I have been flying throughout the country the past 6 weeks and wanted to share my observations with you.
First, the rules are pretty much standard throughout the country in airports and airplanes: must wear a mask from the time that you enter the airport until the time that you exit the final destination airport. This includes on board any planes. The only time that the mask can be removed is when you are eating or drinking.
Most airports that I visited were sparsely populated compared to pre-Covid days. The TSA lines were very small, if any. The one exception that I noticed was Denver International Airport. It was packed!
As far as airlines go, I flew American, Delta, and Southwest. Delta and Southwest did not allow any middle seats to be occupied, which made for very comfortable flights. American was selling every seat that they could so the flights that I was on with them were packed. The plane won’t leave the gate unless everyone is wearing a mask. The airlines won’t let you board with a bandana or a scarf mask or any mask that has ventilation ports in it.
The airlines that I flew on only gave you a cup of water and a little snack bag of pretzels or cookies. You can remove your mask when you are eating or drinking on the plane. By the way, they will not let you open any of your own liquor that you bring on board.
Every flight that I was on boarded so much quicker than normal. That makes sense since they were, at most, 67% full, but many times less than 50% full. They all left the gate early or on time and every one of my flights arrived early to their destination.
It was so much more enjoyable flying in a less crowded airplane and less crowded airports. Obviously, it is devastating to the airline industry so I know this can’t last. The good news is that the more recent flights that I took, I noticed that the airports were a little bit more crowded and the flights were almost at their capacity with middle seats open.
Stay safe and let me know if you have any questions.
Joe Baker, CFP®
Baker Asset Management, LLC
joebaker@bakerassetmanagement.com
