fly18725

There’s no proof the flight itself spreads the virus. IATA has worked with airlines on contact tracing and has not found any spread to passengers. The method and frequency of air exchange in the airplane, combined with mask usage, makes it a low risk environment.

Now, the entire travel process is riskier and the act of moving people around the country or internationally absolutely contributes to the spread of communicable disease.

navydevildoc

If there is an in-cabin employee not able to wear a mask due to a medical condition, and they are actively working flights, that's a far bigger problem than Coronavirus.

storewanderer

I have seen in the past few days well over a dozen retail employees in various large retail grocery, department, and other retail stores wearing the mask exactly how the pictured flight attendant is wearing the mask. I actually tried wearing my mask that way for a little bit to figure out what the point is. The hot air still comes out of your mouth as you breathe. I think for people with glasses if wearing the mask not having it cover your nose it may solve the "fogging up the glasses" issue but the problem is something needs to cover the nose.

Not everyone can breathe properly through the masks for one reason or another.

fly18725

Many states and municipalities are reaching the conclusion that if an individual is unable to properly wear a mask they should stay home or outside in lower risk situations.

pcoll

In those situations, a face shield would be appropriate when out in public. Those who have medical respiratory issues should also wear a face shield in public.

vanillabean

If I had a medical issue such as having difficulty breathing, I would think twice about getting on a plane.

Maybe it would be useful for Alaska to fly any route once a week for people with vulnerable immune systems.

Eastbay1K

if you are that kind of vulnerable, you should be flying with an N95 mask, having it on and well-fitting during the entire travel day.

seaduck79

Full disclosure - I'm not a mask Nazi, but a business has the right to set whatever legal conditions they choose for their customers, and I can either follow them or go somewhere else. If I enter your place of business, that is with the understanding I'll follow your rules while there.

Just flew BOI-SEA-LAX-TPA last weekend. Wore masks all day except when eating, drinking, etc. No comments from anyone about ours until the LAX-SEA flight, when one FA walked by my seat and noticed that my mask had slipped off the end of my nose. She asked me to pull it up, and I did. Mind you, my wife and I were alone in our row, and no one was in the row ahead of us, and CDC guidelines say that masks are only necessary when social distancing can't be achieved (which it was), but whatever. Their plane, their rules, FAA regs - I get it.

Several minutes pass and she stops and reminds me again. I apologize and explain that because I hadn't shaven for a few days, my whiskers keep pulling the mask down, but I promised to be more diligent in pulling it back up when that happened. Thought that was the end of it. I was wrong. Several minutes later, she comes back with another FA and explains that she has given me two warnings, and if I refused to comply, she would begin paperwork to have me banned from the airline.

I was incredulous. First, I told her she hadn't given me "warnings". She had given me reminders. Second, banning customers is for those unwilling to comply, which I wasn't. I was trying to comply, I just didn't meet her standard for it. At that point, the other FA kind of rolled his eyes at the first one and walked away. First FA left a few minutes later, and I switched to another, slightly larger mask to mollify her. Didn't hear anything about it the rest of the trip.

My question is this: Do customers have any recourse against a tyrannical FA who wants to ban people for behavior literally no other FA, GA, or airport/airline employee had a problem with? I'm a 30 year Alaska customer, and I'm kinda ticked at them right now.

RAD_PDX

Wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth is a pretty easy ask, and the FA is there to enforce it. This doesn't sound like a tyrannical FA but rather someone who was enforcing AS' mask policy. I don't think it really matters if it slipped because of your whiskers or if you were willfully ignoring the policy. They should/will issue warnings either way.

The alternative is that they say nothing, and someone else comes on here and complains that "FAs did nothing as man sits with mask below nose"...

Kacee

The problem here was not a tyrannical FA, but the passenger's use initially of an inadequate mask. The obvious solution is to wear a mask that doesn't repeatedly slip below the nose, which apparently took two requests and the threat of a ban to accomplish.

tkelvin69

Yes, customers do have a recourse but I think you don't meet the criteria. Extremely difficult times especially with anti maskers (not that you are one) that starts from the top of the food chain down to the Kettles who don't comply or play games. I can only imagine being responsible for compliance of these people. Maybe give the FA a bit of slack as I'm pretty sure the intent wasn't to "tick" you off but rather make it clear about the policy.

No other FA, GA, or employee had a problem with? How many of these "slips" did you have???

Maybe travel with a razor next time. ;-)

seaduck79

Answer me this - who was being endangered by the situation? Answer - no one. Even if I had been coughing and sneezing instead of just quietly breathing, there was literally no one close enough to me to have been affected by it.

FAs need to look at the situation as a whole, rather than just one little aspect of it.

tkelvin69

Not accurate. While transmission is primarily via airborne droplets, there still is fomite transmission. We all know the plane and surfaces cannot be completely cleaned between flights.

Enclosed space = mask regardless of social distancing ability.

rune87

Actually they don't. The rule is, if not actively eating or drinking, your mask must be on covering your nose and mouth. It's pretty clear cut and that's how they should enforce it. It sounds like you are trying to make excuses about it. She called you out twice. Accept the dressing down and move on. I've got a full beard and have no issues keeping my mask on, nor does it slip off. Their plane, their rules. If you want chaos go check out UA/AA where they don't care.

RAD_PDX

I don't think this debate is worth having here, nor do I think it is necessary. You even acknowledged that policy is policy, and it seemed like you were okay with that, at least in principle. At the end of the day, AS has a clear face mask policy and the FAs are tasked with enforcing it.

Their job is to ensure that masks are being worn when not eating and drinking and that they cover the mouth and nose. Period. It's not their job to pull out a tape measure and see how far you are from someone else or implement their own interpretation of CDC or public health guidelines.