gretchendz

After full vaccination, I took one trip to see my sister. But I am still going slow overall. I'm booking things 6 months plus out that are all cancellable. Just wondering where the rest of you are at on returning to the skies?

travelmad478

I never stopped, really. Flew MSY-PHL in early June 2020 to go and retrieve Mr. tm478’s car (it had been languishing in Philadelphia since he moved to New Orleans in early March). Flew MSY-DEN-DIK in late June for a national park vacation in North Dakota. Flew again to PHL in September for visits to friends and family. Flew MSY-DEN for a national park vacation in Colorado in October. Flew again to PHL last month for visits to friends and family.

We are far from COVID deniers and in fact, both participated in the Pfizer vaccine trial (thus we’ve both been vaccinated since August 2020, although we didn’t know that until late January of this year). But we also wanted to live our lives, while mitigating risk as fully as possible with strict mask-wearing, hand-washing, etc. Our vacations were spent in Airbnbs, cooking our own food, and with hiking as the only activity.

diburning

I haven't flown in 14 months, but since I've been fully vaccinated, I have volunteered for upcoming business trips for my employer, so I have that to look forward to. As far as personal travel, I haven't really had the urge to go anywhere yet, as most places are still not fully open yet, and the idea of weairng a mask for hours on end on an aircraft doesn't seem appealing to me.

EDIT: I'm not a woman traveler, this thread came up in TalkMail, and I didn't look to see which forum it was in.

Cyd Webster Beacham

I flew to SC in July 2020, traveled by car to SC in Nov 2020. I've visited friends and family and they've visited me. Not like we used to with big gatherings... but we have gotten together. I do wear a mask, and stay out of large gatherings. I flew to Las Vegas in Mar 2021. I probably will eventually get vaccinated. I wanted to see how it affects people before taking the plunge.

gretchendz

This is just my experience, but here's out it affected me. I have been fully vaccinated since early February and I did have a short reaction to the second dose. I found that once I was fully vaccinated I felt so much less anxiety being around strangers. It's wonderful!

I still take all the precautions (mask, handwashing, distance) but it really gave an extra measure of feeling safe. Everyone in my family says they feel the same. My son flew home from Germany mainly so he could get vaccinated as the roll-out is much slower there. He's a healthy world-traveler and he got a little emotional getting his first dose because of the added safety it represents.

SanDiego1K

I am actively flying post vaccination. I feel very comfortable about it. Mind you, I've only sat next to my husband or an empty seat. I don't think I'll feel as comfortable next to a stranger. AS is the last carrier to be blocking middle seats for elites and that ends with the end of this month. Flights are filling up. Regardless, I am really enjoying seeing some of the US. I've chosen nonstop flights to date to cut down on my time masked and any small risk having time in an additional airport.

kipper

I stopped traveling, other than drives to visit my parents, after a self-quarantine for two weeks prior to trips. I've been fully vaccinated since March, and took a trip to Houston flying and drove to Boston. I have trips to Tuscany and Milan, Iceland, and Athens, Greece booked for late 2021 or early 2022. I'm also booking trips to Houston for July and October to house/pack sit for friends who will be traveling.

uxb

I'm not a woman traveller, but I have flown throughout the pandemic with work as we managed the initial response to the COVID-19 from Congress. There was a point where all TCON flights stopped between coasts, requiring people to connect in Midwest hubs from anywhere between 24-72 hours. It was not convenient at all, but most people were at home. Flights were bargain basement in between major cities. You could fly from LAX/SFO-ORD/DFW/MIA for $25/way aboard all of the major, non-ULCC carriers. Of course, this changed as the pandemic wore on and when more people returned to the skies. Initial reports of passengers catching coronavirus through their eyes were unfounded. I didn't use any special equipment other than a cloth face mask, and hand sanitiser, which I only used before eating and after using the WC. I would eventually contract coronavirus, but it stemmed from a hospital stay that I had put off because of the initial pandemic ban on "elective surgery" (it was cancer). I'm still bopping around today, and air travel remains relatively safe (some airlines rank better than others), so long as you remain smart. Wear a mask and wash your hands even if you are fully vaccinated. You can still contract this virus even if you are fully vaccinated. The vaccine merely prevents you from dying from COVID-19.

bamboola

I recently took my first flight in over 15 months when I flew to SFO to visit my son. All flights were 100% full, but my husband and I were lucky to be in First or Business seats on three of the flights. For the fourth flight, we selected Premier Plus, so we were not next to anyone else on any of the flights.

Deplaning was orderly and most people followed the flight attendant's announcement as to when to stand up. The only negative was the passenger on the other side of the aisle from us who kept pulling his mask down to his chin. Every time the flight attendant walked by, they would ask him to pull it up. He would do so and then immediately pulled it down again afterward.

Stop reading here to avoid reading about adult diapers!

We were careful not to eat/drink while those near us were doing so. My doctor had cautioned me to avoid the inflight toilet and suggested that wearing an adult diaper (Depend) might overcome the psychological urge to do something that is not advisable. Guess what? It helped! It was comfortable and didn't show through my leggings. Best of all, I ended up tossing a dry diaper after each flight.

oldpenny16

I never dreamed I’d be grounded this long. We have an elder family member who is fragile. Very fragile so all travel is off for us into an uncertain future.

whitewave

I know this is an old post.

I just got back from my first flight since the pandemic began. At this point, I’m double vaccinated and double boosted (4x Pfizer).

I have another flight in October to visit my sister in NorCal. My twins are going to Dublin at the end of May and I have decided not to go (flight prices are ridiculous and I had both knees replaced in December 2020, so my mobility is good, but probably not up to overseas 8 day vacation good).

I took home Binax tests Monday night and Tuesday morning since I’m taking care of my mom in NOLA after her knee replacement and it seems like I didn’t catch Covid in NY, so that’s good.

QT31415

In the last two years I've traveled quite a bit. I spent the first year of Covid working in a covid ward and figured that there was less chance of catching it on a plane than while face to face with coughing patients. Travel was great - for the inconvenience of a test, and then a vaccine or two, flights were cheap and empty, restaurant reservations easy to get, and the world was like a private tour. I never got covid, and was tested anywhere from daily to weekly due to work situations. Had I not travelled, covid would've burned me out 1000% with the stress and trauma of working in the medical field during a pandemic. Travel is safe - I subscribe to the "swiss cheese" model of precautions - each layer of hygiene is not perfect and has holes, but many layers give moderate protection.