My husband and I have a trip planned next month to Montana and were debating whether we should stick with our flight or drive instead. Our flight is with AA out of dfw (about 3 hr flight) vs driving. Driving would take two full days (21 hrs total) with a hotel stay along the way. Any advise from those that have flown would be greatly appreciated.

Just flew back from Bozeman. Easy and well worth it! Wouldn't worry at all!

I would not look forward to flying and would drive if I had the time. I would not drive and sacrifice days of my vacation to do so. Most airlines are mandating masks and taking precautions like no service during the flights so be prepared for that. Also, last time I flew almost everyone had their own anti bacterial wipes and cleaned their own areas which seems smart. I also saw an older person with a sheet they covered their seat with.

If you are healthy, it seems like a risk worth taking.

We leave on a three day driving road trip from Atlanta to Bozeman on August 8. Just don't need the stress of flying right now and we enjoy driving. Lots of online information about safely staying in hotels along the way. We're looking forward to the trip and a week of fly fishing.

I've flown 6 times since April and honestly aside from having to wear a mask, it's more pleasant than it has ever been. Airports are pretty deserted, the Admirals Club and planes are the cleanest I have ever seen them. AA is still doing beverage service in 1st class. I didn't see anyone without a mask. The only annoying thing is a lot of restaurants in the airports are closed, but if there is an Admirals Club then that's not a huge problem.

Got back last night on a Southwest flight, flew with all 4 of my kids. Nothing to it. Everyone wearing masks, planes were super clean, and an added bonus - the restrooms in the airports are the cleanest I have ever seen.

My family and I just flew DFW to FCA via MSP with Delta. Super smooth experience. No issues to speak of. Shorter lines than normal.

National Guard(?) was screening temperatures in Kalispell upon airside exit. There was a voluntary refusal line if desired.

I can't imagine driving up there with limited vacation days.

I think the issue is really the airport versus the plane itself.

I am pretty confident that I caught the virus in March at the DFW airport. We traveled to and from DFW to Montana over Spring Break and I became really sick when we got back home with all the classic symptoms of COVID. We arrived back right before the shut-in occurred so no one was wearing masks and the airport did not take any precautions. I could not get tested because, at that time, they were only testing individuals that met certain criteria.

Since then, the airports have initiated a host of protective measures. We flew SW in the beginning of June to Florida. Everyone from the airport employees and the airlines to put in a lot of effort to protect employees and passengers. Right now, traveling via airplane is likely safer than going to the grocery store.

Drove from Austin to SoCal in mid June with our two dogs. Stopped overnight in Marfa and Tucson. Hotels were nearly empty. Avoided gas station restrooms but stopped at rest areas along the interstate, which we found to be very clean. We are planning on driving back to Austin in late August but will probably do it with one overnight stay in Las Cruces.

Can you still cancel your flights on American? If you can, I'd probably switch and fly Delta or Southwest if possible. I've flown all three for work trips this summer and Delta and Southwest seemed to do a much better job compared to AA.

Does anyone who flew Southwest know if you can sit three in a row if it's your family? Example there are 6 of us...can we sit 3 and 3 or will we have to do 2, 2, 2?

smc05 said:

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Does anyone who flew Southwest know if you can sit three in a row if it's your family? Example there are 6 of us...can we sit 3 and 3 or will we have to do 2, 2, 2?

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You can. I did it yesterday. It's just by choice.

Flew on United yesterday. Plane was pretty full, many middle seats occupied.

Thought it was about as safe as could be expected. Everyone wore masks, except for the period when snacks were delivered. I was happy that 95%+ of people wore masks correctly and I would say half the people were wearing something better than a cloth mask, such as N95 or surgical mask. They gave everyone wipes as they got on the plane, I assume to sanitize the area you would touch like arm rests and folddown tables.

The airport in Houston was barren. The airport in Chicago was surprisingly crowded, like a normal Sunday.

Knowing that they circulate the air so often with high quality filters with universal mask wearing, etc. it's probably the safest thing you can do that is indoors, sustained contact under 6 feet. Nobody is talking loudly, singing, etc.

I also recently did a cross country drive of 20 hours with an overnight stay in a hotel and I think that has it's own risks with the stops. So many gas stations where the sign out front says masks required and no employees are wearing them. Plus, I worry about the bathrooms.

Given the choice of the two for pure safety reasons I would learn towards flying, since you know that you are doing it for less time and there is more strict enforcement on safety regulations.

I reached similar conclusions after my road trips. I will be flying again in Oct.

It's bad enough along Interstates, but if your road trip strays from the beaten path long enough to require a stop, it's a virtual certainty that you'll stop at a place where you're unquestionably the person there who cares the most about Covid.

And I say that regardless of how much you care or don't care now - they will care even less.

Flew AA today both DFW and ORD were dead. Very few middle seats taken. Felt safe everyone had masks.

I've flown Allegiant and one way was great. I was the only person on my row. The flight back they packed us in the back and front and wouldn't let anyone change seats To distance ourselves. After that I'll drive 12 hours vs fly 2 hours. The key is can you control who is around you on the plane. If it is you and your spouse by yourself on a row it's great. If they fill the seats around you it's a terrible experience.

smc05 said:

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Does anyone who flew Southwest know if you can sit three in a row if it's your family? Example there are 6 of us...can we sit 3 and 3 or will we have to do 2, 2, 2?

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Yep. Flight from DEN to HOU:

The two rows in front, one behind, and the one to side of me were all full with an extended family. The rest of the plane appeared empty by comparison. The ~300 lb ~16 year old sitting next to me sang for most of the flight. And they aren't serving booze. My own personal hell.

If you drive you will realize how little people care about masks other than in 1) big cities, and 2) the state of Colorado.

If flying were unsafe, there would be mass Covid cases among flight attendants. Their rates are no different than the rest of the population.