Meet The Woman Who Flew 50 Times During The Pandemic

Nebraska native Heather Toth is a Luxury Travel Advisor and Cruise Planners franchise owner. She's also one of the rare few who regularly traveled by airplane since the pandemic began.

In fact, she's flown fifty times, never once having caught COVID-19 in the process. After such a great experience, she's hoping to inspire more people to start flying, too.

TravelPulse (TP): Why did you fly 50 times during a pandemic?

Heather Toth (HT): For years I have lived a dual state life. My family is blended, and my husband is in the Air Force. I split my time between wherever he is stationed and Omaha where my children live, and I run my travel agency. I typically fly 4-6 times per month between the two states. Not all my travel was related to family circumstances during the pandemic, but it was the vast majority. Because I am a travel advisor, I felt a responsibility to my clients to not just advise but to experience vacationing during Covid so I could truly guide them in decision making. Since the summer of 2020, I have traveled for leisure via plane to Tampa, Destin, Las Vegas, Denver and San Diego.

TP: How did you feel the first time you flew, and how did your mindset change throughout the pandemic and your subsequent flights?

HT: The first time I flew during the pandemic I was terrified not knowing if it was safe. I have never been so fearful to board a plane or even go into an airport. We knew so little about the spread of Covid at that time. As I flew more frequently and mask mandates, etc. became mandatory, a new normal started to take shape for me. I paid close attention to Covid studies, industry news and seeing airline safety processes firsthand helped ease my fears. By mid-summer 2020 I was comfortable in the air again and back to my pre-Covid travel routines.

TP: Describe what it was like the first time you traveled by plane during the pandemic, and how that changed the more you traveled.

HT: The progression of air travel was interesting to observe. In the beginning, airports were eerily silent. I saw more airport/airline staff than travelers. Almost no one was wearing a mask including myself. I had strict rituals of wiping down surfaces on the plane and not eating or using the restroom. After flying I would sanitize anything I took with me in the garage of my house including the inside of my car and my clothes. Then came a flurry of changes that were so drastic in such a short time it was fear-inducing. Mask mandates, travel quarantines, boarding/seating restrictions and suspension or extreme limitation of inflight services.

As the months went on more people trickled into airports. Row restrictions moved to just middle seats. Observing passengers' self-protection attempts was interesting to say the least: hazmat suits, rain ponchos and even costumes. For most of 2021, airports have been busy and flights have been full. It is still easy to spot those who are flying for the first time, they are heavily armed with protection gear and have fear in their eyes.

TP: What has flying fifty times during the pandemic taught you?

HT: I think what stands out to me most about frequent flying during the pandemic is how much the ability to travel really affects our lives. Despite how connected we think we are in this digital society, taking away our ability to see people and places in person shows how important travel is. We have our routines, our communities, our personal beliefs, and this is our bubble of normal. The pandemic isolated us and made it uncomfortable for us to step outside of that bubble. I am thankful that my life circumstances caused me to travel as much as it did. This forced me outside of isolation and gave me the ability to experience different people and places during a difficult and unique time in our world. Travel gives us this and I hope we all never take it for granted once the pandemic ends.

TP: Have you flown multiple different airlines? If so, did you notice a difference in how they were responding to the pandemic?

HT: My flights have been on most of the major airlines: Alaska, Southwest, Delta and United. My experience is that all airlines had good policies and cleanliness after the initial shut down. Social distancing in seating and boarding was good though exiting the plane was not great once more passengers were flying. People crowded the aisles on all airlines. I found Southwest to be (and still is) the strictest regarding mask-wearing and enforcements even
requesting passengers keep masks on between sips and bites of food. Delta did the best for keeping low contact. Upon boarding passengers were given a small bag with hand sanitizer, snack, and drink. It cut down the need for interaction with flight attendants and eased fear.

TP: You wrote in your blog post that you never got COVID-19. What pieces of advice can you give to travelers who are hesitant about flying?

HT: My best advice for flying and avoiding COVID at this point in the pandemic is to assess your own risk but don't be ruled by fear. Trust the science and countless studies that flying is safe. Travel standards like washing your hands and wiping down your tray table are always a good idea regardless of COVID. The upgrades in cleaning and filtration that have been implemented should give additional peace of mind. I believe airlines want us to be safe. It keeps us all moving forward towards ending the pandemic and opening travel worldwide.

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