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In the midst of the current government shutdown, thousands of flights across the U.S. have been delayed or cancelled. With no clear end to the shutdown in sight, its time to revive a tried-and-true tool thats dependably delivered soul-crushing news to fliers for more than a decade: the Misery Map. The Misery Map is a live tool that tracks weather across the U.S., tallies the number of delays and cancellations at every major airport in the country across 17 city hubs, and graphs popular flight destinations with the chances that upcoming flights will actually make it on time. Operated by the flight tracking website Flight Aware, the map has been delivering a no-nonsense picture of how bad your day at the airport will be since 2013and if the last few days are anything to go by, you should probably just bookmark it now. Why is air travel so bad right now? During a government shutdown, air travel is one of the services to feel an immediate impact. Thats because, during a shutdown, air traffic controllers are considered essential workers, but not quite essential enough to receive a paycheckmeaning they have to keep showing up to work with only the promise of future retroactive pay. Back in 2019 during a partial government shutdown, rampant air traffic control and TSA agent absences were one key factor that pressured the government to reopen. And now, just nine days into the current shutdown, those absences are already putting a strain on air travel infrastructure. Over the last several days, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered a reduction in the number of flights in and out of Orlando International Airport in Florida and Newark Liberty International Airport due to low staffing. On the afternoon of October 6, Hollywood Burbank Airports control tower shut down entirely due to a lack of air controllers, forcing pilots to follow procedures typically used at small airports with no control tower. According to data from Flight Aware, total daily flight delays and cancellations averaged around 5,000 between October 6 and October 8. The FAA told NBC News on October 8 that delays have been reported at airports in Boston; Burbank, California; Chicago; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia; and Phoenix. As long as the government shutdown continues, delays are expected to become more common. How to use the Misery Map For anyone with an upcoming flight, the current uncertain state of air travel means that an already stressful travel day might get exponentially worse. Thats where Misery Map comes in. The beauty of the Misery Map is in its simplicity. According to this tool, a flight can only have two states of being: on time or misery. Flights in the on time category are noted in green, whereas “miserable” flights are recorded in red. Each of the maps 17 hubs includes a circular graph thats divided into red and green chunks based on how many of its flights have proceeded according to plan for that day. At a quick glance, the map dilutes the complicated flight landscape to help travelers understand their odds of a pain-free travel experience at any given time. For those looking for more details, the Misery Map includes several other helpful features. By hovering over any given city, fliers can see how other flights have fared on popular routes that day. Routes indicated in green have seen a majority of on-time flights, while those in red have already seen delays. A play button in the lower left side of the screen even lets users watch a mutli-day timelapse of the tracker to understand how flight conditions have evolved based on the day, time, and weather conditions. Travelers can also search for a specific departing flight for more details on its flight path and average delay times. We can all agree that flight delays are miserablebut at least there’s a way to see that you’re not the only one dealing with travel woes. After all, misery loves company. [Screenshot: FlightAware]
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E-Commerce
Flight delays and disruptions at U.S. airports have persisted for a fourth consecutive day due to staffing issues stemming from the government shutdown, which began on October 1. Air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay during the shutdown. As federal employees begin to feel the financial impact of the shutdown, many are calling out of work. And as the shutdown continues, many airports are struggling with growing staffing issues. Here’s what you need to knowespecially if you’re flying soon. Over 16,000 flights have been delayed since Monday According to FlightAware, which tracks flight delays, disruptions, and cancellations, as of late Thursday morning, more than 16,000 flights flying into, within, or out of the U.S. have been delayed since Monday, October 6. On Monday, October 6,154 flights were delayed and 84 were canceled. On Tuesday, October 7, 3,849 flights were delayed and 70 were canceled. On Wednesday, October 8, 4,608 flights were delayed and 60 were canceled. As of 11:50 a.m. ET today, 1,698 flights flying into, within, or out of the U.S. have been delayed, and 55 flights were canceled. Temporary ground delays have been issued to slow air traffic The FAA has issued temporary ground delays at several airports this week. Some of the impacted airports include Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Nashville International Airport (BNA), and Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). On Monday, the FAA issued a temporary ground stop at Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). Reports indicate that the airport was unstaffed for several hours. An October 9 FAA operational plan notes the following airports may experience possible ground delays today: Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport (FLL) LaGuardia Airport (LGA) Miami International Airport (MIA) Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) Orlando International Airport (MCO) Whats causing continued flight delays? Federal employees working at airports, including air traffic controllers and TSA agents, are considered essential workers. That means they must keep working without pay during the government shutdown. Airports are experiencing staffing issues as more employees call out sick. Flight disruptions are expected to continue throughout the shutdown. Heres what to do if youre flying soon The impact of flight delays may be more noticeable this weekend. There will likely be an increase in air travel as Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and some people may have off work and choose to travel during the long weekend. If you have a flight scheduled in the coming days, you may face disruptions. Remember to be kind to airport and airline employees. They have no control over flight delays and cancellations. It’s good practice to check your flight status before heading to the airport; you can check the status of your flight on your airline’s website or mobile app. Travelers can also check the FAA’s National Airspace System Status website for information regarding widespread delays at specific airports. FlightAware also publishes its MiseryMap, which uses recent data to compare flight delays and cancellations vs. on-time flights at major airports nationwide. If your flight is canceled or if a flight delay causes you to miss a connection, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have policies that state they’ll rebook you on the next available flight. Fast Company reached out to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines for comment on the flight delays. We’ll update this story if we receive replies.
