There's a scene in the Tom Hanks movie "Big" where, after his 12-year old character has his carnival wish granted to be a grown-up, he lands a job at a toy company and is shown working like a fiend. A co-worker admonishes him to slow down or it ruins it for everybody else in the office.
The point being, if you set that precedent then the bosses will come to expect it every week. You won't be able to walk it back.
I thought of that moment in the film this week after hearing the news that United was becoming the first airline to launch a pilot COVID-19 testing program for some passengers, a rapid test that delivers results in 15 minutes. The tests are opt-in, not mandatory.
It's something the airlines have been pushing for in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated air travel to the point where demand is 70 percent less than what it was just a year ago at this time.
The airlines believe the rapid tests will serve as an alternative, of sorts, to travel restrictions such as the mandatory 14-day quarantine for all visitors who arrive in Hawaii. In fact, this pilot program by United starts with passengers traveling from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii.
The program starts Oct. 15 as passengers can either take the COVID-19 test administered by the airline or take a self-collected mail-in test that must be submitted 72 hours before flying.
If successful, know one thing about this test. You won't be able to walk it back - precedent will be set.
In fact, precedent has already been set in the airline industry. In my humble opinion, there will also be no walking it back from face masks. Forget the vaccine; the vaccine could be approved tomorrow and eviscerate the coronavirus down to the last man on the face of the earth, but face masks as a preventative measure are here to stay.
And so is the rapid test.
Even if the virus is eliminated there could likely be tests for other ailments that a financially strapped airline industry would consider utilizing. Already, American Airlines is considering a test similar to United's and Lufthansa plans to offer COVID-19 antigen tests next month starting with business- and first-class passengers.
If anything, the coronavirus has taught all of us, including the travel industry, how disruptive a pandemic can be. The last one, more than 100 years ago in 1918, barely touched travel. A trans-Atlantic flight? What's that? That didn't happen for another 21 years, until 1939.
A century later, it's all about speed. And, let's be honest - travel in this era certainly helped spread the coronavirus.
So, yes, face masks and temperature checks and rapid tests are all here to stay.
It's not exactly walking down a slippery slope. But it is something you won't be walking back from.
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