Coronavirus - Travel impacts II

[luckydude]

I understand your point. I'm more concerned about the consequences that are unfolding for the rest of the public when these people come back from their cruises, are sometimes being let loose into their communities without restriction, and then start spreading it around to the rest of us. The disruptive effects of this have barely been seen or understood yet. There isn't a consistent pattern of how this is all being handled from state to state, city to city, etc. It makes it hard to know what to expect in your community.

+1

While I respect each individual's personal decision to travel (or not) to areas of outbreak, at this point such personal decisions can have wider societal consequences impacting folks in their community.

At what point does the well-being and safety (i.e. the greater good) of the community override the personal desires/decisions of an individual, especially in a democratic society like ours?

Lucky Dude

 

[steady saver]

The younger people in the USA are not really taking the virus seriously. I mean people under 40. You can even see it on message boards like MMM which skew younger and I see it when talking in town to anyone in their 20s to 30s.

To them it is just the flu.

Not necessarily true. My 26 year old son is taking it VERY seriously. He's been working in CA the last two weeks and came back to Texas quite concerned. I'm guessing that part of folks (young or old) "not taking it seriously" may be attributed to geography.

 

[Brat]

I understand your point. I'm more concerned about the consequences that are unfolding for the rest of the public when these people come back from their cruises, are sometimes being let loose into their communities without restriction, and then start spreading it around to the rest of us. The disruptive effects of this have barely been seen or understood yet. There isn't a consistent pattern of how this is all being handled from state to state, city to city, etc. It makes it hard to know what to expect in your community.

Perhaps we should charge the cruise operator for the cost of quarantine or a special boarding fee, particularly for those 60+. Do something to incent cruise operators to encourage older customers to cancel their plans.

 

[walkinwood]

Just read this at the United.com ( https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html )

We’re also waiving change fees for all tickets issued on or before March 2 — domestic or international — with original travel dates of March 9 through April 30. See waiver details

Yay! Since we are planning on traveling on 3/30, but may need to cancel.

 

[audreyh1]

Niece and her new husband just got back from Dubai. They always wanted to go there, ignored travel warnings and had a great time. Now they want us to come over and share all there pictures and stories. I have not responded to the text. Can't decide what to do. Mask and gloves? I feel weird about this.

Wow, your niece is out of touch. Tell them maybe in 14 days. Maybe they’ll realize that they could expose an older person if they’re not careful.

 

[Rianne]

Wow, your niece is out of touch. Tell them maybe in 14 days. Maybe they’ll realize that they could expose an older person if they’re not careful.

Right! And they're doing very little testing here.

 

[Chuckanut]

Rick is right (I love his travel shows, BTW). With everyone canceling their traveling plans right now, there will be an explosion of pent-up demand with people wanting to do their trips when this whole virus thing blows over.

Unfortunately not all the tourism related business will survive the downturn in the meantime.

Lucky Dude

Out of curiosity I checked his website for a few Italy tours. There are plenty of openings for April and May and into June. September and October are often wait listed or 'Filling Up Fast'. It seems many of us think/hope we will be over the hump by then.

Given the number of people I know who are self-limiting their social lives, I think the population has received and taken seriously the message. That is a good sign.

I would not be surprised if Mr. Steves is already planning to add a few additional future Italy trips to his offerings. This might be a good time to negotiate a deal with bus companies, hotels and restaurants.

 

[rodi]

I have a non-airline/cruiseship related impact to my planned travel.

We had a small trip planned for the 2nd week of April to go to Catalina. Older son was due to be back at college. Younger son (still a minor) was due to be on a 5 day 'college tour' field trip. We scheduled my sister to watch our dog and the termite tent folks to tent our house while we are gone.

Now we're looking into backup plans. Still need to treat termites. Field trip is likely to be canceled. (108 kids on 2 school buses - 6 kids/hotel room... a bad idea given the virus.) For that matter, his high school may go to an online model. There have been rumors from friends who work for the district.

Local university, UCSD, has announced that starting March 25 (beginning of spring quarter) they are going 100% online... no students on campus. Not sure how labs work since this is a major science college...

I fully expect my older son's campus to go to an online model at some point. Perhaps with Spring Break as the start of this.

So... our Catalina trip will likely not happen - looking at vacation rentals that will accommodate us for the same time period. Hard to self quarantine at home if you're kicked out of your home for termite treatment. Bummed that it's the impact on the kids' schools that may tank our trip.

 

[ivinsfan]

I have a non-airline/cruiseship related impact to my planned travel.

