Coronavirus - Travel impacts II

[harllee]

For those planning to go to Maine--the Maine Governor has ordered all lodging and all short term rentals closed. Everyone coming to Maine from another state must go under a mandatory 14 day quarantine. Failure to quarantine is punishable by a $1000 fine and up to 6 months in prison. Not sure if there is any end date.

 

[6miths]

For those planning to go to Maine--the Maine Governor has ordered all lodging and all short term rentals closed. Everyone coming to Maine from another state must go under a mandatory 14 day quarantine. Failure to quarantine is punishable by a $1000 fine and up to 6 months in prison. Not sure if there is any end date.

Six months in prison? That's a bit ironic isn't it?

 

[ncbill]

My kid's roommate is flying back tomorrow via commercial aviation, with several connections...hopefully he won't get stuck somewhere.

If the military hadn't shut down their flights the roomie could have flown direct from his (temporary duty) base to a base an hour's drive away from their shared house.

 

[Nemo2]

Six months in prison? That's a bit ironic isn't it?

Somewhat incongruous when some jurisdictions are talking about releasing prisoners so that they, the prisoners, don't catch the bug.

 

[Independent]

There is nothing preventing you from traveling with your masks now. Roads are open. Planes are flying. Many hotels are still open for business.

But once you travel to your destination, what do you plan on doing? Restaurants are closed. Stores are closed. Parks are closed. No movies, no museums, no public attractions of any kind. And will you feel comfortable staying in a hotel where hundreds of other people have stayed in the same room? How much fun is travel right now under these conditions? Even if you had the virus and recovered and are now theoretically immune, it still would be a lousy time to travel with everything being closed. Why waste the money?

I don't own an RV, but I'm still curious about RV parks. Does anybody know?

 

[REWahoo]

I don't own an RV, but I'm still curious about RV parks. Does anybody know?

Most commercial RV Parks are open while most state and federal campgrounds are closed.

 

[harllee]

There was a segment on NPR this morning that RV rental companies are doing a good business renting RVs to people to park in their own driveways for isolation purposes, like a doctor who wants to isolate from his or her family. The reporter in the NPR report had rented and RV to drive 900 miles to check on his mother who had lost her sense of smell (loss of sense of smell is an indication of Covid 19 in some cases). He parked the RV in his parents driveway and was talking to his parents from the yard.

 

[explanade]

DOT issued a statement a couple of days ago that the airlines MUST refund flights they cancel.

There are some anecdotes of people getting refunds, instead of travel credits or vouchers.

I read one stat that in early March, United at $6 billion in cash on hand but $5 billion worth of tickets on advanced purchases. So that is why they are trying to avoid refunds. They have been telling customers that they have a 12-month travel credit and then if they don't use it for any travel, they will get a refund at the end of the 12 months.

But with the bailout money they're going to get, they may not be able to play that game.

Meanwhile, there was another report that for some period, the airlines collectively have channeled 96% of their cash flow into stock buybacks.

That seems pretty high. Several of the airlines have made big fleet investments in the last 10 years, not just new planes but upgrading of cabins.

 

[MichaelB]

[mod note] Some posts were removed that were not relevant to the thread topic. This is a useful thread, hopefully we can stay on topic.

 

[BarbWire]

Most commercial RV Parks are open while most state and federal campgrounds are closed.

In fact, many commercial RV parks are closed; it depends on state and county regulation. For example, Presidio County, TX (Marfa) required closure of all RV parks on March 23, so everyone who was there -- short term and long term -- had to leave immediately.

In Florida, Monroe County RV parks required everyone who did not have a contract of 28 days or longer to leave.

Elsewhere parks have allowed people already there to extend their stays, but are not allowing any new RVs/reservations.

This is a problem for full-time and extended-time RVers, who are scrambling to find places to go.

Companies like Thousand Trails and KOA are leaving closure decisions up to individual parks; most have stayed open if local regulation allows it, though with constraints (eg., all public areas like bathhouses, restrooms, meeting rooms, etc closed).

 

[NW-Bound]

There is nothing preventing you from traveling with your masks now. Roads are open. Planes are flying. Many hotels are still open for business.

