ASSOCIATED PRESS
Grounds crews blow snow from an Airtran jet during a storm at Boston's Logan Airport Friday. Snow and sleet pelted the metro area on Friday, interrupting travel plans for thousands, which could help bolster Hawaii's tourism industry.
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Northeast storm could have upside for state
State tourism officials expect relatively little impact from the winter storm that grounded airliners in the Northeast yesterday, and say some of that impact may be positive.
Foul weather triggered a series of flight cancellations yesterday from carriers that serve New York and other Northeastern airports.
The weather impacted one direct flight to Hawaii -- Continental Airlines' nonstop Flight 15 from Newark, N.J., was canceled yesterday -- but other passengers traveling from the East who planned on taking connecting flights to Hawaii from other cities also might have had to adjust their travel plans.
It's still too early to tell how many visitors to Hawaii were caught in the storm. However, state tourism officials expect there to be few repercussions, said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. In fact, the bad weather could prove to be something of a boon for Hawaii's visitor industry, Wienert said.
"Bad weather creates pent-up demand for Hawaii," she said. "People get tired of dealing with it on the mainland and decide to book flights to better climates."
Delta canceled 600 flights from the east, or 15 percent of their total, for yesterday and today, said Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman.
Customers impacted by cancellations are eligible to obtain refunds or make a one-time change without penalty or additional fees if tickets are changed by March 20, 2007, Landers said.
Northwest Airlines did not cancel its direct flights to Hawaii, which originate in Minneapolis and Detroit.
But some passengers taking connecting flights to Hawaii from other eastern cities could have been impacted by the storm, said Roman Blahoski, a spokesman for Northwest.
"We're headquartered in Minnesota so we've had plenty of experience with storms, and we know how to handle bad weather," Blahsoki said.