On the Go – August 13, 2020

Industry News – Click on the title to read the full article. Many of the sources below require a free registration to gain access to the article. If a paid registration is required, the individual source will be noted.

* * For the latest COVID-19 travel industry information, please click on this link:

https://traveloneinc.com/covid-19-industry-information/

Airlines

Delta CEO, Flight Attendant Discuss Building Passenger Trust (Source: Delta News Hub)
In a Q&A, Delta CEO Ed Bastian spoke with flight attendant Polrit Disatapundhu about prioritizing the health and wellbeing of customers and crew with layers of protection and passenger confidence. “When you’re on my flight, my job is to welcome you into my ‘home’,” Disatapundhu said. “I take seriously your trust in me as your host, and you need to know my commitment is to make this as safe as my own house.”

American Airlines Extends Complimentary Rebooking (Source: TravelPulse)
American Airlines has extended complimentary rebooking for tickets purchased by Sept. 30. The tickets must be for travel scheduled by Dec. 31.

US Airlines Tighten Face Covering Requirements (Source: USA Today)
All major US airlines are requiring face coverings for passengers over age 2, and American, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest do not allow medical exemptions, while Delta and Hawaiian require passengers who cannot wear a face covering to clear a virtual medical screening process.

General Interest

Healthy Skies Act is Key to Restoring Air Travel (Source: Fortune)
Noting that “an interconnected nation like ours cannot stand still,” Representatives Ted Budd, R-N.C.; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; and John Larson, D-Conn. have introduced the Healthy Skies Act to get the nation back in the air and back on its feet, beginning with a trial program of passenger temperature screenings at 10 domestic airports. “Ultimately, our job in Congress is to help find ways to slow the spread of this pandemic and facilitate a great economic comeback,” Budd and Norman write.

State Department Lifts International Travel Advisory (Source: FlightGlobal)
The US State Department has lifted its blanket advisory urging Americans to reconsider all international travel due to the coronavirus and returned to country-specific warnings. “With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice,” the agency said.

Security

TSA to Install Acrylic Safety Barriers at Airports (Source: TravelPulse)
The Transportation Security Administration has awarded a contract for acrylic safety barriers that will be installed at podiums and baggage screening equipment in 37 high-priority airports. “The ongoing installation of additional acrylic barriers adds a substantial layer of protection in our ongoing effort to ensure the health and safety of our workforce and airline passengers,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

Airports

Airport of the Future Will Have No Check-In or Security Lines (Source: Bloomberg)
Navigating the Roman circus of obstacles known as an international airport is likely the one thing travelers aren’t missing during the Covid-19 crisis. Now that forecasts predict tourism won’t fully recover until 2023, these transit centers are getting a rare, low-traffic chance to make many of the changes flyers have long wanted—along with upgrades they never imagined. Among them: disinfection booths, biometric security scans, automated customs and border patrol screenings, and enhanced self-check-in stations. Together, they represent the most significant overhaul of the airport experience since Sept. 11.

Hotel

Canopy by Hilton Comes to Philadelphia, NYC Area (Source: TravelPulse)
Philadelphia and the New York City area each have welcomed their first Canopy by Hilton hotel. East Market is the location of the 236-room Canopy by Hilton Philadelphia Center City, and New Jersey’s Canopy by Hilton Jersey City Arts District features 211 rooms.