But once you travel to your destination, what do you plan on doing? Restaurants are closed. Stores are closed. Parks are closed. No movies, no museums, no public attractions of any kind...

Agreed. The only option I see is if you had an RV and you wanted to boondock and spend time in the wilderness.

The US/Canada border has been closed, else it could be a good time to enjoy the Alaska wilderness with an RV.

Still the problem is that you need to refuel, and Alaskan gas stations may balk at selling fuel to non-local vehicle owners who may be virus carriers. Some remote towns may even come out at you with pitchforks. You could be stranded in the wilderness until a grizzly stumbles upon you.

PS. I am glad I did my RV trek to Alaska 2 summers ago. I hope to do another one, and even for longer, before I croak.

 

[Aerides]

I'm starting to feel very sad that we won't be able to travel anytime soon...maybe years? But grateful for the travel we had. Memories. But, if we wear our handy dandy N99 masks, why not? Gloves and masks, we can go anywhere, right?

Gloves and masks are ways to mitigate the spread, they are not magical armor. The guidance in most places is still to stay home, and use a mask only when you must go out.

Travel will return, one day. Maybe not this year, maybe not until a vaccine, but it will come back.

We are truly among the fortunate if lack of travel is what's making us sad.

 

[timo2]

Gloves and masks are ways to mitigate the spread, they are not magical armor. The guidance in most places is still to stay home, and use a mask only when you must go out.

Travel will return, one day. Maybe not this year, maybe not until a vaccine, but it will come back.

We are truly among the fortunate if lack of travel is what's making us sad.

The nurses are saying that gloves are mostly a one-time use thing, as in put them on, do a task, then throw them away. Otherwise there is a high risk of cross-contamination. Gloves also get in the way of washing the hands between each task.

 

[Chuckanut]

I cancelled a road trip that was supposed to start later this week. One by one the places I wanted to visit have gone POOF! either by closing state and national parks, and/or severely limiting activities in each town. Thankfully, I have got all my money back.

Today I cancelled a trip to Spain. I cancelled early enough to get my deposit back - 100%. I think if it had been Germany or Ireland I would not have cancelled. But, Spain has been hit so badly that I wonder if it won't have a W curve instead of an upside down V.

I spent last year recovering from knee surgery so I could hit the ground running in 2020. Oh well. I am still shooting for one trip later this year.

 

[BarbWire]

I need to fly to FL (probably MCO, though maybe TPA) for a 1 or two night trip in the last week of May or the first week of June. Not looking forward to flying, to a rental car, and 1-2 nights in a hotel.

Choices for nonstops from Austin or San Antonio are very limited, so on the one hand I want to book the flights now to secure a nonstop flight, but on the other hand I want to wait to book (JetBlue or SWA) to see how things develop and if flights are indeed truly offered on my dates.

Sigh.

 

[BarbWire]

.

Today I cancelled a trip to Spain. I think if it had been Germany or Ireland I would not have cancelled.

When do you expect international travel -- specifically to Europe -- to open up again? I want to book a September trip to the UK and NL but am hesitating. I'm even tempted to go to the UK in August; Scotland may be relatively empty (festivals have been cancelled).

 

[audreyh1]

In fact, many commercial RV parks are closed; it depends on state and county regulation. For example, Presidio County, TX (Marfa) required closure of all RV parks on March 23, so everyone who was there -- short term and long term -- had to leave immediately.

In Florida, Monroe County RV parks required everyone who did not have a contract of 28 days or longer to leave.

Elsewhere parks have allowed people already there to extend their stays, but are not allowing any new RVs/reservations.

This is a problem for full-time and extended-time RVers, who are scrambling to find places to go.

Companies like Thousand Trails and KOA are leaving closure decisions up to individual parks; most have stayed open if local regulation allows it, though with constraints (eg., all public areas like bathhouses, restrooms, meeting rooms, etc closed).

Yeah - I'm glad I'm not full timing right now!

I can't believe they are kicking people out who are staying in RV parks long term! Where are these people supposed to go?

This is definitely not happening in South TX where they have a ton of Winter Texans, who were already there since the beginning of the year.

Of course many of those Winter Texan folks are heading north back home now, and many are having to quarantine when they get there.

