Field Notes from Flying During the Phases of A Pandemic

I’ve crossed the US four times with eight flights according to various different public health protocols during this pandemic. Here’s what I’ve seen.

I flew immediately after COVID-19 was proclaimed to be a pandemic in early March, then six weeks later at the end of April after the initial US crisis, then another 6 weeks later in mid-June, and latest again at the end of July. Let’s talk about it.

VIDEO: Checkout my COVID FLYING Story on Instagram.

March 11: Unknowns & Unease Phase

I made plans to fly to Florida for a personal trip in advance of two back to back business conferences – way back before pandemic time in January. The first conference was canceled on the same day of my flight, so I figured I’d see if I ended up flying directly to the second. We all now know how this story goes. Instead, I ended up not leaving Florida for six weeks!

Earlier that day was also the last time I sat at my usual desk (the Googles and Facebooks of the world were already working from home, but most of us office folk weren’t). Now it’s been cleared out and moved around for in-office social distancing, if we ever go back. Anyway, back to flying!

Airport:

Still business as usual and bustling. All stores were open, all travelers were squeezed together.

Travelers: 

The CDC still insisted that most people shouldn’t wear masks. Only two people on my flight were wearing masks and gloves, and at the time it seemed smart but a bit overdone. I didn’t own a mask, but had brought a ski neck and face cover to wear overnight on my redeye since I was starting to feel uneasy and was flying to stay with my parents.

My United Platinum self was upgraded to first class late in the game, primarily because it was a Wednesday night redeye, but some business travel (aka paid business seats) had been canceled as well.

One mask-less man was coughing profusely at about 3am, ruining any chance of getting some sleep and replacing it with anxiety. The entire cabin was staring at him, and looking to see if the stewardesses would do something. I was floored that it went on so long, was so gross, and the flight attendants did nothing. They had a handful of masks on hand – they should have given him one. I felt so strongly that I submitted the incident to United Customer Service (they sent me 3,000 points as an apology).

In-Flight Experience:

My seat mate on my first leg and I were on the same wavelength: we both wiped down our entire seats, tray tables, arm rests, buttons, the seat in front of us, and I wiped down my window seat wall. This was still unusual at that point. A full menu of drinks were served as boarding went on, and that was my last United First Prosecco to date. Should have gotten a second!

The next flight I managed to sit solo on a 1-2 configured first class, and still wiped everything down.

A plated breakfast was served on my connection, with actual plates and glasses. I should have pocketed that glass as a souvenir!

When I arrived at my destination, my first step was to take a hot, disinfecting, very sudsy shower and to put my travel outfit in the wash. That was also the last time I flew in one of my nice blazers (which I only put in the dryer on low for some germ killing) for now since I can’t toss them in the wash!

April 27: Lockdown Phase

As my travel day approached, my flights moved or were canceled + rebooked several times as United moved their fleet around and recalibrated their logistics plan. I personally also moved my flight several times, at no cost. It made sense – the planes and terminals were empty with demand plummeting as lockdowns were finally official.

Airport:

Only one gate in the entire terminal was in operation. At this point, mask wearing was recommended by the CDC but not mandated by the airport or airlines. Everything but the magazine shop was closed. It was eerie.

Travelers:

14 people were on my first flight on a medium-sized plane. Maybe 6 in first class out of about 20 seats and the rest spread out through the main cabin.

There were only a few more on a sizeable 777 from DC to SF. Everyone in First had their own two-person pod to themselves.

In-Flight Experience:

Gone were the glasses, silverware, and transcontinental meal service. Instead, the premium snack boxes and closed plastic bottles of wine with plastic glasses were handed out in first, and no food or drink (there may have been small water bottles?) was handed out in economy. Nothing was available for purchase.

 

June 10: Early Reopening Phase

In early June, the partisan lines of reopening were starting to emerge, plus some airlines weren’t blocking neighboring seats – or were doing so with a lack of consistency.

Airport:

At check-in, the kiosks had been converted to contactless – by hovering your phone where a passport would go, the kiosk could read your boarding pass’s QR code and print your luggage tags. This was a long time coming: why did we have to type in our reservation or United MileagePlus number when you’ve already checked in?!

San Francisco had mandated mask use in the terminal. Houston – not so much. And, the only open so-called restaurants on a dinner time layover were Wendy’s and Auntie Anne’s. Gross.

On the loudspeaker, our gate agent welcomed us to bring and use our own cleaning supplies on our seats.

I had received an email ahead of my flight that CPUs for all levels under 1K would be cleared at the gate. Despite the number of booked and blocked spots, the prognosis still looked good – and I was cleared about 10 minutes before boarding.

Travelers:

Travelers had overall become more plentiful, and by percentage, less careful. Mixed mask and COVID-deadliness messages had people coming over to sit right next to me in the Houston terminal, despite my attempts to get away, sans mask or any efforts to be respectful of my health.

Onboard, everyone was wearing a mask without incident, though one of the flight attendants was wearing a mask under her nose for a good chunk of the flight, which I thought was an inexplicably poor example.

In-Flight Experience: 

The flights boarded from the back to the front, rather than by groups (after children, disabilities, active duty, Global Premier, 1K, and first class if you didn’t mind the entire plane parading by you). In-flight, there were prepackaged snack kits, and upon boarding we handed an individually packaged Purell wipe.

I was uncomfortable eating and drinking at the same time as everyone else in the completely-full first class cabin, so I waited to eat my snack box/packed lunch and drink my wine (yes, this is certainly not suffering, but it is important!) until the initial wave was done and then dug in.

July 19: Oops, We Did It Again Phase

Well, the US self-sabotaged its first lockdown. The entire global population reluctantly saw that coming, didn’t we?

Airport:

Much more in-terminal dining, as well as the terminals themselves, were open in the two (pandemic-problematic) states, Florida and Texas, I traveled through. In Houston especially, I was extremely unimpressed to see United’s entire iPad ordering bar and restaurant filled to the brim. This is not outdoor dining, nor are travelers (obviously) wearing masks while eating, drinking, and lingering. But they’re still shoulder to shoulder. Come on, Texas!

Travelers:

The amount of travelers had picked up even more. I was flying as the differences in airline policy (American filling planes to full capacity vs. United mixed reviews vs. JetBlue blocking middle seats or aisles in smaller planes, etc.) was getting more scrutiny, but adjustments for the pandemic were expiring.

In-Flight Experience: 

My first and short leg was pretty COVID-standard with no service – and thus everyone had their masks on the whole time.

On my second stretch, I was upgraded to First after already being seated in Plus, which was delightful. But, I was good to go with the blocked middle seat and leg room, and really ended up sitting closer to someone in first than I would have in my original seat.

Overall

The boarding order, the social distancing at the gate, the spreading out of jump seats for flight attendants- these are just visual trust mechanisms in my eyes. There’s no way this matters once everyone’s packed into a plane, just as it’s always been with people coughing and sneezing on flights.

I’m particularly disappointed by the huge regression of environmental considerations after years of slow moving progress in the travel industry. It all disappeared overnight with a complete reliance on a disposable economy. I’m not sure how much recycling is being processed right now, but I’d expect it to be lower even as the use of plastic is higher.

Do you have any questions about flying right now? What do you think about the winding road of airline (and federal, state, and local) guidelines and procedures?

Leave a comment below or DM me @anchoredandadrift on Instagram. Thanks for reading!