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I don’t have to tell you that travel in 2020 has changed. Drastically. For me personally, I went from flying 2-8 times per week, to not leaving the house for three months. So when Austin’s regularly scheduled week off was coming up and we found ourselves with cancelled plans to Norway, we decided to head to North Carolina. I mean hey, North Carolina and Norway both start with “Nor” so it’s basically the same thing right? LOL. Sadness. But anyway the most common question I have gotten has been “what is it like to fly right now”?

If you want to compare my experience on American Airlines to this one on Delta, check out this post here.

Trip planning during COVID

Let’s talk about this trip. We decided to stay at Austin’s family’s lake house in Lake Waccamaw, NC. This is not very close to any of the major NC airports making our actual airport destination a bit flexible. We looked at flying into Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville, and Jacksonville. Despite this flexibility, flights were both incredibly difficult to find and rather pricey.

I usually fly back and forth between SLC and RDU about 15 times per year. And prior to COVID there were direct flights available from SLC to RDU on Delta and SLT to CLT on American. However we found no direct flights between SLC and RDU and opted for CLT instead with a connection. So if you’re wondering what is it like to fly right now – you should probably factor in an extra connection into your travel plans.

What is it like to fly right now?

So now that we covered trip planning logistics, let’s talk about the actual flight experience. I know this is probably odd to 99% of you reading this, but I have always loved flying. I enjoy looking out airplane windows and the overall experience. Now this may have to do with flying more than 250 times a year for the past 3 years and the status perks that come with that amount of air travel, however I genuinely missed being in an airport over the past three months. Needless to say, I was eager to get back in the air.

Is travel during COVID the same as before? No. So what is it like to fly right now? In one word: weird. Let’s start with the changes.

Masks, Social Distancing, and Cleaning

When we went though security, we were asked to remove our masks for the TSA agent to verify our identity. As of today, all of the major airlines are requiring that you wear a face mask during the boarding and de-planing process. They are also advising social distancing while on board. My flight out from SLC -> ATL -> CLT was on Delta. Delta is capping the first class cabin at 50% and saving all middle seats (as of now). Because of this upgrade policy, I was actually upgraded to first class and Austin was not.

So what is it like to fly right now? In one word: weird.

More about the masks. Face coverings are required during flight but as of now, Delta is not heavily enforcing this policy. And most people took their mask off to eat/drink and then put it back on.

While we were in the boarding area, they made several announcements that our plane was being cleaned. The gate agent was behind plexi-glass similar to what is found in most gas stations and grocery stores. And when we boarded the plane, we were handed a sanitizing wipe that the flight attendant picked up before we pushed back from the gate. The safety video also covered some of the cleaning procedures as well.

On-board service

Something that won’t come as a surprise is the change to on-board service because of COVID. Instead of my usual Diet Coke pre-flight (and mid-flight) beverage, we were offered a plastic bag with a bottle of water and two snacks inside. Alcohol is no longer being served onboard several airlines due to to COVID. And for my flight from SLC to ATL, I was also offered a boxed Flight Fuel option due to my upgraded seat.

What is it like to fly right now?

So if you were wondering about travel in 2020 – hopefully this helps you understand a little more about the experience. You can tell that Delta cares to let you know they are taking every precaution to keep you safe onboard your flight.

I fly home via American Airlines on Sunday. Here is a link to that post so you can tell the difference between the two airlines.

So have you flown since mid-March or are you planning to? What did you think of the experience? Let me know in the comments.

If you don’t plan to travel anytime soon here are 51 things to do while social distancing and some virtual museum tours.

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