Originally Posted by
ExplorerWannabe
One thing I'm curious about is what UA has to do and how well they can adapt in a world where effective treatment exists but so does the infectiousness of the current pandemic. What does it do to logistics and capacity if the airlines have to implement rigorous sanitization between flights? Surely that's a cost that has to be reflected in ticket prices -- and so would some kind of physical separation requirements (that might bring back some of the comfort levels of the 1970s). UA's widebody fleet might actually be an asset under this circumstance but decreasing passenger load to increase separation will also increase ticket prices. An increase in prices would drop demand so is there some new happy medium between price and capacity under this logistics strain?
I think an effect treatment would go a very long way towards getting us somewhat back to normal even if there isn't a vaccine. I think you are right that there would still be additional demands for a less crowded cabin and for sanitation, and mass gatherings like concerts and full sports stadiums would still be out. But I think people would be much, much more likely to get on an airplane to take a vacation or for a work trip if they had confidence that if they did catch this they wouldn't be rolling the dice on whether they have a mild case or not. I know I would.