Jun 15, 2020, 10:26 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
American Airlines Strengthens Requirement Customers Wear Face Coverings on Board
Link to full article
“Wearing a face covering is a responsibility we all share. An effective covering, worn properly, is one of the best ways we can control the spread of COVID-19 to protect our team members and customers,” said Alison Taylor, Chief Customer Officer at American. “Since American began requiring face coverings in early May, the vast majority of customers have welcomed our continuing efforts to strengthen the policy based on the CDC’s guidance.”
American began requiring face coverings on board its flights in May and, in July, announced it would only allow exemptions for customers under 2 years old. The airline requires all other customers to wear a face covering from the time they enter the airport where their trip begins until they leave the airport where their trip ends.
Based on the updated CDC guidance, below are examples of face coverings customers can and cannot wear while traveling with American.
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...es-OPS-DIS-08/
- New policy is effective Wednesday, Aug. 19
- Allowed face coverings must be worn correctly, covering the nose and mouth, and only can be removed briefly for eating and drinking
- Face coverings made with materials such as mesh or lace fabrics are also not allowed
“Wearing a face covering is a responsibility we all share. An effective covering, worn properly, is one of the best ways we can control the spread of COVID-19 to protect our team members and customers,” said Alison Taylor, Chief Customer Officer at American. “Since American began requiring face coverings in early May, the vast majority of customers have welcomed our continuing efforts to strengthen the policy based on the CDC’s guidance.”
American began requiring face coverings on board its flights in May and, in July, announced it would only allow exemptions for customers under 2 years old. The airline requires all other customers to wear a face covering from the time they enter the airport where their trip begins until they leave the airport where their trip ends.
Based on the updated CDC guidance, below are examples of face coverings customers can and cannot wear while traveling with American.
https://news.aa.com/news/news-detail...es-OPS-DIS-08/
Allowed:
- A well-secured cloth or mask that fits snugly against the face and covers an individual’s nose and mouth. It must be made of a material that prevents the discharge and release of respiratory droplets from a person's nose or mouth.
Not allowed:
- Face coverings with exhaust valves.
- Face coverings made with materials such as mesh or lace fabrics.
- Face coverings that do not cover the nose and mouth.
- Face shields without the addition of a face covering.
A face covering is required while flying on American, except for very young children or anyone with a condition that prevents them from wearing one. You also may be required by local law to wear a face covering in the airport where your trip begins, where it ends or where you connect.
- Please bring your own face covering to use while traveling. While limited quantities of face coverings may be available at the gate, they will not be available for every customer on every flight.
- Be sure your face covering is on before you board the plane and wear it during your flight. If you’re not exempt from wearing a face covering and decline to wear one, you may be denied boarding and future travel on American.
- Your face covering may be removed to eat or drink, but please put it back on when you’re done.
Details of the updated policy for face coverings will be communicated to American Airlines team members this week, and the policy will go into effect June 16. American also requires team members to wear face coverings while at work.[/quote]
PRIOR POLICY as of 1 May 2020
Link to AA News story
Flight Attendants must wear masks as of Friday, May 1, 2020.
Passengers must wear masks as of Monday, May 11.
AA Passenger Facial Cover / Mask Use Policy 2020 (Inc. changes)
Apr 30, 2020, 3:47 pm
#1
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
AA Passenger Facial Cover / Mask Use Policy 2020 (Inc. changes)
AA has updated its mask / facial covering policy. Please see the Wikipost above.
Travel requirements
When you check-in you'll be asked to confirm you've been free of COVID-19 symptoms for the past 14 days. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick.
Face coverings
A face covering is required while flying on American, except for children under 2 years old. If you decline to wear one, you may be denied boarding and future travel on American.Keep in mind:
- You should bring your own face covering to use while traveling. While limited quantities of face coverings may be available at the gate, they will not be available for every customer on every flight.
- You’re required to wear a face covering from the time you enter the airport where your trip begins until you leave the airport where your trip ends.
- A face covering can be a mask or any secured cloth that covers your nose and mouth and fits snugly under the chin.
