travel expert, Heather Meliski

Leaving on a Jet Plane

By Heather Meliski

recently traveled to Los Cabos for work and wanted to share with you my personal experience with flying in the time of COVID.

Before I get into my flight experience let me begin by sharing that like so many of you, our family has been incredibly cautious this year since three out of the four of us are considered high risk. We haven’t eaten dinner inside a restaurant since February or traveled to see our families who are all out of state. We haven’t had birthday parties (which are my favorite!) or dinner parties with friends. We have cancelled vacations. I mention all of this because I want you to know that I don’t take traveling right now lightly.

Like a lot of you, I was a bit hesitant about traveling. In particular, the idea of being on an airplane with a lot of other people for a long flight concerned me since it is an enclosed space and social distancing isn’t possible. After experiencing it first-hand I feel very comfortable with flying and wanted to share my thoughts.

I am admittedly a Delta girl so I chose to fly on Delta to Mexico. I believe that they are doing a phenomenal job. From the time I walked into the airport their commitment to health and safety was very apparent. They handed out face masks, there was hand sanitizer available everywhere, plexiglass has been installed at all counters, and typical areas of congestion (the line to check luggage, security, boarding) were clearly marked for social distancing. Everything is managed on your smartphone which you do not hand to anyone.

The boarding process has changed so gone are the days of everyone hovering near the gate waiting for their zone to be called. Boarding is now done by row which greatly cuts down on crowding both at the gate and on the plane. (Can we please keep this change post-COVID? Asking for a friend.) As you board the plane you are handed an antibacterial hand wipe.

The planes are incredibly clean. I have always been a person that wipes down their space on an aircraft so I’m very picky. In between flights Delta is doing a detailed clean inside the cabin and is also fogging the planes with a special cleaner. To help with air quality they have installed industrial-grade HEPA filters and the air in the cabin is recirculated every 2-6 minutes.

One big difference with Delta is they are still blocking middle seats through early January. Most of their competitors are no longer doing this. Having the seat blocked made me feel more comfortable since I didn’t have to worry about a person next to me encroaching on my space. Having extra leg room and not having to share an arm rest were an added bonus.

They are also strictly enforcing masks. The flight attendants make it very clear that they are to be worn unless eating or drinking, and they remind passengers often that the need to be worn properly over both the nose and chin. I chose to wear a cloth mask in the airport and switched to a KN95 mask for the flight. Delta also has what I have refer to as the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy – they will give you three warnings to wear PAGE 22

your mask properly and after that you are placed on a ‘No Fly’ list with the airline.

While in flight you are given a plastic bag with a variety of snacks, a bottle of water, and hand sanitizer. If you are in Comfort + you are offered a selection of beer and wine, and in First Class you are also provided a larger variety of snacks. It’s important to note that alcohol is not currently available for purchase.

Overall, I had a really safe and positive experience flying and I would feel comfortable doing it again. And I absolutely LOVED Los Cabos…but that’s a whole other article!

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Heather Meliski, Global Travel Senior Advisor 678-522-4495 heather@ yellowshoetravel.com YellowShoeTravel.com 1517251236924_fb Yellow Shoe Travel - Heather Meliski @yellowshoetravelheather

2/28/21

2/28/21

2/28/21