Rights of sat next to someone with COVID

diystarter7

Hi

To all that have posted here, please do not forget the rights of the person coughing

@sheramber  excellent post!

The coughing person, I'm no fan of them and rarely did public transport before and don't now. Going on hols and seeing jets rammed has put me off as will as going on a cruise

You have a choice OP to go or not to go. The poor soul coughing may not have a choice with their cough.

IMO, seeking to sit away from someone coughing as there is now no rules on masks etc is a form of discrimination IMHO.
Don't forget, some people can't wear a mask due to various reasons

With respect OP, if you are that worried, either don't go or fly super first class where is a massive distance between you and the next person. . Alternatively, hire a private jet with a group of people you think won't be coughing as its much cheaper than first class and as cheap as a business class in some cases per person if you get a small group interested for a charter flight.

OP, I want to go on hols, I'm not well and want to go to the sun but this damn covid is doing my head in but the choices I have are few and far between as I dont want to throw away money on a good first-class flight or have the numbers for a charter. I was hell bent on going away soon and waiting for my drivers licence but Covid is putting me off

Good luck and let us all hope that in 2023 this ruddy Covid has gone!

[Deleted User]

DullGreyGuy said:

[Deleted User] said:

Masks are mandatory on this flight, but of course a lot of people use rubbish masks that offer little protection, or just don't wear them properly with nose hanging out.

I'll likely wear an FFP3 mask, even if it is going to be for 16+ hours all said and done. Not sure about meals, I'll have to evaluate how risky it is at the time.

When masks were mandatory they could be removed for eating and drinking. Food and drink services were also significantly limited in comparison to normal, many stopped serving alcohol.

Food/drink came back before the mask requirements were dropped and many tried to get round the rules by slowly nursing a can of beer or such... some crew ignored them, the minority pointed out mask could only be down when actively drinking not just whilst holding a drink.

Most countries/airlines have dropped mask rules now.

This is ANA and I think they probably will do a reasonable job of enforcing mask wearing, but obviously meal times are an issue. It's a long flight but not eating is an option, or maybe only having snacks when everyone else has their masks on.

To be frank it probably depends on the ratio of British to Japanese passengers, in terms of how complaint people are.

[Deleted User]

You have a choice OP to go or not to go. The poor soul coughing may not have a choice with their cough.

IMO, seeking to sit away from someone coughing as there is now no rules on masks etc is a form of discrimination IMHO.
Don't forget, some people can't wear a mask due to various reasons

Equally, the person with a respiratory virus has a choice of going or not. Personally, if I know I was likely to infect other people, I would not go.

If the flight isn't full then the staff usually will try to accommodate relocation if there is a genuine reason. I can't see how it's discrimination, it's not actually preventing the other person from travelling or making their experience of it any worse. Refusing to let them board obviously would, but the health of the hundreds of other people on the flight must also be considered.

diystarter7

rigolith said:

You have a choice OP to go or not to go. The poor soul coughing may not have a choice with their cough.

IMO, seeking to sit away from someone coughing as there is now no rules on masks etc is a form of discrimination IMHO.
Don't forget, some people can't wear a mask due to various reasons

Equally, the person with a respiratory virus has a choice of going or not. Personally, if I know I was likely to infect other people, I would not go.

If the flight isn't full then the staff usually will try to accommodate relocation if there is a genuine reason. I can't see how it's discrimination, it's not actually preventing the other person from travelling or making their experience of it any worse. Refusing to let them board obviously would, but the health of the hundreds of other people on the flight must also be considered.

Are you advocating the return of massive waiting times, extra cost of covid tests before you fly?  

Depends on where you are going but we have in the past caught direct flights from the UK but these flights had initiated from another destination, so covid checks cooperation would be needed.

I've seen the tv, I've spoken to people that have been to Spain/us/Mexico/indi/Pakistan/new Zealand etc and they all said bar one that flights were rammed. The only flight that was not rammed was one returning fromLas Vegas when one of my kids went on hols a few weeks ago with their OH and flight was cancelled and another flight was lalid on but half of the passengers caught another flights etc - so flights are rammed, airport check-ins are often rammed from what I have been told

BTW,  people can have a cough and is  not always a "respiratory virus" or condition as some people just cough a lot I have a friend that has had all the tests going over 10/15 years and every week they suffer a day of coughing.


Have yo considered my previous suggestions re first class/charter etc?

Either way, good luck and stay safe.

eskbanker

diystarter7 said:

IMO, seeking to sit away from someone coughing as there is now no rules on masks etc is a form of discrimination IMHO.

Yes, it's a form of discrimination, but so is choosing Heinz baked beans over supermarket own brand ones!

It's clearly not unlawful discrimination against an individual based on a protected characteristic though, which is what many people use the word to mean, so in itself there's nothing wrong with discrimination in its wider sense....

[Deleted User]

diystarter7 said:

rigolith said:

You have a choice OP to go or not to go. The poor soul coughing may not have a choice with their cough.

IMO, seeking to sit away from someone coughing as there is now no rules on masks etc is a form of discrimination IMHO.
Don't forget, some people can't wear a mask due to various reasons

Equally, the person with a respiratory virus has a choice of going or not. Personally, if I know I was likely to infect other people, I would not go.

If the flight isn't full then the staff usually will try to accommodate relocation if there is a genuine reason. I can't see how it's discrimination, it's not actually preventing the other person from travelling or making their experience of it any worse. Refusing to let them board obviously would, but the health of the hundreds of other people on the flight must also be considered.

Are you advocating the return of massive waiting times, extra cost of covid tests before you fly?  

Depends on where you are going but we have in the past caught direct flights from the UK but these flights had initiated from another destination, so covid checks cooperation would be needed.

