air travel

Cheap Airport Parking?
Cheap Airport Parking? 696 464 Greg Ellifritz

Despite the ease of availability of ride sharing apps and taxis, I prefer to drive to the airport and park there.

 

I’m worried that the Uber or taxi driver will see my luggage, combine that with my airport destination and come to the conclusion that my house is going to be empty for a while.  I think it exposes me to an unnecessary risk of burglary.

 

When I travel internationally, I do not carry a gun.  Especially in our contentious times, I may want a gun immediately available upon my return home.  I keep a spare pistol locked in a lockbox which is securely attached to a structural component of the car.  If I need to “gun up” immediately upon landing, I can do so.  I can’t do that if I call an Uber.  DO NOT LEAVE AN UNSECURED GUN IN YOUR PARKED VEHICLE!

 

For $20 you can keep your gun out of a criminal’s hands

 

So I usually drive myself to the airport.  Finding cheap parking for long vacations can be challenging.  The website 10X Travel recently provided some information that will help find the cheapest parking option at every airport.  Check it out at the article below.

 

 

8 Websites That Help You Find Airport Parking for Cheap

 

How Covid-19 is Affecting Air Travel
How Covid-19 is Affecting Air Travel 1340 500 Greg Ellifritz

This post is just a quick note to highlight some of the travel changes in the wake of Covid-19.  I flew domestically last month.  There were not many changes other than the fact that the airlines required masks and that there was no meal/drink service on board.

I’m flying internationally this week.  I’ll update you with more information after my trip.  Until then, here are some references to help you navigate travel in the pandemic age.

U.S. Airlines Are Now Banning This Kind of Face Mask

Don’t plan on flying if you are wearing a mask with an exterior vent valve.  Open chin bandanna face coverings are also prohibited.

 

The Odds of Catching Covid on a Flight Are Slim

“What Barnett came up with was that we have about a 1/4300 chance of getting Covid-19 on a full 2-hour flight — that is, about 1 in 4300 passengers will pick up the virus, on average. The odds of getting the virus are about half that, 1/7700, if airlines leave the middle seat empty. He’s posted his results as a not-yet-peer-reviewed preprint.

The odds of dying of a case contracted in flight, he found, are even lower — between 1 in 400,000 and 1 in 600,000 — depending on your age and other risk factors. To put that in perspective, those odds are comparable to the average risk of getting a fatal case in a typical two hours on the ground.”

 

Flying in 2020 and 2021: How Airlines Are Adapting and How Passengers Can Stay Safe

Some interesting predictions about upcoming changes in the airline industry.

 

This CEO has flown 33 times and spent 160 nights away this year. Here’s his safety routine

These practices seem a bit extreme to me, but if you are truly paranoid about catching the Coronavirus while traveling, here are some ideas that may help.

 

 

 

Worldwide Airport Security Measures
Worldwide Airport Security Measures 113 300 Greg Ellifritz

This is a very informative article about how security practices differ in other countries

Does More Security at Airports Make Us Safer or Just Move the Targets?

Not surprisingly, the article concludes that more security doesn’t always keep you safer.  If you are interested in airport security, you may also want to read Seven Ways to Stay Safe in Airports.

 

Pandemic Flight Precautions
Pandemic Flight Precautions 283 178 Greg Ellifritz

I just flew out to Phoenix, Arizona to take a training class.  It was my first flight since early February.  Flying in a mask was strange.  Both legs of my flight were completely full.  The planes and airports seemed exceptionally clean.  I guess it remains to be seen if all of these precautions worked, but I am not ill yet.

 

The rules are constantly changing.  We really don’t know what works best.  Most of us are guessing and trying to establish best practices for keeping healthy.

 

I’ve found the articles below to be helpful.  Read them and get some ideas as to what tactics other travelers are employing.  Take Bruce Lee’s advice.  “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.”

 

Flying Isn’t Just a Big Coronavirus Risk

 

If You Have To Fly in a Pandemic, Here’s Where to Sit on the Plane

 

How Rules Have Changed at TSA Checkpoints

 

CORONAVIRUS AND TRAVEL: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (PLUS RESOURCES)

 

I flew on the 4 biggest US airlines during the pandemic to see which is handling it best