kabroui

Lol.. I knew it was getting awfully 'gringofied' down there!! Last I heard Costa Rica had closed their borders completely, but haven't checked for updates in awhile.

I have a flight scheduled to MGA next month but that just doesn't sound like a very good idea right now for all sorts of reasons. I suspect it will get cancelled, but we shall see..

CMK10

I've been on four flights since that announcement. One flight, a single jet RJ, they did nothing. On the other three:

- PHL-MCO: Request only in Y, plenty of drinks in F in plastic cups with ice
- ATL-CLT: Nothing either cabin
- CLT-PHF: Nothing in Y, cans only in F.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

For the most part FAs are doing a beverage service in F. Of course the lazy ones are ignoring the F paxs, they now have the perfect excuse. The other day the FA actually did PDBs. Some FAs are handing out large bottles of water as a PDB.

No doubt if the industry is hurting we will see some of the service reductions remain.

IADCAflyer

Will be interesting to see how social distancing comes into play when travel returns in earnest. FWIW, talked to a neighor down the road and he commented that flights are startil to climb out of the cellar - his last ATL-DCA run was about half full. Baby steps.

ISTFlyer

I have currently 20 AA coded flights booked for August-November ( 12 mileage run legs in Domestic F, 4 codeshare flights operated by BA, 4 AA Domestic Flights in Y )
And, I am planning to add 6 or 12 more mileage run legs for September.

All of these flights were booked on/after 15 Apr 2020

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

There isn't now and there certainly won't be after the draconian flight cuts in May "social distancing." If being elbow to elbow with a complete stranger still bothers you then you don't want to fly. Hopefully the ACs will re-open by May 3.

GrumpyYoungMan

Social Distancing will be a thing of the past when the world decides it's ready to travel again. And I bet it'll be sooner than the doom-and-gloom folks want to imagine.

Or maybe I'm just stir-crazy.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

If there's anything that will kill air travel it will be an economy in distress not social distancing. I'm in an airport as I write this and CNN is on the tube (I wish they turn the damn station off). The "panic porn" coming out of the CNN fraudsters is truly astounding. It's still 2/47 millions and millions are going to die, including probably you.

radonc1

You are mostly correct on both points (I ignored the bad Omni part )

As a business flyer, I have to be assured not only of flights to my destinations, but places to lay my head when I arrive as well as locales to eat at. If there are neither open nor available facilities, then my business trip is a no-go (assuming it's not a there and back).

Therefore, getting the economy up and running is absolutely necessary before AA can even think of attracting business passengers to board their planes. And lets not forget that states and municipalities will have restrictions on travel and congregating in large groups for the foreseeable future (another impediment to the business and leisure passenger).

Your second part is partially correct. Until there are other methods of mitigating the disease, social distancing will be the one method that works. As long as people are fearful of catching the disease (which can be fatal, unfortunately), they are going to be reluctant to travel as well.
This means, for AA, that leisure passengers are also not going to want to purchase tickets for flights until they are certain to a degree that they will either not catch the disease, or that they are already immune to it, or that there is either a vaccine or therapeutic which will treat them if they do contract the virus.

This fact allows the news media to sound alarms which may or may not be overly dramatic

nerdbirdsjc

1. Flying will not be an enjoyable activity on AA (or anyone else) for the foreseeable future. Until medicine and the economy allow for real solutions, customer service levels on the ground and in the air will remain degraded partly out of health necessity and partly because of the logistical and economic challenges. Not to mention, many (even diehard FFers) will go absolutely apesh!t the first time they get back on a plane and a passenger sneezes or coughs.

2. "Air Zoom", "Air WebEx", etc. are ingratiating themselves into the operating DNA of most every sizable institution now (and for at least the next year). Whether someone actually likes videoconferencing is irrelevant -- to do business now it's a must, and for many companies it's actually saving money, reducing hassles, and boosting responsiveness. I work for a tech company that has become a competitor to American Airlines during COVID-19, and I can tell you recent SaaS buys and capacity upgrades by Fortune 500s and other large institutions make clear which way the wind is blowing. As the institutional inertia sets in, post-COVID-19 corporate travel will be subjected to far more intensive scrutiny than before -- if there's no quantifiable, near-term return on investment for the plane ride, the trip just won't be allowed.

Yes, there is much business travel that will still take place, but a 20-40% enduring decline in business traffic once the world fully re-opens is quite likely, and well-managed airlines are planning their next lives around such assumptions.

3. Lest we forget, FTers in general are an odd bunch insofar as we generally "really like" flying. Most travelers, even hardened road warrior types, see flying as a necessary chore to get from point A to point B. Those who can use reasons #1 and #2 to reduce their usual flying levels, probably will.

Herb687

It wasn't that hot in the recent past, either!

carlosdca

Sorry to pick on this small part of your post and if I misunderstood. Are you implying that for those businesses that have decided to zoom/webex/etc. and decided not to spend $$$ on flying for certain tasks, AA can come up with amenities/pricing that will make businesses change their decision and go back to flying? I don't think so. But we can disagree on that.

If you are talking about the ways AA can think of to attract business that otherwise would be going to DL/UA/WN then I understand.

perseus11

Since this Thread is Silly, Silly, Silly, here goes. Everyone Departing AA at LAX will be interviewed and searched thoroughly by
C. Heston and E. Robinson to determine if they should be fed on board with the Blue, Red or top tier Green (First Class Only) Dinner ??? Economy class LAX Arrivals will be herded under close guard directly to the Recycling Plant to reduce potential COVID contagion of entertainment A, B, C and X Listers in the Terminal areas and at In-N-Out Burger. If you don't quite understand this reply, you're obviously not a fan of classic dystopian.

SpaceCoastBill

Thats just fear mongering.

Just like every single outbreak in our history, as soon as it disappears, people forget about it.

Same thing will happen here.

SpaceCoastBill

You are correct. Just like every other outbreak in our history.

Soon as this thing disappears, people will pack planes, trains, subways, theme parks, etc like a Tokyo train.