 

[Independent]

Gloves and masks are ways to mitigate the spread, they are not magical armor. The guidance in most places is still to stay home, and use a mask only when you must go out.

Travel will return, one day. Maybe not this year, maybe not until a vaccine, but it will come back.

We are truly among the fortunate if lack of travel is what's making us sad.

I agree with the bold.

I'm hoping it works like this -- a month from now we'll have finger prick antibody tests. Millions of people will take them and discover they've manufactured antibodies, even though many will not recall any symptoms.
They will want their lives back. Things will start opening up by/for them. By fall some of them will be looking for travel bargains.

 

[BarbWire]

Yes, this is not a good time to be full-timing and dependent on RV parks.

Lots of full-timers have simply headed to BLM and NF lands to boondock. But the BLM is closing some of those areas to new arrivals -- most notably around Quartzite -- saying the areas are "full" (ie, the BLM can't handle any more people flocking to the area).

Other popular areas, such as the BLM lands around Moab, might be shut down in the coming week or two, as rural communities beg people NOT to come because they simply don't have the medical infrastructure to handle a load of ill patients.

My Santa Fe house sit ends on May 8, and I'll be back as a full-time RVer in my camping van. I'm not sure where I'll go, as the camping situation changes daily.

 

[REWahoo]

I found this listing of closed RV campgrounds in the US:

State by State Campground Closures & Responses to COVID-19

Summary:

Forty out of fifty states have closed or delayed opening their state park system campgrounds:

Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah*, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

All Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds, nationwide, are closed.

A few states have classified private RV parks as ‘non-essential’ businesses, and have ordered them closed – or placed strong restrictions on access to them: Connecticut, Virginia, Maine, Maryland, West Virginia, Vermont, Ohio*

In addition, most National Park campgrounds are closed.

Sounds like potential misery for full-timers.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My kids want to postpone our trip to 8/2021 which is fine but I wonder if I will feel safe going then to Europe.

 

[Chuckanut]

When do you expect international travel -- specifically to Europe -- to open up again? I want to book a September trip to the UK and NL but am hesitating. I'm even tempted to go to the UK in August; Scotland may be relatively empty (festivals have been cancelled).

My expectation is a 50/50 chance international travel will be safe this Fall. I base that on nothing more than reading a lot of information and my instincts. I have learned to trust my instincts.

One reason I cancelled was to preserve my money. So far I have not lost so much as 1¢ on any cancellation. This means if things look good for Fall I can still do my much delayed trip to New England even if the market takes another big drop. After that, who knows? Other than the dreaded airlines, I usually avoid booking non-refundable anything (unless it is a steal of a deal). And given the airlines tendency to make using the funds from a cancelled trip as difficult as possible, I won't book tickets until I get much closer to Fall, if I go anywhere. I don't trust the airlines.

 

[tulak]

Good news today. Norwegian let me cancel both of my May flights. That was the biggest expense I had left, so even if the European flights aren't reimbursed, it's not that big a deal. I'd be out $65 and about 20k in points.

The $65 flight is with EasyJet. It looks like they've only cancelled flights until the end of April. The point flights are with BA and LOT. I suspect those might be harder to get reimbursed.

Unsurprisingly, some airlines are trying really hard not to refund fares. It's almost comical on how difficult they are trying to make it. But it's really easy to get a voucher.

I was hoping to take a trip to Asia (Japan/Taiwan) in September. I also want to make a quick trip to Europe this summer to visit family since I cancelled the May trip. At this point, I agree that it's 50/50 for any travel. We should know more around June, probably not any sooner.

 

[Trooper]

DOT issued a statement a couple of days ago that the airlines MUST refund flights they cancel.

What if the airline moves you onto another flight for the same day, and then cancels the original flight? AA just emailed me that my flight on Thursday, which they've been canceling regularly, has been changed to a flight later in the day.

Do I have grounds for a refund?

 

[explanade]

What if the airline moves you onto another flight for the same day, and then cancels the original flight? AA just emailed me that my flight on Thursday, which they've been canceling regularly, has been changed to a flight later in the day.

Do I have grounds for a refund?

Domestic flight?

If the change is more than 6 hours, I heard you may have grounds.