American Airlines Policies Risk Further Spread of Coronavirus

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jun 28, 2020 | 5 comments

American Airlines recently announced that as of July 1st, they’re going back to the way things were, as if nothing had changed. They’ll be selling their planes to 100% capacity with no social distancing or seat blocking whatsoever. Their policies are reckless and foolish, and coupled with their hub geography, could lead to an ever further spread of the coronavirus all over the United States.

American Airlines New Policy

While they mention that they’re going to offer you the option to change flights, there is no guarantee that the next flight that you’ll switch to is going to be any less full.

That’s because all the airlines, including American Airlines, have cut capacity in an effort to cut costs. While on paper it might make sense for them to offer you a change, in reality, it just won’t happen.

So much for social distancing, American Airlines. 40k new cases of #COVID19 two days ago. #AmericanAirlines pic.twitter.com/4zWy9R7yRY

— Kate (@Kate26405394) June 25, 2020

While the policy matches that of United Airlines, United hasn’t really hid the fact that they don’t care too much about safety or their customers, as evidenced most recently by redefining what the word “cancelled” meant.

The Hubs

Further complicating matters, while shucking social distancing norms and CDC guidelines to the side, American Airlines is further hampered by their hub system. The largest hubs for American Airlines, in Miami, Phoenix, Dallas, and Charlotte, are in states where new Coronavirus cases are rampant and out of control.

Here’s Texas‘ numbers for new cases of the coronavirus

North Carolina’s reaching new record highs in new cases

Arizona isn’t any better

And in these states where cases are on the rise, American Airlines has decided to cram as many people into the planes as possible.

For reference, here’s the total cases of the USA.

But, is flying safe?

Gary from View from the Wing recently wrote about how inherently flying in a plane probably isn’t that unsafe. The problem rests that airlines will expect travelers to self-police themselves, and if they “don’t feel healthy” then they shouldn’t board planes. 

We all know that asking a group of selfish people to self-police just isn’t going to happen. That’s why we see so many videos of “Karen” claiming that she has a medical condition and can’t wear a mask. Don’t even get me started on the people who now have printed out cards saying “you can’t discriminate me because of a medical condition,” but they can deny you to fly on their planes.

The airplane itself isn’t my only concern. It’s also the airport, the TSA line, the gate crowding and more. 

TSA pre Check, from google

It simply doesn’t make sense that I’m required to keep 6 feet of distance at a Home Depot, at my bank, and the grocery store, but it’s perfectly acceptable for airlines to shove 162 people into a plane because, ya know, they’ve used hand sanitizer.

Vote with your wallet or simply don’t fly, but if I were you, I’d be avoiding American Airlines in the near future.