Stranded Rose Parade-bound band from Pennsylvania finally finds a way West

They could contact the nearby Air Force base to see if a government plane might be spared. Or perhaps their hometown NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, had connections with a charter jet. Maybe they should slog across the country in a car or bus.

No suggestion was too wild when it came to figuring out how to transport stranded Downingtown High School band members from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles in time for Saturday’s Rose Parade. Late Tuesday, however, students planned to board good old-fashioned commercial airlines.

It was an option that had seemed impossible only a day earlier when a blizzard forced Continental Airlines to cancel two flights out of Newark that were to carry about two-thirds of the 347-member band. Students were told they would probably be rebooked after the New Year.

Band leaders debated whether those who still had available flights should even head to the airport. The 450 traveling family members and supporters flying out of JFK and Philadelphia were also unsure of the next step.

“The kids were just distraught,” said Steven Wisniewski, 43, who has three teenagers in the band. “The kids worked hard all year and to have it at the last minute pulled out from underneath them — they were devastated.”

But the band’s parents’ association and other community members in Downington, a city of fewer than 10,000 residents, were determined to not let that work go to waste.

With the high school auditorium as their home base, they brainstormed travel alternatives and reached out to people who could help. Phone calls were made to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell’s office, local senators and Downingtown’s mayor. Pleas were posted on the band’s Facebook and Twitter pages, which quickly attracted supporters.

On Monday night, the band invited local media to a news conference that attracted nearly 1,000 community members. Soon, everyone was pulling for the band members, who raised funds all year for the trip and performed 25 hours of community service each as a way of giving back to their hometown.

Continental received so many calls about Downingtown that operators refused to speak with anyone except the band’s travel agency.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, the group received word that Continental had created a new flight out of Newark for Downingtown. Seating was limited, so 15 parents gave up their seats to students. Hoping for the best, everyone scattered to their respective airports, where flights continued to be delayed.

As Emily Wisniewski, 18, waited at Newark Airport for a flight that had been pushed back to 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, she reflected on the last couple of days when parents, band boosters and community members scrambled to find an answer.

“I really gained a newfound respect for all of those people,” she said. “The band has always prided itself on being a family and I thought we couldn’t get any closer. Through all of this, we have.”

corina.knoll@latimes.com