I flew an essential trip for a quick medical procedure on Tuesday May 12, a day after the mask rules took effect. Due to Alaska schedule limitations, I flew SEA to SFO on Alaska and returned SFO to SEA on United. Both flights had about 30 people so crowding was not a concern. However, I think United did far better on safety.
- Flight attendants: My Alaska first class flight attendant wore his mask hanging from his nametag the whole flight. This was probably the most blatant safety fail. United FAs were masked the whole time.
- Boarding: Alaska used the standard boarding process (FC, MVP Gold first); United boarded back to front including FC last;
- Deplaning: United asked us to wait until our row was called to avoid overcrowding
- Other: United passed out individual Purell wipes as we boarded. United also sent multiple texts reminding us that masks were required at SFO