We had a small trip planned for the 2nd week of April to go to Catalina. Older son was due to be back at college. Younger son (still a minor) was due to be on a 5 day 'college tour' field trip. We scheduled my sister to watch our dog and the termite tent folks to tent our house while we are gone.

Now we're looking into backup plans. Still need to treat termites. Field trip is likely to be canceled. (108 kids on 2 school buses - 6 kids/hotel room... a bad idea given the virus.) For that matter, his high school may go to an online model. There have been rumors from friends who work for the district.

Local university, UCSD, has announced that starting March 25 (beginning of spring quarter) they are going 100% online... no students on campus. Not sure how labs work since this is a major science college...

I fully expect my older son's campus to go to an online model at some point. Perhaps with Spring Break as the start of this.

So... our Catalina trip will likely not happen - looking at vacation rentals that will accommodate us for the same time period. Hard to self quarantine at home if you're kicked out of your home for termite treatment. Bummed that it's the impact on the kids' schools that may tank our trip.

On the school thing and the work from home things.That's all well and good if people actually stay in their home. How many college kids do you will "cancel" their spring breaks trips and/or stay in their homes or dorms? I'm guessing not very many, the same with office workers.

 

[audreyh1]

Just read this at the United.com ( https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html )

Yay! Since we are planning on traveling on 3/30, but may need to cancel.

Well, as it turns out, our travel was in March after March 9, ticketed in late Feb, and I was able to cancel both reservations for full credit as long as we reissue before Dec 31, 2020 and travel must commence within 12 months of the original ticket issue date.

Original travel dates
March 9, 2020 - April 30, 2020

Additional information
FLIGHT CHANGES:

New tickets must be reissued on/before December 31, 2020 or 12 months from original ticket date, whichever is earlier
Rebooked travel must commence within 12 months from the original ticket issue date
ORIGINAL TICKET MUST BE ISSUED ON OR BEFORE:

March 2, 2020

When did United create this waiver? It was just today that we decided we had better drive and stay much longer, so I wasn’t looking for it previously.

Answer: it was created late yesterday - wow!

I read about more cases popping up in the Atlanta area early this morning, and decided that disruptions in March were far too likely.

 

[sengsational]

Just read this at the United.com ( https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html )

Yay! Since we are planning on traveling on 3/30, but may need to cancel.

Well, as it turns out, our travel was in March after March 9, ticketed in late Feb, and I was able to cancel both reservations for full credit as long as we reissue before Dec 31, 2020 and travel must commence within 12 months of the original ticket issue date.

So United is issuing credits for tickets purchased before the pandemic was a thing. That's good. I think all airlines will eventually go that route because the alternative (to give back REAL MUNNY when they cancel the flight) is not appealing to them at all

 

[audreyh1]

So United is issuing credits for tickets purchased before the pandemic was a thing. That's good. I think all airlines will eventually go that route because the alternative (to give back REAL MUNNY when they cancel the flight) is not appealing to them at all

The lady on the phone said United did this because American came up with a similar travel waiver.

But this is OK for us. Chances are good that we’ll use the credits, unless, you know, things are REALLY bad in Q4.

Airlines only refund if you buy refundable tickets, otherwise you get issued credit less change fees, usually good for a year. Excluding basic economy which doesn’t qualify for any credit.

 

[Freedom56]

Virgin Atlantic admits to flying near empty planes to maintain their slots at airports. Per the article, they are asking the government to relax the slot allocation rules. If they don't, we may be flying on one of those near-empty planes and have the entire upper class cabin to ourselves. Other airlines are doing the same thing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51809318

 

[sengsational]

Airlines only refund if you buy refundable tickets, otherwise you get issued credit less change fees, usually good for a year.

I was talking about 'playing chicken' with the airline...you have no intention of getting on the aircraft, but if you play it as if you are still going and then the airline cancels the flight, then (according to earlier comments in the thread) you get money back (not a credit).

 

[luckydude]

According to the Sacramento Bee article below, those Grand Princess passengers who tested positive for the virus but don't require hospitalization will be housed in hotels in San Mateo and Monterey counties:

https://news.yahoo.com/california-hotels-being-used-coronavirus-233003429.html

The article quotes Gov. Newsom as saying that "the hotels are 100 percent secure, 100 percent segregated from the general public."

Off topic aside:

Given California government's less than stellar records on addressing the homeless issue and the resulting disease, filth, and trash plaguing our streets in seemingly every neighborhood, I find his assurance rather less than 100 percent reassuring.

Back on topic:

Memo to self: Avoid staying in hotels in San Mateo and Monterey counties on future trips to northern CA.

