Can The Aviation Industry Afford To Keep You Safe?

what happened today. How Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing ahead with a vote on a three trillion dollar virus relief bill, despite the fact it has no chance of ever getting signed into law. Lawmakers began considering the package under restrictions that have now become commonplace, face covers and limits on the number of members on the floor at any one time. Pelosi is making a bet that key parts of the legislation, like aid to states, more payments to individuals, and extending

unemployment insurance, will generate massive public support. She hopes that will force the White House and the GOP into negotiations on another round of stimulus for a hobbled US economy. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has dismissed the legislation as a three trillion dollar left wing wish list, and said he and the White House have set no date

for a new stimulus package. As the pandemic shuttered businesses and kept Americans at home, sales at stores and restaurants fell around six in a roll, nearly twice as much as it did in March. Both monthly declines broke all previous records. A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production had its steepest drop on record. It all adds to a mountain of data piling up that suggests it will take years for the economy to claw itself

back from recession. One Nordic nation is seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for the outbreak. Denmark had its first day without a COVID nineteen related death since mid March. It's evidence that the country's strategy of locking down early has succeeded in bringing the virus under control. The total number of deaths from the virus the country

has reported is five hundred and thirty seven. Finally, sad news for beer, UK pubs may be forced to dump seventy million pints enough to fill more than sixteen Olympic sized swimming pools, because much of the brewer's storing will spoil before the pubs can reopen in July. Many farmers and food manufacturers around the world, faced with a sudden plunge in demand, have been forced to figure out how to dump huge quantities of everything from milk, two pigs,

and now our main story. The aviation industry is wrestling with ways to control the coronavirus and get people back to flying. Airports have seen a drop off in passengers since mid March, but as states ease lockdown restrictions, more people are expected to fly. Airports today are starting to make changes in the hopes that passengers will be safer as they fly. Bloomberg's just In Bachman has more on what it looks like to take a flight during a

pandemic and how air travel may change going forward. Nick Shine is on his way to the airport. Nick is a sophomore at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and he's heading back to New York to see his parents. I decided to go home at this point in time, mostly because who knows what the future holds and I need to go see my parents at some point. It's early May and he hasn't seen them since January. Nick is catching a United Airlines flight from Denver International Airport to Newark.

He says he's nervous about the trip. I'm thinking that lines won't be too bad, my seat will have some room next to me at least, but I'm definitely nervous about germs and corona. Full disclosure. Nick is the son of Rick Shine, a Bloomberg News editor who also works on this podcast. He just happened be taking this flight and we asked him to record his travels. Just like Nick isn't sure what his traveled today will actually look like.

No one is certain how COVID nineteen will reshape safety protocols at airports and airlines, and some of the possible pandemic era measures have already begun in many places across the US airport temperature checks, plexiglass partitions, touchless check in kiosks, and far more social distancing near boarding gates, security lines, and on board. So far, none of the changes US airports are making are part of any coordinated government effort.

Airlines are in talks with the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies on a more streamline approach. Until then, airlines and airports are doing whatever they can to assure the public that it's safe to fly. On May tenth, United Airlines began testing new touchless kiosks at four airports Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, and or Indo, allowing people to scan in from a smartphone or a sheet of paper printed at home. That's not an option for Nick today, though. Still things

were looking good from a social distancing standpoint. The airport is busy, but people are standing six ft apart and they're wearing masks. These safety measures are part of the new reality for flyers, but some things don't change in airports, like waiting. I've already checked my bag by myself, but I'm waiting in line to put it on the coveyor belt, And even though it's not that crowded, it's taking a surprising amount of time. I mean, I've been staying in

the same spot for about ten minutes now. There will be changes to really every part of the flying experience, including where Nick heads to next the security line. They're keeping the six protocol pretty strict. There's a like alleys between the lines that wrap around and make sure you're still six ft away in all directions. The line was really a breeze. I mean it's it's noon on a Friday and I'm already at the front. I didn't even

