[MarcusGB]

The latest KLM updates from the CEO.
It was sent to all Flying Blue members, customers, and released to The Press. Several updates have been issued in recent weeks.

It does show some forethought of measures for the future also at least….

https://news.klm.com/covid-19-flying-with-klm—social-distancing-and-other-measures-on-board/

[K1ngston]

I dont know how many of you have Netflix but yesterday there was a limited documentary on the Pandemic and their views are that there will no cure ie social distancing and not travelling etc, will not end the outbreak until they come up with a vaccine for Covid 19 which they are saying is at least a year away in certain countries?

I am not sure our economies or indeed life as is will be able to sustain for that period of time so we need to come up with something that will allow the world to get back to work and life again! My job necessitates that I travel I am getting by working from home but is not sustainable long term, so whether its SD on planes or other “preventative measures” we do need to explore them all…..

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canucklad, LuganoPirate

[canucklad]

[quote quote=996818]I agree that people will need to decide whether they need to travel or not – but what if you need to travel for work? this possibly takes the decision out of your hands[/quote]

The more i think about it, the more I see business travel sliding down the priority list.

First & foremost, simply because most companies will air on the side of safety and a duty of care to their employees

So currently social distancing on aircraft should be manageable, considering current loads and its mainly repatriation make-up
For me, why social distancing is really unrealistic in the long term is because the priority needs to be the easing of leisure travel.
This sector is the one demographic that is essential to kick start our economies. And like it or not, the Ryanair model is a proven wealth spreader
! And MOL has pretty much discounted ( sorry for the pun) social distancing on FR flights

[n166]

[postquote quote=996882][/postquote]

btw apologies, i accidentally clicked ‘Report’ on your comment rather than ‘Quote’! i’m a newbie here, sorry!

agreed, imagine a company sending someone abroad for work and the employee catches covid while away – not worth the risk

here’s hoping for a vaccine sooner rather than later. a team at Oxford University say they will have a million doses ready by September, but that’s highly optimistic.
however, i do think that the talk of a vaccine taking 12-18 months could be govts and companies preparing us for the worst. 12-18 months is a pretty quick timeline for a normal drug, but with the amount of focus on this, i’m sure we’ll see a lot of expediting of processes etc (not at the expense of safety) to get a vaccine out sooner than 12 months. i hope!

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Tom Otley

[MartynSinclair]

If you can find the Sky Business news interview with John Holland-Kaye earlier today (1st May 2020) well worth viewing. In the meantime the BBC summarised what was said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52504183

Even is there was social distancing of sorts on aircraft, if the airports cant support social distancing what’s the point of all the faffing about from gate to gate. How is the public transport such as trains and underground going to cope with social distancing, getting passengers to the airport.

Probably the easiest solution is to wear a fully enclosed hazmat suit for any form of travelling, if supplies can be found.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=997288]Probably the easiest solution is to wear a fully enclosed hazmat suit for any form of travelling, if supplies can be found.[/quote]

Good luck heading through security in that, either in UK or at destination.

I would have said the easiest solution was to stay at home if concerned.

[openfly]

How will the flight crew distance themselves, two metres apart, in the flight deck?!

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FaroFlyer

[FaroFlyer]

[postquote quote=997298][/postquote]

I am trying to imagine how an emergency evacuation might look:-)

[Cedric_Statherby]

[quote quote=997296]I would have said the easiest solution was to stay at home if concerned.[/quote]

I agree, and not just “if concerned”, but also “if not willing to put up with the hassle, inconvenience and cost”. That I think is the more likely reaction of the leisure traveller. If flying is going to involve arriving at the airport a minimum of 4 hours before the flight, medical checks once there, special clothing, inflated seat prices (because the aeroplanes are not full) and possibly even a period of isolation when one reaches one’s destination (as Australia and New Zealand, to name but two, are insisting), then stag weekends, city breaks and the like become out of the question and long haul holidays become a “once in a blue moon” adventure, with people taking perhaps one holiday overseas every three years but making it last 3 months.

