On the Go – October 8, 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

Airlines Hope Health Pass Will Have People Flying Again (Source: Skift)
United Airlines is one of two airlines that will test CommonPass, an app designed to provide a universally recognized means for passengers to present coronavirus test results and, eventually, proof of vaccination.

Harvard Study: Enhanced Cleaning Onboard Airplanes Helps Reduce Infection Risk (Source: Delta News Hub)
Disinfecting aircraft cabins is a key part of a multi-layered public health risk-reduction strategy, according to a technical bulletin published this week by faculty at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The findings support Delta’s extensive cleaning practices, including our industry-leading commitment to electrostatic spraying of high-touch surfaces using high-grade disinfectant on every flight, every day.

Air Canada Results Support Tests as Quarantine Alternative (Source: Business Travel News)
Air Canada reports that with 13,000 passengers tested in Toronto, fewer than 1% were positive for coronavirus and 80% of those were identified in their initial test, rather than a test taken 7 days after arrival. “Rapid testing is also a means to enable governments to relax current blanket travel restrictions and quarantines in a measured way while still safeguarding the health and safety of the public,” said Air Canada’s chief medical officer, Jim Chung.

JetBlue Extends Capacity Restrictions Through December 1 (Source: PaxExAero)
JetBlue has extended its limited capacity policy through Dec. 1 but is slightly increasing the number of seats it will book. The airline said it is experiencing a higher than normal number of no-shows and seating families together should keep middle seats open for most passengers.

Lysol Team Tours Delta Facilities At N.Y. Airport (Source: Delta News Hub)
A team of experts from RB, the company that makes Lysol, toured Delta facilities at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and held focus groups with flight attendants and customer service agents as part of the companies’ partnership to refine disinfection protocols. “We are able to better understand: What are the various surfaces made of? What are the combinations of interactions between employees and passengers? And what are the products we would recommend for the best disinfection…to provide consumers with peace of mind?” said Marcia Bole, Lysol’s vice president of research and development operations.

General Interest

XpresSpa Pivots to Become Airport Testing Provider (Source: The New York Times)
XpresSpa has shifted from providing beauty treatments to offering rapid coronavirus testing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International airport in New Jersey.

Hotels

Noted Rosewood Mansion Hotel Opens New Dallas Chapter (Source: The Dallas Morning News)
A landmark Dallas luxury hotel sports a makeover as it observes its 40th anniversary. The nine-story Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek Hotel adjoins a near-century-old Italian Renaissance house that was restored and reborn as a restaurant that remains a local favorite.

Airports

U.S. Airports Roll Out COVID Tests In Bid To Open Travel Markets (Source: Travel Weekly)
After lagging behind much of the world for months, U.S. airports and airlines now appear poised to ramp up on-site Covid-19 testing, a step they say is key to reopening travel markets during the pandemic.

Leisure Travel

New Flood Barriers Keep Venice Drier (Source: CNN)
Venice’s new flood barriers held this weekend, keeping out the seasonal rise of the Adriatic Sea that stifled tourism in some of the city’s most popular areas. But the new system didn’t keep everything dry, including St. Mark’s Square, which had calf-deep water but lots of tourists taking selfies.