Lucky Dude

 

[audreyh1]

I was talking about 'playing chicken' with the airline...you have no intention of getting on the aircraft, but if you play it as if you are still going and then the airline cancels the flight, then (according to earlier comments in the thread) you get money back (not a credit).

I didn't expect my flights to be cancelled. Certainly not the outgoing ones as it's a bit early.

 

[LRDave]

Virgin Atlantic admits to flying near empty planes to maintain their slots at airports. Per the article, they are asking the government to relax the slot allocation rules. If they don't, we may be flying on one of those near-empty planes and have the entire upper class cabin to ourselves. Other airlines are doing the same thing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51809318

Nice! I bet that drink glass is never less than half full from start to finish!

 

[NW-Bound]

According to the Sacramento Bee article below, those Grand Princess passengers who tested positive for the virus but don't require hospitalization will be housed in hotels in San Mateo and Monterey counties:

https://news.yahoo.com/california-hotels-being-used-coronavirus-233003429.html

The article quotes Gov. Newsom as saying that "the hotels are 100 percent secure, 100 percent segregated from the general public."

Off topic aside:

Given California government's less than stellar records on addressing the homeless issue and the resulting disease, filth, and trash plaguing our streets in seemingly every neighborhood, I find his assurance rather less than 100 percent reassuring.

Back on topic:

Memo to self: Avoid staying in hotels in San Mateo and Monterey counties on future trips to northern CA.

Lucky Dude

From the above article, the CA governor was quoted as saying: “These are not people that are symptomatic, that need to be in the hospital. These are people we are monitoring through the incubation process.”

I remember reading in the WHO report that there were no true asymptomatic carriers, that all virus carriers eventually came down sick, albeit of various degrees.

This will be good for medical experts to observe and to have 1st hand experience of the disease.

 

[luckydude]

From the above article, the CA governor was quoted as saying: “These are not people that are symptomatic, that need to be in the hospital. These are people we are monitoring through the incubation process.”

I remember reading in the WHO report that there were no true asymptomatic carriers, that all virus carriers eventually came down sick, albeit of various degrees.

This will be good for medical experts to observe and to have 1st hand experience of the disease.

Yep, now that the virus is in our backyard, the US will finally get to observe first hand exactly how infectious and deadly (or not) the virus truly is, instead of drawing conclusions based on manipulated data from China.

I hope that the government fairly compensates these hotels for housing these folks and monitor them closely so they follow the quarantine rules strictly and don't wander off on their own.

I wonder how much notice the surrounding neighborhoods of these hotels were given and whether they had a choice or a say in this matter. Either way, they probably won't be too happy.

Lucky Dude

 

[Ronstar]

On day 2 of our road trip. Have driven from Chicago burbs to Grand Junction, Co. Haven’t seen any road travel impacts yet. Hotels and restaurants seem to be operating as usual.

Don’t expect to see much coronavirus impacts on Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Escalante or Zion national parks in the next few days.

ETA - our plan is to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas. Just read that several casino buffets are shutting down for a while.

 

[camfused]

Re playing chicken...

Air France just cancelled one of my 3 flights for my trip. They say I can "request" a refund. So, I did. We shall see what they do.

Now I just need Delta and EasyJet to follow suit. 16 days to go...

Score: Me - 1, Airlines - 2

 

[audreyh1]

Re playing chicken...

Air France just cancelled one of my 3 flights for my trip. They say I can "request" a refund. So, I did. We shall see what they do.

Now I just need Delta and EasyJet to follow suit. 16 days to go...

Score: Me - 1, Airlines - 2

Wow!!

It's the international flight that's the biggie, I expect.

 

[pb4uski]

We were planning to fly from Florida to Buffalo for the Men's D3 Frozen Four at the end of the month if our team makes the Frozen Four as we hope and expect that they will. Given that some championships have been cancelled in other sports or will be played to empty arenas it seems likely that the trip might not happen. A lot can happen in a couple weeks.

 

[camfused]

Wow!!

It's the international flight that's the biggie, I expect.

Yeah, the Delta Rdu<->Cdg we are most interested in.

 

[Sunset]

On day 2 of our road trip. Have driven from Chicago burbs to Grand Junction, Co. Haven’t seen any road travel impacts yet. Hotels and restaurants seem to be operating as usual.

Don’t expect to see much coronavirus impacts on Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Escalante or Zion national parks in the next few days.

ETA - our plan is to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas. Just read that several casino buffets are shutting down for a while.

Nice to hear what it's like outside

I would avoid buffets for the next few months myself.