Business travel will have a different dynamic, but will still I think be much reduced. I am not in the camp that says that, having discovered video-conferencing, there will be no place for face to face meetings any more, but undoubtedly the cost-benefit calculation will be different.

In effect we will be returning to the 1930s, when air travel was for the very rich, the very leisured with masses of time, or the very important.

Thinking more widely, much of this thread, and most of the statements coming out of the various airlines, is revolving around the question “How can we recreate at least a semblence of the flying we had before?” Unless and until a reliable vaccine is found, I think the answer is that we will find we cannot. And if we do not find a vaccine, or create herd immunity, it is quite possible that the LCC business model of “pile it high, sell it cheap” will simply not return at all. Instead airlines will have to get used to being much smaller, and offering a premium product for a much reduced customer base which is willing to pay more but will want good service in return, and we the flying public will return to treating air travel as an occasional, expensive and exciting adventure rather than a routine part of our lives.

Which may not be what anyone on this forum ideally wants to see, but it is not an impossible future.

[ASK1945]

Cedric

I don’t disagree with what you have written above. However, there are other dynamics which will pressurise authorities and airlines to relax rules, reduce prices and whatever. I give, as one example only, the tourist industry in the Canary Islands.

I don’t know what proportion of their gross income comes from tourists, most of whom fly into the islands, but my guess is that it is large. The missing tourists from Northern Europe will not be replaced by locals holidaying at home. I cannot see that it will take long before the local and national Spanish government authorities will need to take measures to encourage the tourists to return.

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Montysaurus

[Cedric_Statherby]

[quote quote=997311]However, there are other dynamics which will pressurise authorities and airlines to relax rules[/quote]

I am sure you are right, and there will be many many countries, notably in the Third World, where a return of the tourist industry is of critical national importance. But it raises an interesting question – will the tourists risk returning to countries and flying on airlines which have lowered their standards in this way?

Shades of Groucho Marx, who once said he would not join any club who would have him. I suspect some tourism will revive; the young are always adventurous and believe themselves to be immortal (and in the case of this disease they are less affected anyway it seems). But I do doubt that masstourism will for some time.

[SimonS1]

I agree. I think a return will come quite quickly, as there is a need to get economies moving and beyond matters of national importance I suspect that governments will want to encourage that.

Individuals will need to make decisions on what suits them (whether to isolate, travel etc), appreciating that it will be hard for airlines and airports to enforce any serious distancing measures.

[MartynSinclair]

For those interested in additional protection – the new norm essential travel fashion ‘Hazmat fashion’.

Cant see any airport security having problems with ‘Hazmat fashion’ – after all, face coverings have been accepted for many years.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fashion+hazmat+suits+on+runways&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB854GB854&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=s5U7KZsAvZKvLM%253A%252Cc2JcUmuNWZwcIM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRfn0x-5hRWcZzXpi7-NAsltRDRmw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHhYaCj5XpAhVoShUIHYduBZoQ9QEwAXoECAoQHg#imgrc=s5U7KZsAvZKvLM:

[capetonianm]

In effect we will be returning to the 1930s, when air travel was for the very rich, the very leisured with masses of time, or the very important

I agree, but not quite to the degree that you imply. As I’ve said before, I would willingly pay more for a better experience when travelling. I do anyway in that at least my longhaul travel is in PE or C, but most airports are crowded and unpleasant, with long security and immigration queues. I’ve often found that that the business or paid lounges are so crowded that I prefer to find a quiet corner where I can sit ‘far from the madding crowd’, even if it means sitting on the floor or a window ledge. But then I am ochlophobic and anti-social!

[GivingupBA]

ASK1945 said, “……I give, as one example only, the tourist industry in the Canary Islands. I don’t know what proportion of their gross income comes from tourists, most of whom fly into the islands, but my guess is that it is large. The missing tourists from Northern Europe will not be replaced by locals holidaying at home…”

And also true of course for so many places – in Italy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, the Caribbean, Bali, Thailand, Tahiti, the rest of Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the UK – to randomly name just a few.

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