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Has Anyone Flown Commercially Lately?

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Has Anyone Flown Commercially Lately?

Old 18th May 2020, 10:49
  #21 (permalink)  
 
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FWIW with reference to the above the SIN situation changed very rapidly in Feb/March, certainly for flights to/from the UK/Oz..

Start of Feb it was temperature checks in the terminal..that was pretty much it..

8 weeks later no passengers were being allowed off the aircraft, (i.e; transit pax bound for Oz stayed on board), crew, who had to diesembark for flight time limitation reasons, were locked in at airport hotel...

Yes, the UK approach was (and perhaps still is) astonishing.


.

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Old 18th May 2020, 11:45
  #22 (permalink)  
 
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Yes, the UK approach was (and perhaps still is) astonishing.
To the best of my knowledge, the UK have been the only country to do NO checks on incoming passengers since the epidemic/pandemic was declared. It is most puzzling as to why they felt it was unnecessary to do at least a rudimentary control. I took several flights at the end of March and was checked all the way through until arriving at at LHR to nothing. Zero. Zilch.
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Old 18th May 2020, 20:38
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Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack
To the best of my knowledge, the UK have been the only country to do NO checks on incoming passengers since the epidemic/pandemic was declared. It is most puzzling as to why they felt it was unnecessary to do at least a rudimentary control. I took several flights at the end of March and was checked all the way through until arriving at at LHR to nothing. Zero. Zilch.
They weren't even asking people where they had come from or giving out leaflets. At EDI at the same time there was a few monitors showing what to do if you had symptoms and had returned from certain hotspot areas, but again, no enforcement or checking anyone had actually been anywhere. I remember calling the NHS helpline when I got back from SE Asia just to see if I had misunderstood the lackluster rules and if I had to actually do something but no, just tell them if I felt ill...by which time I could have spread it, although I was already keeping my distance from others to be on the safe side.

I think perhaps Belarus was doing very little, if anything as well, so we were in good company!
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Old 18th May 2020, 20:45
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Originally Posted by wiggy
FWIW with reference to the above the SIN situation changed very rapidly in Feb/March, certainly for flights to/from the UK/Oz..

Start of Feb it was temperature checks in the terminal..that was pretty much it..

8 weeks later no passengers were being allowed off the aircraft, (i.e; transit pax bound for Oz stayed on board), crew, who had to diesembark for flight time limitation reasons, were locked in at airport hotel...

Yes, the UK approach was (and perhaps still is) astonishing.


.
Yes, I went to Singapore at just the right time. It was still somewhat busy with tourists but even though it was my first visit I could tell the city was nowhere near what it's normal level would otherwise be, which was in a way, quite nice. I kept an eye on local news and within days of returning home I could see that the situation in Singapore started to go downhill quite rapidly, I was very lucky to get out before long haul cancellations really kicked in and serious disruption started.
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Old 18th May 2020, 21:11
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Originally Posted by WingNut60
What? Both of them?

And yet just last night I received an e-mail from Ryanair instructing me that my flight on 24 June had been cancelled and how I could lodge a claim for full refund.

I got the same for a return flight starting 20th June. The 20 working days all looks positive until you read it carefully. The 20 working days starts from when your refund request is approved. That will probably take six months.
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Old 19th May 2020, 09:46
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reading this and with some of the serious warnings about economic conditions in many parts of the world when this has died down (I wont say 'when its over') are airlines going to get hit with a double whammy. In pas recessions-particularly early on one of the first things corporations do is to cut travel costs. typically this involves travel approvals, across the board and banning or severely restricting business class travel a really big revenue source for airlines like BA and LH to name two.

this time around however there si the issue of Video /remote conferencing which has moved on in great strides from the 2008-10 era and so i wonder if there will be a permanent reduction in demand for Biz class which will have a serious impact on any 'rebound'. I think Ryanair have an easier recovery path than BA because even as passenger numbers climb again revenues are going to lag behind.

I hope this isnt the case, because the airline industry is already a risky enough investor proposition and indeed source of employment . I also-perhaps altruistically to believe that face to face contact (not a great phrase in these times) is not just important for business but for promoting global understanding and tolerance at a time when far too many politicians are seeking to do the exact opposite.
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Old 20th May 2020, 09:45
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I can't see business travel making a comeback in any serious way for a long time, if at all. Not only have we seen companies move to video conferencing pretty much scores the board, but working from home is now being made a permanent thing for many firms too. There won't even be offices to travel between in alot of cases!

