Travelers Are Packing More Than Suitcases; They Are Packing Airports And Planes, Too
Ahh, those familiar phrases of airline travel are back again.
“This is a full flight so please board in the order that is on your boarding pass.”
“This is a full flight so please quickly take your seats.”
“The overhead bin space is all taken in the back so put your bag wherever you find a space.”
“This IS a full flight so please take your seats so the other passengers can board the plane.”
Airline travel is back in America and in a big way. All four of my flights the first of June were at max capacity, middle seats occupied and everyone squished in like sardines.
In other words, traveling was just like it was before the COVID-19 shutdowns.
This was evident not just on the planes but in the airports. I should have taken photos of people lined up at the food stations; it was 20-deep at some. In the Denver airport, more than a dozen people were waiting to get into a sports-themed bar/restaurant. I have rarely seen people waiting to get into a sit-down restaurant in an airport.
The gate areas were so crammed it was difficult to find a place to sit. In San Diego’s small Southwest Airlines terminal there was not one available seat and it was difficult to even find a place in which to lean.
Even the good prices for flights are gone now; tickets are several hundred dollars now rather than a couple of hundred during the pandemic days.
So if you haven’t traveled in a while and are still thinking you can get a great deal on a half-empty flight, you can kiss those thoughts goodbye. You’re going to find it difficult to get a reasonable fare and you’re going to be sitting on a crowded plane.
Most likely, you’ll be hearing the “this is a full flight” announcement more times than you care to count.
Related Posts:
Why It’s Time To Remove The Masks Required Order For U.S. Travelers
Travel Blogger Stumbles But Quickly Adjusts As Air Travel Returns To Normal
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