Air Travel

[Junction Joe]

I have been avoiding air travel for the past couple months for Covid-19 safety concerns. Last week I reluctantly took an unavoidable flight. I flew with Alaska Airlines, assuming they implemented adequate safety precautions. From the Alaska Airlines counter, to the gate, during the flight, and on the jet way, I directly encountered 15 Alaska Airlines employees. These employees all came well within 6 feet of me, often within a couple feet, and only one was wearing a facemask. I am concerned that this company is placing its employees at risk, and in turn putting its customers at risk. These employees come in direct contact daily with hundreds of the traveling public in an enclosed environment. Trader Joes, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, and other grocers all require their employees to wear facemasks. The CDC recommends wearing a cloth face covering whenever in public, which I do. How does an airline not require its flight attendants and other employees who come in direct contact with the public not to wear face coverings?

Unfortunately, I have some unavoidable travel in the future. I am wondering if anyone can recommend another airline which has implemented good safety precautions.

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[newnative]

I understand that United Airlines provides PPE for their employees, however the transmission problem goes beyond airlines due to the virus being treated differently according to which airport you’re in. For example, the airport, TSA and airline employees all ride the same port bus from the parking lot and it can be crowded. If other employees are not wearing PPE, then they could spread the virus to those who are. Also the airport itself is enclosed, circulates old, dry air where the virus can be spread by all the other people who aren’t wearing PPE. I would look into how you could protect yourself in that situation.

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[Junction Joe]

Thanks for the tip regarding United Airlines. I read that just today, United Airlines is requiring all flight attendants to wear facemasks, and providing such to its employees. As 350 flight attendants have contracted the Coronavirus and several have died, it is good to see an airline taking steps to keep its employees and customers safe.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/24/coronavirus-united-airlines-masks-mandatory-for-flight-attendants-union-wants-the-same-for-passengers.html

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[gxnx]

You can go via private jet.

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[HappyOnAlki]

I’d also reach out to Alaska Customer Service — they’ve been a really responsive airline, and realizing how many of us they’ll lose to other airlines might just jog something.

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[Junction Joe]

I did. Here is the response I received.

Good morning. I was just going over your Alaska Listens survey from your flight last week, and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your honest feedback. As I’m sure you are well-aware, the COVID-19 situation is ever evolving with new guidelines and restrictions changing daily. Here at LAX, April 17th was the first day that face masks were mandated for our staff in guest facing areas. This was the day of your flight. I am hoping that the teammates you came into contact in LAX were wearing face masks in the terminal. As for the inflight, currently the only policy we have for them is the requirement only in the terminal of certain airports that it has been mandated by the local government. As far as I know, as of today, we do not have a policy for the inflight to wear the masks during the flight. I understand your concerns and I will forward them to our corporate office for further consideration. We hope that this situation can be resolved quickly, but we also know that safety of our team and guests is the highest priority, so thank you for your concerns! We hope to see you back on another Alaska flight soon. Stay safe!

Regards,

Station Supervisor
Alaska Airlines- LAX

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[22blades]

The employee bus has restrictions & since customer traffic is so low, employees are walking from the terminal parking that was opened to them for that very issue. The airport is so dead, it’s actually a pretty safe place🙄.

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[22blades]

Delta and United’s mask mandates for passengers will begin May 4, while American’s will begin May 11.

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[newnative]

The port bus situation was per my partner, who is a flight attendant based in Sea-Tac. I’m sure things change but the last time he flew, the port bus was packed, people were not being hygienic and the passengers on the planes were the worst. He won’t fly/work until he feels it’s “safe”.

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[Junction Joe]

Good for your partner, taking care of his safety since the airlines will not. These employees, and customers, need to be protected. American, United, Delta, Jet Blue, and Frontier are all requiring flight attendants to wear face masks. Further, now American, Delta, Frontier are even requiring passengers to wear face masks. FINALLY! I have written several letters to Alaska Airlines but they still won’t even require their flight attendants to wear face masks.

Costco now requires every employee AND every customer entering a warehouse to wear a face mask. Costco gets it. An airplane cabin is very different from a Costco warehouse. The air cabin is very small and confined. You cannot avoid being closer than 6 feet with other people. Plus, you are confined for several hours. We saw what happened on cruise ships. When will the rest of the airlines get their act together and protect their employees and customers?

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[Oskarosh]

I have not been traveling by air for more than a year now, and I think that I don’t need that so much anymore. I will take a plane if I need to go somewhere far away for a reason, but I will not go traveling on a plane.

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