Which Airline Should You Travel On Right Now

 

Some of us are staying put, but after 7 months in our homes, lots of us are ready to travel or need to travel to take care of loved ones or to bring loved ones home. So the question is which airline should you fly right now?

Since it changes day by day, I will share my experience flying recently on two different airlines and I'll run through the policies at the other airlines. 

Recently, I flew on Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. My daughter flew on Delta Airlines so I'll run through those experiences first. 

Southwest Airlines is not selling the middle seat through November 30th so that's a huge plus. Since you get to choose your own seat on Southwest, they are boarding the plane just 10 people at a time and making sure passengers know that there is enough room for everyone to have an aisle or window seat. That extra space just made me feel safer and lowered my stress level. Seats in the waiting area were also marked off so people could socially distance. 

On board, the flight attendants handed out a glass of water and a packaged snack. I thought the glass of water was a bit strange, I would rather have had a sealed bottle, but I bring my own water anyway so it wasn't an issue. The airplane felt and looked clean though I bring natural sanitizing wipes to clean my space. Check out my post about some places you want to clean that you wouldn't think about. 

Some people have said they are concerned about direct flights and most flights on Southwest are not direct. I changed planes at Baltimore Washington International and it was pretty empty. 

Another flight I took recently was on American Airlines. Totally different experience. The flight was packed, in fact, as we were boarding, the flight attendants alerted us that every seat would be filled. Argh. 

The flight attendants handed us a bottle of water and snack as we boarded. Once onboard, the plane felt very cramped and small. For me personally, the flight attendants seemed to invade my personal space several times. When we changed planes in Charlotte, North Carolina, the airport was jam-packed with people. Once we exited the American terminal, the crowd dispersed, but yikes. I wish American would think of staggering arrival times and gates. 

My daughter flew Delta Airlines and said it was great. She had a whole row to herself on all the flights. They handed her a snack bag with water and a few packaged goods as she boarded. 

At this point, all airlines require masks on board. If you forget, they some at the gate. The masks must be real masks (no holes, no bandanas, no filters). Right now, Alaska, Hawaiian, Jet Blue, Delta and Southwest are the only airlines blocking the middle seats. 

The bottom line is fly if you feel comfortable. There have been very few reports if any of flight attendants or passengers getting sick.