An Open Letter to the Sick Passenger on My AS Flight
 

Dear Sir,

On yesterday's flight, you were clearly unwell and had a severe cold. You were coughing and sneezing loudly and often throughout the flight from board to de-icing, to takeoff, touchdown, and disembarkation.

Yes, I get it -- everyone gets sick from time to time. But your repeated open-mouthed coughing was really not appreciated by the rest of the first class cabin. You did not seem to make any attempt to cover your mouth with a paper or cloth napkin, both of which were available from the flight attendant. You may very well have infected a dozen other passengers in the cabin. The passenger seated in front of you was forced to wear a respiratory mask because you were not considerate enough to wear one yourself.

If you are unable to postpone your travels, do at least try not to spread germs to your fellow passengers.

Time to carry those drug store face masks? !

I always carry several resp masks in my carry on bag. Have used it once on myself but never had to "insist" that a fellow passenger might benefit from one. But, that could change . Flying tomorrow and will place them on top. Also, carry wipes that I use to wipe down seat, tray table, arm rests etc. after boarding each flight. It would be nice of others would be considerate of other travelers.

Or offer them a Comtrex, cough drop or other something to help them .... sometimes such illness doesn't really raise its ugly head until one is on the way to the airport and then caught without....happens to be most considerate. Also, I cough due to dry air on aircraft...I always cover my mouth and I'm not emitting cold/flu germs but I am coughing...a cough drop helps and I carry them handy for during flight. Hope the person feels better and hope they realize all those lessons back in grade K were meant to last a lifetime!

Someone in the FIRST CLASS CABIN was ill?! I don't believe it, definitely an MVP upgrade because 5%ers can afford flu shots.

That passenger in front of him happened to have a mask, or did he ask FA for one?
If latter, then the FA really should've instead (or additionally) asked the sick person to wear it.

I now carry a mask in my kit.

Will common decency in the US eventually change to include that people who are sick wear the masks?

Nooooooo. That's pretty low on the list. We can't even figure out "vaccinate your children" or "stay right except to pass".

Flu shots are widely available for free or extremely low cost. However, they don't protect you from all respiratory illness, and not necessarily from all strains of flu.

(I do realize you were joking.... ;) )

And nothing protects you from the common cold.....like the better mousetrap, there's a fortune to be made!

This is 100%, no, 200% on the airlines. When I'm sick I would love to change my flight to a later date. The airlines make that impossible by charging $100-$200 change fees and a difference in the airfare costs. Get rid of those hurdles and now it's on the individuals still traveling.

I always bring multiple hospital face masks in my personal carry on. As a former lowly AA platinum, I did not get upgrades on 90% of my flights (typically hub to hub), so I'm sitting in sardines class and there is always at least one or more people coughing and sneezing into me. I wear the masks myself and douse myself with as much hand sanitizer as I can bring on board. Would it be common courtesy for the person that is sick to wear a mask as to contain his/her own germ-infested projectiles? Absolutely. But I have yet to see one person do it, so therefore, I take my own precautions.

Airlines do intercede and ask you to fly later but only when they think you are sick enough that you might become an emergency in mid flight and god forbid cause an expensive diversion !
I wonder if a flight is full, would they give you an option to fly later if you are stuck with a sick person ? Would a PC believer object to such request ? !