United is currently exploring options to make COVID-19 testing more accessible for travelers. We are coming home,” he tweeted. Yesterday, Weiss tweeted a selfie that shows his jam-packed plane, with every seat on the 737 aircraft filled. Fewer people, period, would seem to be the less-risky option, since those flights include fewer people who could potentially have the coronavirus. It also notes that the airline will limit seat selections “where available.”. Some airlines will not fill the middle seat during this pandemic, though others are now booking all seats. “I think United got lucky that this particular group of people did not go apeshit,” he says. United Airlines According to the current policy outlined on United’s website, the airline has limited passengers from booking middle seats “where … Master List Of U.S. As a longtime freelance travel writer, I’ve contributed hundreds of articles to Conde Nast Traveler, CNN Travel, Travel + Leisure, Afar, Reader's Digest, TripSavvy, Parade, NBCNews.com, Good Housekeeping, Parents, Parenting, Esquire, Newsweek, The Boston Globe and scores of other outlets. “You can’t tell people that it’s going to be a half-empty flight with empty middle seats and then have people show up and not have it that way,” says Weiss. I’m never flying American Airlines again. On United Airlines ... United flyers may experience a fuller flight as the company is not longer adopting a blocked-out seat or open middle seat policy. We are coming home,” he tweeted. The COVID-19 page on United’s website offers more watered-down language. Will avoid the others when I return to flying https://t.co/CpRbBpcysQ, — Rachna Sizemore Heizer (@RachnaHeizer) July 3, 2020. Many major airlines claim to be taking steps to ensure social distancing, whether by blocking middle seats or capping the number of seats sold per flight. Travelers from San Francisco (SFO) to Hawaii can register for a rapid test at the airport with Dignity Health-GoHealth Urgent Care on the same day as their flight or do a … Hawaiian Airlines will continue to block middle seats through Dec. 15. Other measures United Airlines makes no commitment to blocking off middle seats, but says it will notify customers when “their flight is fairly full” to give them the option to change it. If you factor in a 1% mortality rate (actually 1.6% of cases here where I live are resulting in deaths, but 1% is being used to keep the math simple), this paper suggests that your risk of both contracting and dying from coronavirus as a result of flying on a full plane flight is something like 1 in 430,000. TSA Reality Check: Air Travel Was Plummeting Before States Started Locking Down, CDC: White House Proposal For Airport Temperature Checks Is Not A Reliable COVID-19 Detection Strategy, I don’t see a time in the near future or middle future when that would change,” he says. Alaska Airlines has promised to block middle seats (except when large families need … Through Jan. 6, 2021, Alaska is blocking middle seats. “I wouldn’t get on another airplane for a very long time, unless I absolutely had to.”, I’m always looking for new ways to travel better, smarter, deeper and cheaper, and spend a lot of time watching trends at the intersection of travel and technology. Which U.S. Airlines Are Blocking Middle Seats During COVID-19 Johnny Jet November 14, 2020 I travel to 20+ countries a year sharing my firsthand knowledge of reward travel, travel credit card deals, travel tips and more. Gordon “Butch” Stewart Changed The Way The World Went On Vacation, Hawaii: Kauai Launches Two Ways For Travelers To Avoid Quarantine, 2021 Luxury Hotel Openings, Live Abroad Inexpensively, Emirates’ New Business Class And More, 5 Reasons To Stay At This Family-Friendly New York Resort, Finest Artisan Food And Drink Products Now Available From New Online Marketplace. Additionally, as we noted just a few days ago, the director of the CDC has lamented a move by the carrier to resume filling its middle seats again, something it had briefly paused since the world is, you know, in the midst of a pandemic. Passenger loads. Redfield made his comment during a recent Senate Health Committee hearing, responding to a question from Sen. Bernie Sanders by lamenting: “I can tell you that when they announced that the other day, obviously there was substantial disappointment with American Airlines. “Though we cannot guarantee that all customers will be seated next to an unoccupied seat, based on historically low travel demand and the implementation of our various social distancing measures, that is the likely outcome,” reads the section on social distancing. ... United Airlines. On aircraft without any middle seats: We will block the selection of one aisle of seats on smaller aircraft. Do you like those odds? During this pandemic, you may want to know which airlines are leaving middle seats empty and which ones may pack your plane. A number of the airlines had decided to keep the middle seat (open).”, Also earlier this month, the chief communications officer for United Airlines (which, like American, has switched back to the possibility of booking full flights) tried to explain its own reversal. 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