September 23, 2020

United Begins First U.S. Preflight Virus Test

1 United Airlines will be the first U.S. airline to offer preflight virus testing when it begins a trial program in San Francisco for its Hawai’i-bound passengers.

When Hawai’i (hopefully) reopens to tourism on October 15, it will do so if visitors can provide an approved negative test taken within the last 72 hours. Without that test, visitors will still be required to go into quarantine. United is partnering with GoHealth & Color — both testing administrators approved by the state of Hawai’i — to offer an on-site preflight rapid test for $250 per passenger or a mail-in test for $80.

The price is steep, and that may make it more difficult to achieve large-scale adoption. If the trial for United is successful, the airline plans to roll it out at other hub airports for international travel as well… if any other country is willing to accept the results. Hawaiian Airlines, which has been devastated by its home state’s 14-day quarantine will likely be watching closely to see if can institute a similar program to spur travel back to the islands.

Meanwhile, U.S. ultra-low cost carriers, led by Spirit are going in the opposite direction. Reports say that the ULCC airlines are considering forcing a nasal swab up each passenger’s nose — not to test for the virus, but just because — unless passengers pay a $39.99 fee to opt-out of the swab.


United Closes Eating & Drinking Mask Loophole

2 Ever since airlines required masks on-board, they have allowed an exception while eating or drinking. Naturally, passengers used that loophole to their advantage, nursing a bottle of water or cup of coffee for as long as possible in order to keep their masks off. (We’re looking at you, Senator Cruz.)

United Airlines is the first U.S. airline, with others certain to follow, in closing that clever loophole. The airline will now require masks to be worn at all times except for the actual moment the eating or drinking occurs. It will be permissible to take your mask off your mouth to take a bite of your food or sip of your drink, but the mask will need to go right back on until the next bite or sip.

The new policy is a win-win for passengers in that it will keep masks on for a longer duration, leading to a higher level of safety. Just as importantly, the airline is making it a bit more challenging to eat and drink on-board. Considering what United’s First Class catering consists of, this is a blessing in disguise — or in a mask, if you will.


Virgin Atlantic Rebrands its Loyalty Program

3 With Virgin Atlantic having emerged out of its voluntary administration process, the airline has made a dramatic overhaul to the name of its loyalty program currency, changing from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles to Virgin Points. Take a moment and let that sink in before we move on.

Ultimately, this appears to be a move to create a uniform loyalty currency across Virgin brands, similar to how IAG has made Avios the currency for the British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus programs. In other words, in the future it may be possible to both earn and redeem Virgin Points with other non-airline Virgin brands.

There’s actually some immediate good in this change for passengers. For starters, Virgin Points will now never expire. Previously, Flying Club miles expired after 36 months of inactivity in the account, but that is no more.

To celebrate the rebranding, any travel booked between today and October 1 on Virgin Atlantic is eligible for double points. For those of us who have been accruing virgin points for most of our adult lives, it’s a startling change to see them associated with something positive, so kudos to Virgin Atlantic!


El Al to Resume Passenger Flights

4 El Al has been shuttered for most of the summer, but it is ready to take to the skies again. The airline began operating cargo flights earlier this week and will resume passenger flights on October 1.

The first route to return will be Tel Aviv to Athens, with other key flights resuming shortly after. London/Heathrow, Paris/CDG, and New York/JFK return on October 12.

In addition to El Al restarting, its subsidiary Sun D’Or plans to resume its charter operation in October, first flying to destinations in both Croatia & Greece.


It’s Finally Happening (Maybe, Probably): Final Flight for Berlin/Tegel Scheduled

5 After a decade — literally a decade — of stops and starts, Berlin/Brandenburg Airport is set to open in just over a month, fittingly on Halloween — October 31.

When the airport does finally begin operating, it means Berlin/Tegel, the 4th busiest airport in Germany will finally shut its doors.

Tegel was built after the conclusion of World War II in French-controlled Berlin as an overflow airport to Berlin/Templehof during the Soviet Blockade in 1948 and 1949. Fittingly, the final flight out of Tegel will be Air France flight 1235, a 3 p.m. local time departure to Paris on November 8.

When the final flight backs from the gate and taxis out, it’s expected to receive the typical German honor of a strong, hoppy German beer shot from airport water cannons.


Airline Potpourri

  • Aeroflot is resuming international service to Bishkek (FRU), Minsk (MSQ), Nur-Sultan (NQZ), and Seoul/Incheon.
  • Air Canada received $1.52 billion after refinancing 18 airplanes and other holdings.
  • Austrian Airlines will resume service to Shanghai/Pudong on October 2.
  • Cyprus Airlines has put tickets on sale for its Winter 2020-21 schedule which seems like a good first step in actually selling tickets.
  • Ethiopian is resuming its flight from Addis Ababa (ADD) to New York/JFK via Abidjan (ABJ) with 3x-weekly Dreamliner service on December 16.
  • Eurowings is offering very generous free COVID insurance for anyone who books an international flight through September 27, which is in (checks notes…) three days.
  • Hong Kong Airlines is resuming flying to Taipei with once-weekly flights resuming October 15.
  • Rex will be launching a frequent flyer program, but not until a full year after it has launched flights.
  • United has been punished chosen as the official airline of the end of civilization the 2020 Presidential Debates.

Andrew’s Moment of Levity

A watched pot never boils, but it does get paranoid.