Is Anyone Cutting Back Their Travel Due To Covid?
Jul 29, 2021, 10:24 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Is Anyone Cutting Back Their Travel Due To Covid?
I am very seriously considering cancelling an upcoming trip or to to Las Vegas due to COVID.
I admit that it's an easier decision since I can still keep my status in 2022 with relatively modest effort.
I admit that it's an easier decision since I can still keep my status in 2022 with relatively modest effort.
Jul 29, 2021, 10:39 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Tucson, AZ
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist, National EE
Posts: 253
I'm trying to assess risk based on local case loads at the destination. Based on that standard, Vegas would easily be on my no-go list.
Jul 29, 2021, 11:23 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: DFW
Programs: AA ExP, Globalist
Posts: 129
I'm not presently cutting back.
Unpacking my thinking:
1) I'm vaccinated and don't have complicating conditions (though I understand there's a remote chance that healthy vaccinated folks can be impacted severely).
2) I don't want to contribute to further spread (and I'm reading that vaccinated folks can transmit even if they don't get infected).
3) I enjoy traveling (all the more so for staying in for 18 months to isolate).
4) The most crowded part of my trips seem to be the (masked) airport & flight.
I'm sure #3 is creating real internal bias, but I've booked Tanzania, Colombia, Milan, and Cairo for the next 6 months, and I day-tripped last week to try out JetBlue's new Mint Studio transcon and the TWA hotel @ JFK.
No plans to cancel the planned trips (so far).
Unpacking my thinking:
1) I'm vaccinated and don't have complicating conditions (though I understand there's a remote chance that healthy vaccinated folks can be impacted severely).
2) I don't want to contribute to further spread (and I'm reading that vaccinated folks can transmit even if they don't get infected).
3) I enjoy traveling (all the more so for staying in for 18 months to isolate).
4) The most crowded part of my trips seem to be the (masked) airport & flight.
I'm sure #3 is creating real internal bias, but I've booked Tanzania, Colombia, Milan, and Cairo for the next 6 months, and I day-tripped last week to try out JetBlue's new Mint Studio transcon and the TWA hotel @ JFK.
No plans to cancel the planned trips (so far).
Jul 29, 2021, 11:40 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Florida
Programs: Delta SkyMiles; Hilton HHonors; NEXUS; National Emerald Club Executive
Posts: 365
Severely. Work travel has gone to zero. Personal travel also went to zero until I was able to get vaccinated. Since then, I've been on a couple of road trips, but I still avoid air travel.
I am vaccinated now, but I have asthma, which has me a little concerned about breakthrough infections. To be clear, far less concerned than I was before I received my vaccine, but it's still in the back of my mind, especially with numbers going up again.
Like jef787, I also want to make sure I'm not contributing to any spread. Also like him, I was really ready for a road trip after a year and a half in near-isolation. Unfortunately for me, my first road trip ended with getting rear-ended by a methhead at a red light in Oklahoma.
But in general -- I will travel by car (my preferred mode even pre-COVID,) but I try to avoid large crowds, and I still feel sketchy about air travel. Not just airplanes, but also airports and security checkpoints where the opportunities for contagion are endless.
I am vaccinated now, but I have asthma, which has me a little concerned about breakthrough infections. To be clear, far less concerned than I was before I received my vaccine, but it's still in the back of my mind, especially with numbers going up again.
Like jef787, I also want to make sure I'm not contributing to any spread. Also like him, I was really ready for a road trip after a year and a half in near-isolation. Unfortunately for me, my first road trip ended with getting rear-ended by a methhead at a red light in Oklahoma.
But in general -- I will travel by car (my preferred mode even pre-COVID,) but I try to avoid large crowds, and I still feel sketchy about air travel. Not just airplanes, but also airports and security checkpoints where the opportunities for contagion are endless.
Jul 30, 2021, 3:42 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ORD, sadly...
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 599
Nope.
Jul 30, 2021, 4:03 am
#6
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Zurich / Europe / New York
Programs: LH, BA, AA
Posts: 1,300
Yes before … now all friends and fams and myself are vacc‘d, … not really, but I dol avoid transit at hotspots like LHR at the moment …
Jul 30, 2021, 5:12 am
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 963
No way. Two TATLs in the last two weeks. Lining up the trips this fall to catch up. Business and personal.
We have to learn to live with the virus. And for the vast majority of full vaccinated travelers, breaks through infections pose no meaningful risk other than a couple sick days (and maybe an extended stay if international and requiring a test).
We have to learn to live with the virus. And for the vast majority of full vaccinated travelers, breaks through infections pose no meaningful risk other than a couple sick days (and maybe an extended stay if international and requiring a test).
Jul 30, 2021, 5:15 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: STL/ORD/MCI/SAN
Programs: AA CK MM, AC SE100K, UA 1K, DL Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 1,986
Genuinely curious, because I’m seeing a similar attitude in the Midwest right now… is it the Delta variant and the latest CDC warning, or something else?
In Missouri currently, where my partner works, people are actually starting to get vaccinated in secret at local drugstores, but they won’t admit it due to politics. It was actually a national news story the other day.
To be honest, Delta won’t affect my travel. I feel we’ve crossed that bridge. I’m vaxxed, have appropriate PPE, and feel like I know what/where/whom to avoid to keep myself safe at this point.
Now if AA will only bring proper service back!
Last edited by metallo; Jul 30, 2021 at 5:21 am
Jul 30, 2021, 5:18 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EXP, 2 Million Miler
Posts: 821
Only avoiding areas with high Covid rates or onerous Covid restrictions. Also, only been flying to destinations where I can get a direct flight.
Jul 30, 2021, 5:33 am
#10
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
I didn't the first time and I'm certainly not this time. In fact, I'm traveling more as I have a job that requires just a laptop and a wifi connection. Other than wearing a mask it's actually a great time to be an EXP.
Jul 30, 2021, 6:55 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: IAH
Programs: UA MM, AA almost MM
Posts: 1,162
Zero international travel. So many flight cancellations or transiting issues have been posted here that I just don't think it is worth the hassle when there are so many beautiful places in the US to visit. My biggest problem is having to share enclosed space with people who refuse to wear masks or wear them properly. So many of them are on planes and in airport. Airline staffs are sick and tired having to babysit adults who should know better. Unfortunately, in this country, the lowest vax rate areas also have the highest resistance to mask wearing.
Jul 30, 2021, 7:32 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Nope.
Jul 30, 2021, 7:45 am
#14
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: PHL
Programs: AA Executive Platinum; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,662
Jul 30, 2021, 7:53 am
#15
Join Date: Feb 2006
Programs: Hilton Diamond for life, Bonvoy Titanium for Life, Delta Million Miler, Delta Platinum
Posts: 168
We are both vaccinated. We had just resumed normal travel after 18 months. Now all the Delta developments. Probably will lay low till early November