COVID Air Travel Experiences?

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ThatDogDontHunt

Oscar Meyer Weiner
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What is taking an airplane flight like in this new age of COVID? What has changed?

It would be nice to be able to share real experiences of recent travelers so that we all could start to understand how changes to air travel may affect our upcoming vacations that we are eagerly looking forward too...but are maybe a bit apprehensive about.

It would be very interesting to get feedback from people who have actually been on a plane since this COVID thing started. What was different: before you left, at the airport, on the plane, when you arrived, after you got home.

So: who has flown?
 
there are some detailed trip reports in the cozumel section that describe travel conditions
 
I flew to Fort Lauderdale from Kansas City about 10 days ago on southwest. No middle seats were being sold and so few people had bought tickets that we were also seated about every other row. Everyone in the airport was pretty equally on edge so everyone was very cool with mask wearing and spacing out aside from the odd jabroni doing whatever they wanted. I felt fine the whole time and at not point did I feel uneasy about spacing and all of that - if anything the most danger I assessed myself to be in was on the dive boat in Key Largo before it exited the canal. But even there people were cool with masks and all the good stuff.

The way I look at it, planes haven't ever been fully grounded and if they were a cause for outbreaks we would have heard about it by now. Thats just my anecdotal opinion though.
 
To answer more pointedly, no changes other than what fewer people brings along with it. If it weren't for covid these would have been the best flights ever.
 
To answer more pointedly, no changes other than what fewer people brings along with it. If it weren't for covid these would have been the best flights ever.
I noticed lots of changes. Some more obvious than others. And the rules slowly changed across several flights.

Some of the things I noticed:
- check-in questionnaire
- mask required at check-in counter and at gate ( but not the rest of the airport)
- temperature was taken before flight - one airport was done at security, another at check in gate
- mask required full time on the plane
- no alcohol service on the plane
- at boarding time everyone got a goody bag: mask, wipes, water, hand sanitizer
- flight attendants had lots of PPE - masks, gloves, suits
- very limited flight attendant interaction during the flight
 
I noticed lots of changes. Some more obvious than others. And the rules slowly changed across several flights.

Some of the things I noticed:
- check-in questionnaire
- mask required at check-in counter and at gate ( but not the rest of the airport)
- temperature was taken before flight - one airport was done at security, another at check in gate
- mask required full time on the plane
- no alcohol service on the plane
- at boarding time everyone got a goody bag: mask, wipes, water, hand sanitizer
- flight attendants had lots of PPE - masks, gloves, suits
- very limited flight attendant interaction during the flight
And very limited airport services. Half the washrooms seemed to be closed and most of the restaurants.

And no loyalty lounges were open.
 
YVR now has a bar restaurant open. Most of the tables have been removed, the bar stools are 6 feet apart with a plexiglass screen between you and the bar tender and they take your temperature before they let you in. Food is unchanged, still bad.

Saw a small handful of travellers wearing disposable "hazmat suits".

Social distancing is still an issue for most people as they crowd into lines.

Also noticed that the flight attendants will not help people stow their carry on luggage. They are unwilling to touch the luggage.
 
Several flights here. International into Honolulu, on to San Fransisco. I was overseas when it was really kicking off, arriving in Honolulu shortly after they initiated a quarantine, so the domestic legs of travel were very unique and uncertain. Lots of canceled flights, it took a few days to get home. They wanted to route me from Honolulu to Texas, to Chicago, back to California...Then from HNL to Seattle to Denver, to California...Apparently I was the only one looking at non-direct flights as more opportunity to get canceled/rerouted and stranded somewhere new, not to mention more points of potential exposure. United refused to comp any overnight expenses in Honolulu due to cancellations. On the flights there were no services provided and they kept the seatbelt light on for the entire flight and said they "requested you remained seated unless necessary to limit exposure." They didn't say anything about folks getting up to use the restrooms. Smaller planes than usually fly that route, with dispersed seating. They were handing out alcohol wipes already, but not requiring masks or anything. At this point, the airlines were trying to figure out which way to move, so it seemed very localized, "manager's discretion" type treatment from one airline terminal to another, and one airport to another. Fortunately, most passengers were being extremely proactive, sharing Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer with folks seated nearby, etc.

Later on in to things (just a couple weeks ago) masks required at check-in and on the flight. Handing out alcohol wipes while boarding, services back in-flight to a limited extent, only serving pre-packaged stuff and no drinks other than unopened water bottles.

Airport experiences vary widely. Sacramento, fewer than half seemed to care. Mask usage was rare, bordering on nonexistent. Fly to San Francisco from there, nearly 100% were wearing masks. That stood out, given they're not particularly far apart. Salt Lake City was somewhere between the two.

Folks on the planes vary as well. "Masks required," but enforcement is low to nonexistent on United and Delta. Lots of folks wearing it on their chin/half covering their mouth and completely off their nose.

Airport shuttles are sort of limiting capacity. Some better than others, none particularly well. Instead of being packed in like sardines, they're just filling it to seating capacity now. For airports with already poor shuttle service, that results in more delays. Honestly, this was the single point that has the biggest impact on scheduling, in my experience. What usually takes 15 minutes to get from the rental lot to the terminal might take 3-4x that now.

Honestly, I wouldn't call any of the changes "major." Wear a mask, I bring a tube of Clorox wipes in my carry on and re-clean everything that's presumably already been cleaned. Copious hand sanitizer use. Like I said, parking shuttles are the biggest impact to my planning from pre- to post-covid.

My advice: just don't fly. I'm of the opinion that leisure travel is rather irresponsible right now. Some folks have to travel. If your loved ones are battling terminal cancer on the other end of the country, screw COVID - we all know what cancer does. Go spend time with them while you can, and do your part to minimize risk to everyone. If your work requires travel (a broad, blurry line as to what qualifies as "requires," IMO) then you may not have a choice. If you just really want to squeeze in that holiday diving weekend, you're being selfish and putting many people at risk who may not have a choice regarding their travel.
 
Did another trip back and forth across much of the great white north between Ont & BC. 2 flights each way, 5 hours hours on a big plane, 45 minutes on a puddle jumper. Overall I felt safer onboard than in my local grocery store where some old ladies feel the need to touch all of the fresh food before picking THEIRs. Please do not touch MY food! Look at it, pick one and it's yours!

Air Canada now has the covid ritual down. Every passenger gets a goody bag with a too small for me disposable mask (I think my ears are located too far back on my head? or it could be a big nose thing? it's not like I have a big head or anything...), a small bottle of greasy sticky sanitizer (not specifically for hands, seems you can use it anywhere you want?), 2 specially formulated handiwipe packets (these are for external use only!), a pair of one size fits nobody blue rubber gloves (I love that snap sound as you release after pulling them on...) and a half gulp plastic bottle of water. And free ear buds for everybody!

The air crew on all flights were very professional.

Unfortunately there has been little education or reduction of moron passengers. A few old people wearing their masks under their nose - someone posted a meme about low masks and low male underwear - ewww!. Air Canada's onboard safety announcement clearly states the need for a mouth and nose covering - no reference to "face mask".

In the terminals most people were obedient except for a few in the 20-39 invincible group that refused to wear masks and seem to have no concept of personal space let alone this new and improved social distancing concept.
 
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