Travel in the time of a global pandemic is not an easy feat to accomplish. But, it is also not impossible! If you already had a trip scheduled or if you are currently planning a trip, it is important to consider all of the new safety precautions that should be in place to ensure that you have a great, safe trip.
When it comes time to fly, doing so safely in the midst of a pandemic is extremely important. Successfully social distancing is a difficult feat to accomplish on an airplane, but there are steps you can take to social distance at least part-way. It has always been a possibility to purchase a second seat on a plane, based on what you may have needed it for. Without a qualifying reason, there are airlines that only allow two tickets in the same name in very special circumstances or they don’t allow it at all. Let’s dive in to the airlines current policies in regards to middle seats and safety during the pandemic and if they allow purchasing a second seat if you want to do so.
American Airlines
This airline does allow a second seat purchase outside of reasons for what is currently going on in the world. Specifically for COVID-19 however, American is not blocking middle seats. They are adopting a method of limiting flight loads. Once a plane starts getting pretty full, they send every registered passenger an email informing them that the flight is getting full, followed by an option to board a different flight free of charge. Beyond this, there are no protocols in place other than their normal provisions for purchasing a second seat on a flight due to coronavirus concerns.
Southwest Airlines
This airline already doesn’t pre-assign seats but they will be limiting capacity to ensure that middle seats can be left open for passengers in the same row not traveling together. This policy is in place until September 30.
JetBlue Airways
This airline is among one of the few that allows you to book two seats online in the same name, not in relation to COVID-19. It does require the same cost for the second seat and baggage is still limited to one guest/seat. After correspondence on Twitter, JetBlue confirmed that middle or aisle seats are already being blocked, depending on the aircraft, and passengers are not able to purchase these seats online. Exceptions are made and those seats can be assigned by a crewmember if there are passengers traveling together.
Spirit Airlines
Like others, this airline also already has a second-seat purchase option in necessary situations. While they are not restricting any seating on the flights resulting in some flights being more full than others, if you are uncomfortable with the amount of people on your flight, Spirit is encouraging passengers to contact them for an alternative solution in those cases. This information was culled from their customer service team via Twitter.
Frontier Airlines
This airline has combined the two options into one of sorts. While they are not blocking off middle seats, there are 20 seats per aircraft that are blocked off. They also have other protocol in place to screen against the virus.
Delta Air Lines
This airline has the right idea when it comes to social distancing. Delta is actually voluntarily restricting their middle seats on all flights until September 30, 2020. To further encourage social distancing, Delta is also limiting their flight capacity to 50% in first class and 60% in economy. They are also handing out kits that include bottled water, sanitizer and snacks as those are not currently being distributed mid flight. Furthermore, they are boarding flights back to front. If you still want the extra seat option, the airline does have a program called ‘Extra Seat – Personal Comfort’ where you don’t have to necessarily get an extra seat explicitly because of physical constraints. The cost of the seat is not mentioned on the program site, but they do list that they reserve the right to charge for all seats occupied. Full instructions on how to complete this purchase are available on the site. Delta is also allowing a change of flight free of charge if a passenger is not comfortable with the current capacity on their flight.
Hawaiian Airlines
This airline is among the ones that are currently blocking middle seats as well as other specific seat categories that are available on certain aircraft. Boarding will also be done from back to front and deplaning will be handled by flight attendants to encourage social distancing.
United Airlines
This airline did have a blocked middle seats and limited flight capacity policy in place but they recently relaxed those restrictions. If a passenger is uncomfortable on a full flight, they are allowing a reschedule free of charge to a different flight. In addition, on flights two hours or longer, United will be giving out amenity bags that include sanitizing wipes, bottled water and snacks. From a Twitter exchange with the airline, as of June 23, 2020, passengers are able to see where blocked off seats are. Adjacent seat selection has been restricted in all cabins, including middle seats where that is applicable, as well as alternating window and aisle seats.
Alaska Airlines
This airline is not only blocking middle seats, they are also blocking certain aisles to encourage social distancing between passengers. The drawback is that this policy ends on June 30. They are providing face coverings to passengers who don’t have one.
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