Economy class will likely fare better as people will still want to travel for leisure and will be budget conscious now more than ever. Of course many use business class for their personal travels too, but is that market enough to prop up the Airlines that rely on the forward cabin being busy?
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Old 21st May 2020, 09:35
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Edi local
Do not get hung up on video conferencing, and even working from home. Currently there are limited options but when the option is available you find face to face meetings come back. I have seen this happen post 9/11 and in HK post SARS. Yes it takes time, but we are human not machines, and yes this has had a bigger impact world wide than those two events. However I have used video conferencing since the late 80,s and I have been told I am quite good at this, but I still have been asked to clock up many a thousand mile to see people and projects in person. Also I have flown on a regular basis over the last 3 months in Europe, and would say that the A/C are now starting to get fuller as various countries ease their lock down. Do not be so quick to write things off, humans are quite adaptable.

As for the working from home this may be more of an option for some, and indeed there maybe a balance of so many office days re working from home days. I would point out that from my own experience, and that of my staff, that we have found that if anything WFH leads to longer working days, as people either start very early with others working later, and some doing both. In this regard it maybe not quite so good for people, though admittedly the commute is far shorter, but I am unsure if it is healthier for the individuals involved. As a business we have many individuals and teams working world wide on their own, and we are discussing implementing some form of limiting the hours people are on line, as a monitor of some individuals on line work is showing some extremely long hours being worked and we are concerned about this. It is a balancing act.

Kind regards
Mr Mac
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Old 21st May 2020, 10:31
  #29 (permalink)  
 
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Mr Mac,

I hope you are right and I am wrong. I just think that in addition to the all the People saying they are loving home working and video calls (whether they mean it or not)
​​​​​​, there are also many who are going to use this as an excuse to permanently curb flights for environmental reasons. I wouldn't put it past some governments to raise air taxes to more or less force people to stay where they are. It will be dressed up as a mix of doing it for the environment, the "we can't go back to how things were" mindset and the fact they will want to promote "staycations" to boost their own economies.
​​​​
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Old 22nd May 2020, 02:26
  #30 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by edi_local
Mr Mac,

I hope you are right and I am wrong. I just think that in addition to the all the People saying they are loving home working and video calls (whether they mean it or not)
​​​​​​, there are also many who are going to use this as an excuse to permanently curb flights for environmental reasons.
​​​​
Couldn't agree with you more. CNN just hired Greta as part of their COVID response coverage team. I have home-officed for decades in the past. I've also commuted cross country weekly to go to work for years. There are pluses and minuses. I work a lot more hours at home much to the better half's chagrin. In the past two months, I am more efficient at home then I have been at work in large part because 92% or my company is teleworking by mandate. There is nobody for me to go visit. I have unlimited access to capabilities that I can't get at work due to corporate IT policies. That's an indictment on corporate IT ineptitude more than anything else. The company has adapted and been forced to open up. There will be people who will find this attractive for the long term - I know some. But the majority of folks I work with believe they are safer at work then they are at the local grocery store and can't wait to get back.

I am also travel banned for the unforseeable future but since I am considered mission essential was told I'll be traveling cross country in mid June. Given my age, I'm not enthusiastic about that.