I've seen the tv, I've spoken to people that have been to Spain/us/Mexico/indi/Pakistan/new Zealand etc and they all said bar one that flights were rammed. The only flight that was not rammed was one returning fromLas Vegas when one of my kids went on hols a few weeks ago with their OH and flight was cancelled and another flight was lalid on but half of the passengers caught another flights etc - so flights are rammed, airport check-ins are often rammed from what I have been told

BTW,  people can have a cough and is  not always a "respiratory virus" or condition as some people just cough a lot I have a friend that has had all the tests going over 10/15 years and every week they suffer a day of coughing.


Have yo considered my previous suggestions re first class/charter etc?

Either way, good luck and stay safe.

I'm not talking about mandatory tests, I'm saying that if I knew I had some virus that could be spread that way I would choose not to fly. Unfortunately Martin Lewis' poll suggests that at least in the UK a majority of men and a minority of women are not so conscientious.

Coincidentally I had an email from the airline today, inviting me to bid on an upgrade to Premium Economy. Not sure what to make of it, apparently they have some spare premium economy seats going so maybe it's not so jam packed. They are suggesting a bid of about £200 for each flight (outbound and return) but of course that might not be enough to win.

I've flown Premium Economy on ANA before and it wasn't really worth the upgrade. You get slightly more leg room and better headphones, served your meal first and a slightly better selection. It's still airline food though, and on ANA even the economy legroom is reasonable. The seats are a little better, I'll give them that.

I'd pay it if they pumped more fresh air into the Premium Economy cabin. The cockpit gets 100% fresh air that is cycled faster than the passenger cabins, not least so that in the event of a fire the air pressure keeps the smoke out.

onashoestring

[Deleted User] said:

…
As much as I'd hope someone like that wouldn't fly, in a recent unscientific Twitter poll by Martin Lewis, the majority of respondents said they would fly even if they knew for sure they had COVID.

Unless people are feeling very unwell,  there are several reasons why people are still likely to fly when they have Covid  :

• passengers with non-refundable flights  won’t get a refund if they are a no show or cancellation 
• travel insurance policies generally don’t cover cancellation for Covid unless a Dr deems that you unfit to travel.

Even when someone if feeling very unwell but it’s the end of their holiday and they want to get back home asap they may travel.

There are also those who are asymptomatic and don’t know that they have Covid- ( which is just as likely to be you as anyone else ).

This is a risk to consider when booking a flight but as others have said - your fellow passengers as just as likely to have a cold or another virus . It’s always been a risk on public transport that you might be sitting next to someone with an airborne virus .

Murphy_The_Cat

[Deleted User] said:

DullGreyGuy said:

[Deleted User] said:

Masks are mandatory on this flight, but of course a lot of people use rubbish masks that offer little protection, or just don't wear them properly with nose hanging out.

I'll likely wear an FFP3 mask, even if it is going to be for 16+ hours all said and done. Not sure about meals, I'll have to evaluate how risky it is at the time.

This is ANA and I think they probably will do a reasonable job of enforcing mask wearing, but obviously meal times are an issue. It's a long flight but not eating is an option, or maybe only having snacks when everyone else has their masks on.

To be frank it probably depends on the ratio of British to Japanese passengers, in terms of how complaint people are.

Hi rigolith

I'm shortly taking several longhaul flights with ANA and from what I've read elsewhere (flyertalk is a good resource), the cabin crew will enforce the mask rules.  From the ANA website, "Requests for customers on International flights :
On ANA international flights, including code-share flights, the wearing of masks with an exhalation valve, face shields, or mouth shields may not be permitted, in accordance with the laws and regulations of your destination. Please make sure to check the information by yourself before departure." - your FFFP3 mask may be a non-starter.

I also spotted this "Please note that we may deny boarding to customers who are not wearing a mask or facial covering and those who have a fever or are otherwise unwell."

https://www.ana.co.jp/en/jp/topics/coronavirus-travel-information/busy-periods/ 

p.s. I'm less than happy at having to wear a face mask for an extended period of time - but if them's the airline rules, I'll have to suck it up !

Murphy_The_Cat

rigolith said:

Coincidentally I had an email from the airline today, inviting me to bid on an upgrade to Premium Economy. Not sure what to make of it, apparently they have some spare premium economy seats going so maybe it's not so jam packed. They are suggesting a bid of about £200 for each flight (outbound and return) but of course that might not be enough to win.

I've flown Premium Economy on ANA before and it wasn't really worth the upgrade. You get slightly more leg room and better headphones, served your meal first and a slightly better selection. It's still airline food though, and on ANA even the economy legroom is reasonable. The seats are a little better, I'll give them that.

I'd pay it if they pumped more fresh air into the Premium Economy cabin. The cockpit gets 100% fresh air that is cycled faster than the passenger cabins, not least so that in the event of a fire the air pressure keeps the smoke out.

Opening a free account with expertflyer will let you log onto your flights and you'll be able to get a very good idea of flight loadings (you'll need the paid version to get a much more accurate idea).

Another extra with ANA Prem economy is that you can use the Biz class longues as well (I think that you get extra baggage as well, but not 100% certain).

I'm big on looking at value over cost and if you can get the upgrade for £200, it looks like you're going to get quite a bit.********

****** double check, then triple check the APD if your flight is originating in the UK.  If so, you could get stiffed for an additional £176.

That would make the (longer) return leg much better value. 

TELLIT01

Upgrading to Economy Plus will only add a few inches between you and passengers in rows in front of and behind you.  Not worth paying £200 if the only reason you are considering it is to avoid sitting beside somebody who may have Covid.  I suspect there will actually be more people on a flight who don't know they have Covid, because they haven't tested, than those travelling in the knowledge that they have Covid.  I haven't tested myself for at least a year, and have no plans to do so.