FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Negative Covid test required for everyone arriving into BA's UK mainland airports
Old Jan 8, 2021 | 4:48 am
  #48  
GBOAC
5 Years on Site
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 657
I fully support testing of inbound travellers, we should have been doing it months ago.
However there needs to be facility for testing at BA (and other airline) departure facilities. travelling to nearest city or central testing facility in certain (better connected) locations could involve a half-day commitment, together with extra travel and exposure at the destination (e.g. another taxi ride, lines at testing centre etc). For say a 4 day business trip, this is rediculous. And the cost of tests needs to come down (someone is profiteering at the publics expense) - all the PCR adverts I am getting are around £150pp and involve a trip to central london (for UK end).

What I prepose is an in-airport testing facility: arrive, check in, have test, wait in lounge for test results, board flight. Importantly there is very little additonal travel adn exposure involved in this testing regime (you are at the airport anyway). Anything more involved than this is just going to throttle travel, and arguably put people at more risk.

I'm also wondering about overal travel costs and impact on ability and willingness to pay for premium cabins. Assuming the cost of a return trip is increased by c£300pp for tests alone, will we see a depression in the market for premium cabins. £300 is easily the different between ET and CE on many routes, and often in excess of the different between Econ and PE on international shorter return tickets (including TATL west coast), and in some cases the difference between PE and Club.
GBOAC is offline