If You Do Have To Take International Flights During Covid 19 Times?

Airline companies in United States, and also of the world, are slowly taking to opening up the international routes. They are trying their level best to bring the lives to normal and get on the pre-Covid passenger numbers as soon as possible. For this reason, every effort is being made to ensure that there is a mass public awareness campaign showing what all measures are being taken by them in this respect. These preventive measures hold good for both the domestic and the international flights.

These are efforts of the airline. Even the passengers have some responsibilities to ensure their own safety. Before booking international flight tickets, they shall first check for the requirements of the destination country. Will the destination country allow you to go to your place, whether it is a hotel or private residence? Is there any requirement of mandatory quarantine for 14 days? Do they require production of any certificate to the effect that you are free from Covid 19?

Further, you also need to find out the situation of the destination where you have to go. If you are going to meet a near and dear one, you must speak to them on the situation there. It is only on their positive feedback that you shall draw the plans to go there.

Even when travel cannot be avoided, you must ensure taking a few precautionary measures and following these ardently. At first, wearing a mask is mandatory all through the journey. It is even better if you could wear covering for the eye by way of spectacles and goggles.

Secondly, if possible, avoid going to restrooms at airports. Even though these would be cleaned thoroughly, it is still better to avoid these spaces if possible. 

Thirdly, If you have to sit down on seats at airports for any reason, then please ask the airport service to clean the seat first.

Fourth, we do not recommend you touching any surface whether it is railing, seat armrest or any other.

Fifth, you must carry sanitizer with yourself and clean the hands if you have touched any surface.

Sixth, you must be very cautious and conscious of the fact that your hand shall not touch your face. Though this might seem a difficult task, making a conscious effort not to do it will certainly help.

Seventh, since middle seats cannot remain empty for long, it would be wise to wear a face shield when in flight. That will help in preventing virus infection from other co-passengers. To this end, we believe that airlines might have to make these mandatory in future. Right now, the airlines are seeking directions from the Federal Government to make even mask wearing compulsory. So, face shields is a far cry. But, if individuals want to wear it on their own, there is no reason why airline would deny this.

Eight, since international flights could be medium to long haul ones, they are welcoming passengers to bring their own meals. The airline will have to flexible in this respect and do not expect to earn ancillary revenue through meals for some time.

No Demand for International Flights-Covid 19 Changes Air Travel

Summer vacations used to mean wine tasting in Tuscany, backpacking in Southeast Asia or trips to the Grand Canyon.

But fears that airplanes could be a breeding ground for Covid-19 infections have wreaked havoc on the air travel industry.

“This could take several years before we’re into our new normal of traveling,” said Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

Last Sunday, fewer than 640,000 passengers flew out of U.S. airports compared with more than 2.6 million travelers a year earlier.

With passenger demand in sharp decline, Delta, United and American parked hundreds of planes and posted their first quarterly losses in more than five years.

To understand the impact of Covid on international flight booking, American Airlines said it expects its second quarter 2020 revenue to be down about 90% versus the second quarter of 2019.

The U.S. airline industry is in turmoil .

″This is the biggest crisis of all, bigger even than 9/11, than SARS and the Great Recession and all of that. Every crisis changes the airline industry, so it’s only reasonable to think that the biggest crisis of all will cause some of the biggest changes of all,” said Seth Kaplan, aviation analyst and principal with Kaplan Research.

To lure panicked travelers back, U.S. carriers have implemented new rules, deep-cleaned planes and waived some fees. Some airlines are also limiting the number of seats they sell.

But analysts argue that even with all the changes, it’s impossible to maintain social distancing rules on airplanes.

U.S. airlines are facing their biggest crisis in a generation and the stakes have never been higher.

United Resumes San Francisco to Shanghai Flights

United Airlines announced today it will resume service to China with twice-weekly flights between San Francisco and Shanghai's Pudong International Airport via Seoul's Incheon International Airport beginning July 8, 2020. United will operate service with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from San Francisco to Shanghai on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Customers traveling from Shanghai will return to San Francisco on Thursdays and Sundays. United flight booking for these flights will begin shortly.
"United's service to mainland China has been a point of pride for our employees and customers for more than 30 years," said Patrick Quayle, United's vice president of International Network and Alliances. "Resuming service to Shanghai from the United States is a significant step in rebuilding our international network."

Flight	Depart	Day	Time	Arrive	Time
UA 857	San Francisco	Weds., Sat.	11:00 a.m.	Shanghai	5:45 p.m.+1 day
UA 858	Shanghai	Thurs., Sun.	9:40 p.m.	San Francisco	8:55 p.m.

Prior to suspending service to Shanghai in February due to COVID-19, United was the largest U.S. carrier serving China and operated five daily flights between Shanghai and its hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York/Newark and has served Shanghai for more than 30 years. In July, across the Pacific, United will also reinstate service between Chicago and Tokyo with the addition of new service to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Additionally, United will resume service to Seoul; restart service to Hong Kong and will fly to Singapore via a stop at Hong Kong.