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E-Commerce
When a winter storm took out the grid across Texas in 2021, Matt Popovits and his family didnt have power for four days, and didnt have heat in the record cold. We spent the night huddled up lying on the floor in our living room next to our gas fireplace, just desperately trying to stay warm, he says. And I remember looking at my wife and saying, We can never let this happen again. They started researching whole-house generators, but the cost, at around $15,000, was prohibitive. Last year, another storm took out the familys power again for several days. They relied on a small generator, but it didnt work well. Now theyve turned to a new solution: a battery backup system that they didnt have to buy. The system was installed by Base Power, a Texas-based startup thats trying to reinvent the power company. The two-year-old companywhich announced this week that it raised $1 billion in a Series C round of funding, from sources like Addition, Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, an othersowns a fleet of large batteries that it installs at homesboth to help homeowners and to provide critical support for the electric grid. [Photo: Base] A new type of power company Instead of buying the batteries, homeowners pay an installation fee and a $19 monthly rental fee. Then they also choose Base Power as their electric company. The total monthly cost is often less than customers previously paid on their utility bill. Base Power can charge low fees because of the second part of its business model: it uses the batteries to sell power to the grid when utilities need it. The startups software tracks electricity prices, charging the batteries when the cost of power is low, and selling it back for a profit that it can share with homeowners. Base CEO Zach_Dell [Photo: Base] We don’t sell batteries, we sell power, says Base Power founder Zach Dell. We install the battery on your home. We own it. We operate it. When the grid’s up and running, we use it to support the grid. When the grid’s down, you get it to back up your home. The customer gets all the benefits of the power backup without the high upfront cost. And we get to deploy this really efficient asset class of distributed batteries. Dell started thinking about the need for utilities to change while working in private equity at Blackstone and as an investor at the VC firm Thrive Capital. I identified that there was a paradigm shift happening in the industry, he says. The last five decades of energy have been defined by coal and natural gas. And the next five decades are likely to be defined by solar and storage. As an investor, he watched tech companies go after slow-moving industries and quickly take market share. It occurred to me that the energy industry was really the last great part of the economy that had gone undisrupted, Dell says. If you look at electric utilities and the businesses in that category, theyre big, and not necessarily innovative, and not focused on technology and R&D. So the idea was okay, lets go build the category-defining, technology-driven energy company around this paradigm shift. [Photo: Base] A different approach to battery storage Most batteries on the grid today are utility-scalepacked in shipping containers in fields that often sit next to a solar or wind farm. Like renewable projects, they face long delays waiting for interconnection approval. Because theyre typically far from the cities that need the power, they also face challenges with congestion on the grids outdated wires. Distributed batteries allow you to circumvent the two constraints, says Dell. You dont have to wait in the interconnection queue, because you deploy the batteries where interconnection already exists. And the deployment are co-located with the load, so you dont have those transmission constraints. Other home batteries already exist, but the company wanted to offer something different. First, most home batteries are out of reach for many consumers. The home batteries on the market today are very expensive, very premium, he says. Theyre literally made of glass. They cost $20,000 and they look like an iPhone strapped to the wall. Instead of a premium product, the company decided to offer something utilitarian. Unlike other sleek home batteries, it looks more like an air conditioning unit. At 25 kilowatt-hours of storage, it has around twice as much power as some other home batteries, enough to fully power a house. Some homeowners, like the Popovits family, get two units. While they’ve only had it installed for the month and the power hasn’t gone out in the neighborhood yet, they’ve run the system in test mode. “It really does run everything,” Popvits says. “It runs your air conditioner, which is a really big deal.” Over the year and a half that the company has been installing the units, Dell says that other customers have used the batteries in thousands of outages. In some parts of Texas, it’s common for the power to go out once or twice a month. [Photo: Base] A fast way to supply power to the grid Using batteries as virtual power plants is increasingly seen as a critical tool to support electric grids. In California, two large utilities recently ran a massive test with customers who signed up to let their Tesla Powerwalls and Sunrun batteries send power to the grid; together, thousands of homes delivered 535 megawatts of electricity as proof of how the system could work when the grid is under strain. In some cases, utilities are helping pay for distributed batteries. California’s PG&E offers some customers in wildfire zones free or low-cost batteries. In Minnesota, Xcel Energy plans to deploy a network of large batteries at businesses (the companies will be paid for the use of their space, but won’t use the power directly). Some other companies also try to make it as easy as possible for customers to get home battery systems. In Texas, Sonnen and Solrite offer no-money-down batteries, though customers have to commit to 25 years; Base Power has a three-year contract. Base Power’s low-friction approach could help virtual power plants grow much more quicklyand add capacity to the grid far faster than building standard solar farms or gas power plants. The company is now making plans to expand outside of Texas. “We are in an unprecedented time of electricity demand, and we need more supply,” Dell says. The company can add supply to the grid faster and more cost-effectively than any other approach, he argues. “We’re deploying hundreds of megawatts a quarter now,” he says. “Hopefully we’ll be doing hundreds of megawatts a month.” We need to rise to the occasion and meet this massive demand.” So far, the company has installed batteries in around 5,000 homes, and has more demand from homeowners than it can currently meet. “When I did my homework and I discovered that I could lower my energy bills and have power generation when I was in an outage or a storm, it just kind of seemed like a no-brainer for me,” says Popovits, who learned about the company from a friend who also has a system installed. “The lights stay on, my bills go down, and my overall cost to get whole-house generation is just really, really small.”
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E-Commerce
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