Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for January 2021.

Inflight Mask Fights Will Rise This Winter. The New CDC Testing Rule Will Make It Worse.

by Gary Leff

Jan 14 2021

Back in November I predicted that mask disputes on planes would become more common over the winter and that seems to becoming the case, at least based on social media reports and continued reporting from airlines on the number of people banned over masks. Even tiny Alaska Airlines is now over 300 passengers banned.

Starting January 26 the CDC will require all passengers flying to the U.S. to have received a negative Covid-19 test within 3 days of travel. For everything else that’s been written about the new requirement, it’s likely to accelerate mask disputes since everyone on board will have tested negative on flights to the U.S. already.

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How American Airlines Procedures Are Changing As It Prepares For Possible January 20th Unrest

by Gary Leff

Jan 14 2021

As America prepares for January 20th, in the wake of last week’s unpleasantness as electoral votes were counted, businesses across the country are taking precautions. Risk is almost always backward-looking, and the last threat is what’s on our mind most. Some of that is rational, since it means raising an estimate of the likelihood that something could occur based on new information.

Here are the preparations that American Airlines is taking in advance of the inauguration.

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Capitol Hill Rioters Will Be Added To Government ‘No Fly List’ According To Delta

by Gary Leff

tsa logo with text on top
Jan 14 2021

A number of videos have been shared on social media claiming airline passengers are being denied boarding because they’ve been added to the government’s “No Fly List” after participating in protests and riots at the U.S. Capitol last week. That hasn’t been true – although it is about to come true, according to Delta Air Lines.

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3M N95 Masks Just $1.60 Each

by Gary Leff

Jan 14 2021

I’ve written about buying N95 masks and using them correctly if you’re going to travel. They’ve been expensive, $3+ apiece. However for a traveler putting themselves in indoor congregant settings I think they’re worthwhile.

Quality masks have become much more available, and prices have come down a lot. Over the summer you might have spent $7 to get an N95 mask from the limited places where you could find them.

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Employees Getting Electrocuted, Call For Closing New Berlin Airport After Just 3 Months

by Gary Leff

ber airport counters
Jan 14 2021

In 1989 David Hasselhof stood atop the Berlin Wall belting out “Looking for Freedom.” Less than a year later East Germans were finally free.

Thirty one years after David Hasselhof stood between East and West Berlin the East’s old airport finally became Berlin Brandenburg airport. It’s a costly reminder of East German-style planning, with workers still being harmed by the 23 year long project that more than tripled in cost.

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Norwegian Drops All Transatlantic Flights, Liquidates Long Haul Subsidiaries

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Jan 14 2021

Norwegian helped drive low cost transatlantic travel with its Boeing 787s, much to the chagrin of legacy carriers. British Airways even considered buying the airline in order to quash it as a competitor. Now it will focus on domestic and regional flying with its narrowbody aircraft.

None of this is surprising but it’s disappointing for consumers who benefited from the competition, whether they flew Norwegian or not.

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How American Airlines Is Keeping Government Payroll Support For Itself, Not Giving It To Employees

by Gary Leff

Jan 13 2021

The government’s $900 billion Covid relief bill passed at the end of December included $15 billion to airlines, on top of the $50 billion provisioned to U.S. airlines as part of the original CARES Act.

This was pitched as payroll support, meant to cover the cost of the less than 40,000 people who were furloughed or laid off from U.S. carriers. In exchange for the money airlines have to bring these people back onto payroll through March 31, and pay them retroactively to December 1, 2020. American Airlines found a way not to do that with many of the employees they’ve laid off, however.

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7 Problems With New U.S. Covid-19 Testing Requirement For All Arriving International Passengers

by Gary Leff

passport getting stamped
Jan 13 2021

This new testing requirement isn’t going to control spread of the virus, which is already running rampant throughout most of the country. It isn’t going to stop entry of new variants of the virus, which are already here (and which we’re doing little tracking of in any case).

We need fewer barriers to low-cost at-home testing. We need greater tracking of new variants of the virus. We need more rapid approval and deployment both for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines. A travel ban that applies internationally, but that does nothing to limit spread via travel within the United States, at what’s likely the tail end of the pandemic is purely cosmetic but may have long-lasting consequences.

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