wait really, so I can't complain in that front. But you know, still a lot of people, so that's a little nerve wracking. Nick gets through fast, but longer lines and congestion could come as more people head back to airports now and through security. And it was a breeze, nothing, nothing new, nothing different. Um, I'm waiting at the train, the little tram and Denver International going to be gate past security. Airports are also considering changes to their bars, restaurants,

and public seating areas. Long rows of a joined seats near boarding gates may no longer be appropriate. Communal tables and food courts maybe a thing of the past. Now Nick is at his gate with ten minutes to spare, he notices another change, one that has to do with seating arrangements. They say now that, uh, each row number is your seat number. So I'm taking that to mean that every person has a road to themselves, which is nice. Um, and you board differently now, so you start with the

last row and go down the line. So I have row thirty four, so I should be pretty pretty quick to board. Frontier Airlines is also creating a new policy before passengers can board. It says it will begin checking each flyer's temperature starting in June. If you're one point four degrees fahrenheit or warmer after two tests, you won't be allowed on the flight. But right now, Nick doesn't

have to worry about that. He just needs to figure out what movie to pick as he lounges in his own rock, We're gonna watch a movie with our masks and gloves on, and uh, we're just gonna act like nothing's nothing's different, even though a lot of things are different. Nick has been wearing a mask this whole time, and that will also be the case once he gets onto

the plane. Every US airline has mandated face coverings for boarding and in flight, but it's not a given people will wear them the entire time, especially when drinks are snacks are still served. It's a tricky rule to enforce, and flight attendants are being told they must do so. Nick boards the plane and makes his way to his seat. That's when he realizes something that new seating arrangement, the one where people may expect to have their own row.

It turns out that's not the case. The plane is packed and having a road to yourself was just wishful thinking. I don't know why I thought that there was one person to a row. That was just incorrect. But yeah, it's it's a full flight for sure. I mean, I'm in a row with all the seats filled up. Does not just does not stick feet apart. I mean that kind of figured. Just don't book the middle seats. It seems easy enough, but I guess it's, uh, it's not

that easy. It just feels like a normal flight that I'm just more nervous and should have them. The few people flying now come expecting airlines to focus on strictly enforcing some kind of social distance on their planes. They do, but not if it means turning away a ticketed customer. From May and June, airlines cut their schedules so deeply due to weak demand that they often need all the seats on the flights that remain. So with fewer flights,

there are now fuller planes. All of these changes in airports will be expensive, and they come at the worst possible time for nearly every player in the travel industry, from airlines to rental car companies and hotels. The sudden demand decline has hit all airlines deeply and led to some small carriers shutting down. In the US, the industry went from solid profits to a loss in the first

quarter due to the virus. Financially, many airlines are in a race for survival despite some fifty billion dollars in US taxpayer support. That means measures like empty middle seats won't work for the industry in the longer term, at least without major fare increases or more money from the government. With less demand and an array of new health safety protocols, flying could become more expensive than in the recent past.

So you may think that since there's so little demand, air fares will stay low, and they probably will for a time as the world very gradually returns to flying. But all of these new safety protocols could make air travel more expensive than in the reset past. Folks are welcome to a great rest of the day. After two and a half hours on that full flight, Nick lands in Newark. He says the airport isn't full. People are also wearing masks and there are lots of signs advising

everyone to stay six ft apart. I don't feel great about that flight, but nothing I can do now. I'm happy to be here to a degree. He grabs his bag and heads home, and I'm gonna go say hello to my mom from six ft away. Time n equal self quarantine for ten days before he can get a real hug from mom. Just like temperature checks, touchless check in kiosks, and missing middle seats, getting off a plane and going into quarantine is just another change, as we

learned to fly again during a pandemic. That was Bloomberg's just and Bachman and that's our show today. For coverage of the outbreak from one and twenty bureaus around the world, visit bloomberg dot com slash Coronavirus and if you like the show, please leave us a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's the best way to help more listeners find our global reporting. The Prognosis Daily

edition is hosted by me Laura Carlson. The show was produced by Me Topher Forehead, Jordan Gaspore, and Magnus Hendrickson. Today's main story was reported by Justin Bachman. Original music by Leo Sidrin. Our editors are Francesco Levi and Rick Shine. Francesca Levi is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening.