Stickboy46

Yes .. face shields are a supplement. It protects a larger area (eyes and such) from incoming bodily fluids. It really doesn't do much to prevent the outgoing lighter bodily fluids that are present in our exhales and such.

GUWonder

Seems more driven by the tendency of AA to be playing its form of copy-cat and aping what one or more of the other major airlines announce or do before it.

Antarius

Yup. My favorite is when people try to tell me that they heard asthmatic patients can't wear masks. I'm asthmatic and my breathing and blood oxygen levels are unchanged with a mask on.

Good on AA for doing this.

MarkOK

As an academic in a related field to this (and follow very closely the field of aerosol based virus transmission from my colleagues), it does appear to be very true that face shields do very little.

The (only) sure way this virus spreads easily is through aerosols released from breathing, talking, singing, coughing (etc), and it is pretty definitive now that finer aerosols carry enough virus to infect when you are breathing them in long enough, and these lighter aerosols very simply go around any sort of face shield. There are now cases where it appears that people in an environment wearing face shields were highly infected while those in the same space wearing masks weren't. Now, if someone is spit talking at you without mask, then sure it can help, but much much much better that everyone simply wear a mask that filters both air in and are out.

(and the filter out is more effective and important than the filter in. Universal masking works like 90% from preventing carriers from spreading virus into the atmosphere -- those N95 cartridge masks that filter in but not out are the newest way you can show the world that you are a self serving a-hole).

Information (in the US at least) seems slow to get out there still as it develops. AA is doing the absolute right thing by becoming strict about masks. I wish they would reduce numbers on flights still to reduce the number of potential carriers and people that can get exposed.

Funny thing is universities have invested into plastic shielding and are telling profs to teach without masks (for valid disability accommodation reasons), but if I am infected and talking loudly in room full of students, those stupid plastic shields aren't going to stop the fine aerosols I am spraying at everyone!

Silver Fox

If the mask gets saturated from your nose and mouth how much does it lose its effectiveness, if at all? Having practiced with a face covering it seemed to get moist pretty quick - but that might be OK. Or another way of putting it is how many masks should you take for a 10 hour flight? Or does it depend?

LovePrunes

yes, AA has announced a new frequency program called "Karen".
You can get Karen Gold, Karen Platinum and Karen Exec Plat, advance by ringing your call button to complain about people "milking the presence". I think you have to do at least call button per flight to qualify.
Jeez.
It was inspired by the "Rex" program, which is people who complain about that dog not being real service dog.

chrisdenver1

Actually, face SHIELDS are pretty good (not great) at protecting the wearer. Face COVERINGS protect others, and the wearer - to a certain extent. Coverings, according to the limited studies, are much more effective but better if you can wear BOTH.

vanillabean

This is what I read a few days ago.

Face shields did not protect people from the coronavirus in an outbreak in Switzerland, but masks did, health officials say
https://www.insider.com/face-shields...utbreak-2020-7

devdas

https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/extend...idence-review/ suggests that 2-6 hours in a medical setting is appropriate for surgical masks,

I would suggest 4-5 hours of continuous use of a facemask in the low humidity conditions of an airplane should be acceptable.

For a 10 hour flight, 2-3 masks would be suggested.

formeraa

Agreed and time will tell...we shall see in two weeks or so. 99.99% of the population is medically able to wear a mask. The others need to have groceries delivered or someone shop for them.

Often1

WN is there too. DL has dug itself into a hole by creating a medical exception with a telemedicine interview.

Strikes me as a good and sensible move which will up the % of mask-wearers. Somehow, there are always a few idiots out there and there is little to be done about them in the moment (can't call store security and them tossed at FL39, much as it might be appropriate).

Look at the good side, a lot of asthmatics will find a cure quite quickly.

Doppy

Face shields probably do less than masks, but I think they should be mandated in the airlines' policies as an alternative for anyone who has a medical reason for not wearing a mask. Something is better than nothing. And based on what's on social media, a lot of "medial exception" people just don't want to wear a mask, and so such a policy would make clear that there's no easy way for them to avoid doing their part to reduce the spread.

As for how long a mask lasts, I would imagine that in the very dry environment that is an airplane, moisture would be less of a problem. In my own experience in the air, I haven't found my masks to get too humid inside, whereas on a hot day on the ground, they do. Another member posted in a different thread that a Japanese airline used to include masks as an in flight amenity for comfort because they help retain moisture when breathing.

RustyC

Dunno if this is the right thread, but someone had to be removed from an MCI-PHL flight I was on Monday afternoon (7/20) because of mask non-compliance. It was a black guy maybe in his early 30s who was asked several times by FAs and given a single-use mask (which he put on) , but he continued to talk about not wanting to wear it and gave mixed signals. The customer service manager (Jamie?) for the airport came on and talked to him a time or two, but I could tell Jamie was facing a decision about whether to remove or not before the plane took off. The passenger was in the next row behind me on the other side of the aisle.

When they did ask him to go, he didn't produce an outburst worthy of a Karen video in being taken off the plane (instead muttering about how he'd paid for the ticket and still had to get home, etc.) Jamie picked up the loudspeaker mike and apologized to the plane for the delay. Overall I think AA handled it well, though I'm sure they've seen far worse in terms of passengers.

ahmetdouas

Seems they take it much more seriously in USA than EU due to case numbers.

what happens when eating?


Does aa allow scarves covering the nose and mouth ?

Segments

You’re assuming the telemedicine interview will result in the identification/ confirmation of a qualifying condition. I expect most will result in counseling on how the ticketed pax CAN wear a mask. (ie alternate masks for allergies, education on asthma etc). Recent severe facial burns might be one of the few legitimate reasons not to wear a mask and then you have to wonder if it is safe for the pax to fly commercial.