zrs70

Dear all,

looks like the US still is not on the green list but rather Amber - requiring a 10 day quarantine.

If this doesn’t relax (as the delta variant continues), would it still be possible to do a two day turnaround?

diburning

Give it a week or two. The news outlets are all reporting that they expect the UK to relax quarrantine requirements for vaccinated travelers from countries on the amber list soon.

ISTFlyer

If the next green list update doesn't cover the USA or there is an exemption for vaccinated travelers, I think that B6 would postpone the inaugural flight.

N830MH

I think you’re right. They may be postponed it. Due to COVID. Hopefully they will find a specific date for LHR flight.

notthatdeadyet

Why postpone? If you're a US citizen, what prevents a two day trip, unless one tests positive? Yes, there are the UK amber covid test costs, but the US citizen can leave the UK.

ISTFlyer

Do you really think that all the media and the VIP's on that flight would enjoy self-isolating after arriving at the UK.
I assume that the invitees that have filled the Mint cabin and 50%+ of the Economy cabin are not FlyerTalkers that are OK to do B2B's.

notthatdeadyet

I believe that you're correct in that "exemptions" will be provided to these VIPs in the case that the US is still "amber".

ISTFlyer

Would Sam Chui, The Points Guy authors, aviation journalists, etc... be exempted from the self-isolation requirement?
I don't think so.

daslax

LOL, no chance that bloggers and travel journalists qualify for exemptions. The B2B rules allow for exemptions where at least 500 UK jobs are at stake and even in those cases you don’t get a full exemption, you still have to quarantine when you are not participating in activities directly related to that work. While I suppose you could make an argument that the B6 routes involve more than 500 UK jobs, proving that all of the VIPs traveling to celebrate it are “essential” to that would be quite the leap and would likely create major backlash in the UK press. Only hope here is that US gets moved to Green by then, and it’s not looking good at the moment (see OMAAT article just published). Maybe this prompts B6 to put some pressure on the US government, where this is really all being held up, but otherwise I think a delay is likely.

ussvalor

If we decide to cancel because there are still quarantine requirements in the UK, will jetBlue provide a refund or travel credits?

zrs70

It looks like as of July 19, the restrictions will be lifted. But it's still unclear. Everything I read specifies that Uk residents who are returning don't need to quarantine. What about foreign travelers to the UK?

ISTFlyer

Just a small clarification, the UK self-isolation requirement is being lifted for only those who have been vaccinated in the United Kingdom. The country of residency does not matter in this case. A US citizen & resident who have been vaccinated in the UK could easily skip self-isolation but a UK citizen & resident who have been vaccinated in the US still need to self-isolate upon arrival.

There is no information yet available for any future updates regarding people vaccinated outside of the UK but it might be possible that during the next green/amber/red list update on July 15, the USA might make the Green List

ISTFlyer

As a reference,

Very few seats for the inaugural: B6 7 JFK - LHR on 11 August in Core are available for sale at this time.
Although, it's not guaranteed whether USA would be on the UK's green list by then.

daslax

UK raised to Level 4: Do Not Travel by CDC and State Department today. Can I get my refund now?

CNN: US State Department joins CDC in raising UK travel advisory

vatraveler

Was your LHR-JFK flight affected by the ~4 hour schedule change? If so, you are entitled to a refund.