- A face shield can be worn with a face covering, but not in place of one.
- Starting August 19, 2020, face coverings with exhaust valves or vents, or made with mesh or lace type fabric, will not be allowed.
- You can briefly take your face covering off to eat or drink, but you must put it back on when you’re done.
CDC recommendations for face coverings Opens another site in a new window that may not meet accessibility guidelines.
Last edited by JDiver; Aug 25, 2020 at 7:08 pm
Apr 30, 2020, 4:18 pm
#3
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: American EXP; British Airways Gold
Posts: 1,896
Apr 30, 2020, 4:19 pm
#4
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
Anyway, since you are in the DFW area, Dallas county requires wearing a face mask in public, so you'd need one to get to the airport and inside the airport.
Apr 30, 2020, 4:25 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: DCA/IAD & BUF
Posts: 1,380
Okay, I will bite on the obvious question.
Sitting in J/F, particularly for a longer flight, I might have three or four glasses of wine or mixed drinks. Obviously one doesn't drink a glass of wine or a gin & tonic in the same manner one chugs on a bottle of water. (well, mostly anyway. 😁
It's usually 30-45 minutes of nursing the glass with sips while reading or watching a movie or working online. Is there "mask etiquette" for this, with masks required during the flight? Touching the mask multiple times to raise and lower with sips, and on and off for meal service and snacks, has it's own hygienic issues. (Although mainly to ones self and not others.).
To add, my question is sincere, not snarky. Will these requirements basically be the end of food & beverage service? I can see some passengers becoming very upset if they perceive someone sitting in close proximity is taking too much time to finish their meal and / drinking a beverage.
Sitting in J/F, particularly for a longer flight, I might have three or four glasses of wine or mixed drinks. Obviously one doesn't drink a glass of wine or a gin & tonic in the same manner one chugs on a bottle of water. (well, mostly anyway. 😁
It's usually 30-45 minutes of nursing the glass with sips while reading or watching a movie or working online. Is there "mask etiquette" for this, with masks required during the flight? Touching the mask multiple times to raise and lower with sips, and on and off for meal service and snacks, has it's own hygienic issues. (Although mainly to ones self and not others.).To add, my question is sincere, not snarky. Will these requirements basically be the end of food & beverage service? I can see some passengers becoming very upset if they perceive someone sitting in close proximity is taking too much time to finish their meal and / drinking a beverage.
Apr 30, 2020, 4:30 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: MHK
Programs: AA Exec Plat - some level of status in IHG, Marriot & HIlton
Posts: 1,515
Hopefully this doesn't last long. I can't stand wearing the stupid things and I am not really sure how much good they actually do. I was looking forward to being able to start flying again this summer, but this puts a damper on that.
Apr 30, 2020, 5:33 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: AA EXP and Marriott Titanium
Posts: 769
Okay, I will bite on the obvious question.
Sitting in J/F, particularly for a longer flight, I might have three or four glasses of wine or mixed drinks. Obviously one doesn't drink a glass of wine or a gin & tonic in the same manner one chugs on a bottle of water. (well, mostly anyway. 😁 It's usually 30-45 minutes of nursing the glass with sips while reading or watching a movie or working online. Is there "mask etiquette" for this, with masks required during the flight? Touching the mask multiple times to raise and lower with sips, and on and off for meal service and snacks, has it's own hygienic issues. (Although mainly to ones self and not others.).
To add, my question is sincere, not snarky. Will these requirements basically be the end of food & beverage service? I can see some passengers becoming very upset if they perceive someone sitting in close proximity is taking too much time to finish their meal and / drinking a beverage.
Sitting in J/F, particularly for a longer flight, I might have three or four glasses of wine or mixed drinks. Obviously one doesn't drink a glass of wine or a gin & tonic in the same manner one chugs on a bottle of water. (well, mostly anyway. 😁
It's usually 30-45 minutes of nursing the glass with sips while reading or watching a movie or working online. Is there "mask etiquette" for this, with masks required during the flight? Touching the mask multiple times to raise and lower with sips, and on and off for meal service and snacks, has it's own hygienic issues. (Although mainly to ones self and not others.).To add, my question is sincere, not snarky. Will these requirements basically be the end of food & beverage service? I can see some passengers becoming very upset if they perceive someone sitting in close proximity is taking too much time to finish their meal and / drinking a beverage.
