A new world of travel is coming. However, how travel will change is anyone’s guess
The world has never been shut down like this before. Basically, no one is traveling by planes, buses, and trains. Plus, even automobile travel is being discouraged by some governors and mayors. The country has come to a stop as most citizens obey the shelter in place rules.
Personally, I agree with the common sense portions of the new social reality. Maintaining social distance (or physical distance) makes lots of sense. Wearing a mask, even if we do not feel in danger, may prevent someone else from becoming infected (if not from us, from another person emulating our actions).
Stay out of concert mosh pits. Don’t attend crowded festivals. Think about staying away from other situations where we are forced to rub shoulders with fellow humans. Refrain from packed bars. When dining, even with friends in your home, maintain distance during dinners. And, be patient with grocery store personnel limiting the number of customers buying food from overcrowding stores.
A wise politician once said, “All politics is local.” And, all rules and regulations should be somewhat local as well
New York City, with its lack of dependence on cars, cannot be compared with Los Angeles with its need for automobiles. The congestion of downtown Chicago with its “L” is another world from Salt Lake City. And, in Europe each country is different. What works in Sweden may not work in Southern Italy. And, differences in culture will result in different ways of dealing with the current pandemic.
Being cooped up in our homes and not being able to take “unessential” local trips is torture. I understand the wishes of the government to maintain distance between people. In DC our parks are filled with people playing ball, jogging, and walking their dogs. For the life of me, I have no idea why the National Parks were closed down, just when people need a place to wander while maintaining social distancing.
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That said, what kinds of travel will be the most important?
Leisure travel will lead the return to travel. In the past, the pressing need for business travel led to the return of airline travel. This time, just as business travel began to stop far before leisure travel, it will come back after leisure travel.
Janice Hough, writing in Travelers United, noted that the bucket list of travel, once focused on experiences, places, and sights, will shift to one where visiting distant friends and family predominates. Plus, polls conducted seem to show an amazing amount of loyalty to cruise lines and leisure destinations.
Initially, business travel will lag leisure travel
On the other hand, businesses will be faced with duty-of-care requirements that will slow initial business travel. Plus, learning about video conferencing changed attitudes. Businesses that experienced it on a nationwide stage will no longer need many of the meetings that can be handled electronically. Travel will change for frequent off-site meetings.
Before the pandemic, the core value of a business trip might literally be a one-hour meeting. That can be done effectively via video conferencing. Now, only major meetings to pitch new ideas and to sign final contracts and hammer out details will grow business travel.
All flight crews must be tested and the sick should not be forced to fly
This is still not the rule; however, it will be. New regulations mean that travel will change. Crews will be tested for the coronavirus or other contagious diseases prior to flying. I realize that it is difficult for any reasonable person to understand: Why a Congressional bill that was prompted by the coronavirus makes no mention of prevention. After running a search program there is not one sentence about protecting passengers from the virus.
The entire bill is an unemployment program on steroids. Even the first section makes this clear. It states, “Keeping Workers Paid and Employed, Health Care System Enhancements and Economic Stabilization.” Not one word is there about providing any coronavirus protection to passengers or the public.
Consumer groups repeatedly sent letters, emails, and made phone calls to attempt to get at least a mention of protection in the bill. However, our efforts were to no avail.
Airlines still punish sick, contagious passengers who ask to change flights — those rules will change
Today, there is no rule that infected passengers with the coronavirus or any other contagious disease should not fly.
Airlines have not changed their contracts of carriage to provide a system for sick passengers to be allowed to not fly or change their flights. Even coronavirus patients, when faced with airline rules, must either fly and infect others or pay extra fees and the difference in airfares in order to change flights.
Cleanliness of airplanes, rental cars, and hotel rooms will become more important
Already, airlines have changed their cleaning routines. Airline cabins are now fogged with disinfectants. Seats, armrests, and tray tables are wiped down with cleaning solutions.
Delta Air Lines has created a new moniker for their system, “Delta Clean.” We will soon see airlines competing on cleanliness. It is about time.
Hotel rooms today are carefully cleaned. Glasses in bathrooms are changed, not simply wiped with a washcloth. And, rental cars are also disinfected.
This kind of cleaning for which consumers have clamored is coming online because of a disaster that may have been mitigated had some of these procedures been used previously.
A new world of travel is coming.
Leisure travel will lead the way. That means low airfares and more room in coach because of federal distancing guidelines. Bucket lists of things to see will be replaced with distant friends to see. Business travel will begin but will not reach anywhere near the levels of the last two years. There will be cleaner planes that will use new disinfectants. Hotel rooms will be scrutinized for cleanliness. Rental cars will undergo interior detailing. Flight crews will be tested for contagious diseases. And finally, airlines will be forbidden from forcing the sick to fly, even with doctor’s notes. Control of the world of health will shift to healthcare workers rather than gate agents and airline lawyers.
These kinds of modifications and more that I will be outlining over the next weeks mean travel will change. In the end, travel will be safer and customer service will be far better for those who choose to fly. It is about time.
Features photo by Safwan Mahmud on Unsplash
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
