The Plague of 2020: A Travel Update

Having traveled a bit via air over the last two months and looking at continuing to do so over the upcoming months, I thought I might give you an update on what the proverbial lay of the land (or air, in this case) looks like.  

For background:  my travels are between two "International" airports (so named because non-U.S. flights land at them - but not a lot of them) of similar sized urban areas.  Both are within 1 to 3 hours of actual international airports; thus, they are as much transit points for other destinations as they are actual terminal destinations (to be fair, New Home could be considered a terminal destination).  I fly on Saturdays as that is the least expensive day and allows me to preserve the work week.  I also fly on Southwest, which is by far the most reasonable airline for such travel.

(A note:  Yes, I know that not everyone is a fan of Southwest.  For me, they provide a reasonable service for the price they charge.  Also, given the current environment I suspect that they will be one of the airlines that will at least be able to operate the longest given their business model.  And, I actually do kind of like their snacks).

The airports - both coming and going - were only slightly more busy than they were in July.  In all checking in and going through security took 15 minutes or so.  Interestingly, at both airports there are only a few airlines flying:  At New Home Airport it is Southwest, Alaska, and American and at Old Home Airport it is Southwest, Spirit, and Delta.  

The airport terminals post-security are 50 to 75% closed down in terms of commercial offerings.  A few restaurants are open (I have no idea how they determine which ones) and those small shops which offer both magazines and highly over priced snacks as well (but again, not all of them).  Anything resembling just an actual store is closed.  People are spacing themselves out amongst the chairs.

In terms of actual flying, the middle seat is still verboten for sitting (which works for me, of course).  Cloth masks remain required for all flights but masks with vent filters are now not allowed on flights.  I also started to see face shields being worn by several passengers (I am hoping this does not become a requirement).  In-flight service has been reduced to a snack pack and water (instead of the previously delightful snack pack and your choice of drink).  You can bring any food and drink purchased in the terminal onto the flight you want - with the exception, oddly enough, of alcohol (because apparently alcohol purchased on the flight does not have the same impact as alcohol purchased off the flight).

Getting picked up at the airport remains completely different than pre-Plague:  The lack of traffic makes it a 5 minute operation, not a 20 minute one.

The one outstanding question I have (in general) is how these airports are continuing to be going concerns.  I am not quite sure how they are funded, but the air travel is not near what I saw in February when I traveled to Japan.  I am sure they are doing a little better now, but if this level of travel remains as it is I cannot see that smaller regional airports and perhaps even some larger ones will be able to stay open.