Apr 30, 2020, 7:10 pm
#8
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
Moderator note:
This is the American Airlines forum on FlyerTalk. Please keep the discussion at least remotely relevant to AA.
More general discussion on Coronavirus and/or the merits of wearing a mask belong in the relevant threads of the dedicated Coronavirus forum:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel-773/
Posts which do not have a connection to AA will be deleted.
Thank you
~moderator
This is the American Airlines forum on FlyerTalk. Please keep the discussion at least remotely relevant to AA.
More general discussion on Coronavirus and/or the merits of wearing a mask belong in the relevant threads of the dedicated Coronavirus forum:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel-773/
Posts which do not have a connection to AA will be deleted.
Thank you
~moderator
Apr 30, 2020, 9:35 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NRT / HND
Programs: AA EXP, NH Plat, Former UA 1K
Posts: 5,634
To attempt to move this back on topic. My concern is how the "rule" applies to eating and drinking. My last AA flight in early March was nearly empty, I wasn't overly concerned about people around me while in my seat since there weren't any. At that time I was one of the only people on the plane who had a mask at all, but I took it off entirely for eating and drinking. I put it back on when going to the lav or sleeping. I certainly hope that's how it's going to go for the time being until this "rule" goes away and you don't have some overly paranoid w@nker a few seats away raising a hissy fit over it.
Apr 30, 2020, 10:41 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Programs: UA 1K, AA Lifetime Platinum, DL Platinum, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 7,969
Only for the next 20 minutes or so. As of 12am May 1, the Governor's re-opening order kicks in, making masks only "recommended" and superseding any local mandatory orders.
Apr 30, 2020, 10:44 pm
#11
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Moderator note:
This is the American Airlines forum on FlyerTalk. Please keep the discussion at least remotely relevant to AA.
More general discussion on Coronavirus and/or the merits of wearing a mask belong in the relevant threads of the dedicated Coronavirus forum:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel-773/
Posts which do not have a connection to AA will be deleted.
Thank you
~moderator
This is the American Airlines forum on FlyerTalk. Please keep the discussion at least remotely relevant to AA.
More general discussion on Coronavirus and/or the merits of wearing a mask belong in the relevant threads of the dedicated Coronavirus forum:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel-773/
Posts which do not have a connection to AA will be deleted.
Thank you
~moderator
Moderator
May 1, 2020, 7:25 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Phoenix/Columbus
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, United Gold, US Airways silver
Posts: 1,717
To attempt to move this back on topic. My concern is how the "rule" applies to eating and drinking. My last AA flight in early March was nearly empty, I wasn't overly concerned about people around me while in my seat since there weren't any. At that time I was one of the only people on the plane who had a mask at all, but I took it off entirely for eating and drinking. I put it back on when going to the lav or sleeping. I certainly hope that's how it's going to go for the time being until this "rule" goes away and you don't have some overly paranoid w@nker a few seats away raising a hissy fit over it.
May 1, 2020, 9:39 am
#13
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
Yes but then will they allow people to bring on food and beverage? I do think one of the permanent features will be no beverage service in Y on sub 500 mile flights (maybe a cup of water) and no meals in F on flights under 2,200 miles.
May 1, 2020, 9:49 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,969
Both your question and the question posed by the poster you just answered are two things I have thought about as well. Since this is so new it's going to take some time to refine. If someone is traveling long haul in domestic F and there is no food or just a bistro bag then of course people are going to be inclined to bring on board the kitchen sink.
May 1, 2020, 9:53 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: DCA/IAD & BUF
Posts: 1,380
2200 miles.... that basically means from the East coast DC area, the only flights with meal service in F will be to California. On a non-stop.
Not that the meals were anything to write home about. But still.
Hopefully AA will walk this back some in June.
Not that the meals were anything to write home about. But still.
Hopefully AA will walk this back some in June.
