The Future of Airline Travel Is Already Here

When it comes to the future of airline travel, the key words to remember are ‘precedent’ and ‘protocol.’

Both have already been set in the midst of a global health pandemic and, well, for lack of a better phrase, we ain’t goin’ back.

That was the basic message of representatives from American, Delta and United airlines, who took part Monday in a webcast entitled, "Travel, Our Future and Yours: A Series of Conversations With Industry Leaders."

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The webinars are hosted by Northstar Travel Group's retail travel brands, TravelPulse, Travel Weekly and Travel AgeWest.

The panelists featured a six-pack of heavy hitters – Kyle Mabry, VP, Global Head of Leisure, Groups, and Mid-Market Sales, American Airlines; Alison Taylor, Chief Customer Officer, American Airlines; Bob Somers, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Delta Air Lines; Jennie Ho, President, Delta Vacations; Jake Cefolia, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, United Airlines; and Joe Tibble, Managing Director, Global Agency Accounts, United Airlines.

Most of the discussion in the hour-long webcast, which included slideshows from each airline, centered on health and safety protocols that have already been put in place – and will remain long after the virus is gone.

“We didn’t know anything about (Zoom) and fogging and HEPA filters six months ago,” Somers said. “Now we’re all experts on it.”

Taylor, from American Airlines, was prescient when she said, “Health and safety should not be a competitive discussion," which might have been a shot at United Airlines. It was hard to interpret. However, it wasn’t hard to interpret the remarks of Somers, who said of blocking middle seats: “It is not a PR move. It is CSC-driven. We believe it’s the right and responsible thing to do.”

That was most definitely a reply to United’s defense of its decision earlier this month to begin selling middle seats again.

In a potentially controversial statement, United chief communications officer Josh Earnest said on a conference call that “When it comes to blocking middle seats, that’s a PR strategy, that’s not a safety strategy.”

It is also likely that face masks will continue to be mandatory measures taken by all airlines. Taylor noted that at American, “We have under 1 percent of our travelers who have refused to wear a mask,” even though the issue remains a hotly contested battle of wills between those who comply and those who think their rights are being taken away.

With the close proximity of people on airlines, it's been a huge problem in aviation. Delta CEO Ed Bastian has been a proponent of having the federal government step in and mandate face masks, but the Trump administration has so far declined.

Somers said Delta has placed 87 people on the no-fly list so far for violating face mask rules. Just today it announced that anyone who cannot wear a mask because of health conditions will face a virtual medical evaluation before being allowed to fly.

As for the lowered demand in travel, United’s Cefolia said, “Leisure is about the only demand that is existing right now. Because we’ve never been in a situation like this, we’re not sure where demand is going to return first.”

Air travel has always changed and adapted and will continue to do so, but it's clear that the pandemic has brought on rapid changes that are here to stay for good. The future of air travel is here and now.