What I don't like is I feel like I've retired and if this is retirement, I guess I'll keep working but only if I can go into work. Who knows though, in the long term, I might benefit from this. I make time for daily treadmill whereas before my time was spent sitting on my butt driving to/from work. I eat healthier meals. I get more sleep. A lot less stress. That will be attractive to some. I'd say that 50/50 on who will want to continue or return to the old office.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 02:44
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I recently (a week ago) flew EWR-ORD-IAD-LGA on UA. The worst part is boarding because while they claim they board from the rear to the front, they still boarded military/GS/1K/F class pax first then everyone else by row number. Once boarding was complete we departed and few people left their seats. But boarding showed no social distancing is possible. My take was that flying is a miserable experience currently. But people are doing their best. I had to go for my SO's father's death - I just had to go. I work at JFK for a European carrier and I would not travel for any non-essential reason.
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Old 22nd May 2020, 03:07
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Originally Posted by Adambrau
I recently (a week ago) flew EWR-ORD-IAD-LGA on UA. The worst part is boarding because while they claim they board from the rear to the front, they still boarded military/GS/1K/F class pax first then everyone else by row number. Once boarding was complete we departed and few people left their seats. But boarding showed no social distancing is possible. My take was that flying is a miserable experience currently. But people are doing their best. I had to go for my SO's father's death - I just had to go. I work at JFK for a European carrier and I would not travel for any non-essential reason.
Doesn't surprise me about UA. I don't fly them at all - that after being a loyal 1K flier and only flying UA since the 1950s. Personally, I am also of the same opinion. Unless non-essential, I will drive.
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Old 23rd May 2020, 13:49
  #33 (permalink)  

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I have airlined recently. First trip was London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda. T2 with SAS. Terminal was pretty quiet and only 2 shops open. Masks were available if you needed them. Which you did to board and fly. Social distancing was a challenge during the boarding and disembarking process. No service, just a bottle of water.

Return was Stockholm Arlanda to Heathrow via Frankfurt with Lufthansa. More shops were open in Arlanda but only 1 terminal was operational. Ironically, it was here where social distancing etc was being enforced. Masks required during boarding. Only water on the first leg. 2nd leg, water and a sandwich. Frankfurt wasn't nearly as busy as it usually is, a few more food shops were open.

Heathrow is now checking temperature on arriving passengers.

I believe Luton Airport will have vending machines with masks available for purchase. Heathrow, they were free.
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Old 23rd May 2020, 14:11
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i see the governments plan for people entering the country and self isolating for 2 weeks is as well thought out as the policy of asking illegal immigrants to report to a police station.

self isolate when get to where ever it is you are going, via public transport of course.
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Old 23rd May 2020, 17:52
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For me not being able to eat/drink on a typical EU flight sector would be no hardship tbh, and it has the benefit (if you've timed it well) of not having to use the lavatory onboard, thus reducing possible infection areas. The airlines, no doubt, would miss the revenue, but the CC would appreciate the reduction in workload and risk of infection as well. Most passengers other than diabetics etc don't need to eat on short sectors, it's mostly a Pavlovian response, Board Plane-----> Consume.
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Old 28th May 2020, 15:13
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Originally Posted by WingNut60
What? Both of them?

And yet just last night I received an e-mail from Ryanair instructing me that my flight on 24 June had been cancelled and how I could lodge a claim for full refund.

Good luck with that. We applied for a refund in mid-March and have yet to receive a decision, although we did get this message in late March:

Due to the high volume of flight cancellations due to COVID 19, we are experiencing an unprecedented high volume of requests. We are currently working through the backlog and ask that you please bear with us.

Please do not resubmit your request.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Yours sincerely,
Ryanair Customer Services
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Old 1st Jun 2020, 23:24
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Dare I say it..... Ryanair and customer services.... the ultimate oxymoron ?
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Old 17th Jun 2020, 10:57
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Given the propensity of some passengers to go into nuclear melt-down when confronted with regulations while flying, I predict there will be some juicy in-flight social media videos popping up over the next six months.


Major U.S. Airlines Announce Increased Enforcement of Face Coverings

Passengers who do not wear face coverings could have flying privileges revoked

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2020 – Today, Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization representing the leading U.S. airlines, announced that its member carriers will be vigorously enforcing face covering policies, putting rigor around rules requiring passengers and customer-facing employees to wear facial coverings over their nose and mouth. This is one critical element of the multiple layers that A4A carriers are implementing to mitigate risk and protect passengers and crew.
Mask Enforcement When Flying
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Old 17th Jun 2020, 12:18
  #39 (permalink)  
 
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Clareprop
I do not think it helps over there with a certain Presidents attitude, and to a degree his followers views on masks.
Kind regards
Mr Mac
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Old 17th Jun 2020, 12:45
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Clareprop
I do not think it helps over there with a certain Presidents attitude, and to a degree his followers views on masks.
Kind regards
Mr Mac
Completely agree. Popcorn is in and I'm sitting back waiting for the show to begin
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