Robin Gilmore
Flying During a Pandemic: Los Angeles

Jelvon flew from her hometown to her current home in the midst of the pandemic to prepare for a cross-country move. And here's what her experience was like...

Q. Where did you fly from and to, and did you have any layovers?
A. On July 5 I flew from Cleveland, Ohio to Los Angeles, California with no layovers on Spirit Airlines.
Q. What was your check-in experience like at your starting airport?
A. The check-in experience was fine, not many people were there. When I tried to get my boarding pass on my phone it said error, so I went to use the self-service check-in kiosk. The self-service kiosk ultimately still made me go up to the counter, and they printed my boarding pass.
There was a long, not so socially distanced line for security, but luckily I have TSA Precheck and was through security in around two minutes

Q. What was the boarding experience like and was there anything unusual?
A. It was not unusual, they called the normal zones and everyone did their best not to stand right behind the person in front of them, but the flight was pretty full (and Spirit isn't blocking middle seats or limiting the sale of seats on flights) so it was not well enforced.
Q. What was the flying experience like and what key things did you notice?
A. The experience was pleasant overall. They made an announcement that they had cleaned the plane with hospital-grade disinfectant before we boarded and installed air filters that purified the air every three minutes. They asked everyone to wear their face coverings for the duration of the flight, which was good.
I thought airlines were still not booking middle seats or doing beverage service, but this plane with quite full and they did still offer a beverage service for purchase.

Q. Is there anything else that caught you off guard or would be good to know for other travelers at this time?
A. I still took a second to wipe down my seat and seat belt with a disinfectant wipe, and made sure to avoid touching things I didn’t have to. I kept my mask and face shield on from when I arrived at the Cleveland airport to when I arrived at my house in LA.
Do whatever is going to make you feel the most safe and comfortable, and don’t be surprised to find someone occupying that middle seat!

Whether it's for business or pleasure, people are still flying and traveling. If you have a trip that you need planned or have questions about traveling, give us a call or email us. We look forward to making sure you enjoy your trip and travel safely.

