turns into an more and more costly choice.

“Simply 1000’s of {dollars}. Clearly, we weren’t anticipating this insane expense, however right here it’s,” Farooqi mentioned.

Many motels in downtown San Jose have reported a rise in clients and a lower in vacancies because the traveler disaster started.

“It is somewhat little bit of an uptick,” mentioned Gary Schlossberg, world strategist at Wells Fargo Investments. “That is having a big affect on the fast space across the airport … to some extent for eating places that will usually have calmed down after the Christmas holidays.”

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Some automobile rental firms are both out of inventory or understocked, slowing down the method. Sufficient to crush somebody’s temper. However potential renter Mike Olmsted bucks the pattern whereas making an attempt to get to Tucson for his daughter’s marriage ceremony.

“I by no means did the maths. I do not care. It is your kid’s marriage ceremony. It’s a must to go it doesn’t matter what. So we are saying $200, 230. [dollars] Perhaps,” mentioned Olmsted.

Some potential renters are gearing up for dangerous information on high of the dangerous information they’re already coping with.

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Others say they’ve already begun to surprise what the return journey can be like if getting there may be this a lot bother.

“And what are the expectations of whether or not our flight will get us residence?” mentioned Javaria Farooq, a New York Metropolis resident.

“You realize, I nonetheless have to return to Denver, and he or she has to return to New York,” Farooqi added.

Consultants mentioned the price of stranded southwestern flyers will proceed to rise as the times go by.

The airline had 144 canceled flights on the San Jose airport on Wednesday, down barely from 157 flights yesterday.

Jesse Gary is a reporter primarily based within the station’s South Bay bureau. Observe him on Twitter @JesseKTVU and his Instagram @jessegontv.