Well.
This post didn't age well. At all! It was basically a rundown of everything to expect review-wise on my blog this year... so I've deleted it and rewritten it, because #2020, right?
I had all sorts of fun trips to take this year, and a few new countries to see, but it wasn't meant to be. At least, not all of it.
The COVID-19 landscape in terms of travel, tourism and aviation is (and has been) nothing short of brutal for several months now, but like land burned by fire, small green shoots are starting to grow once more as we move towards what many are calling 'a new normal'.
I'm not much into the fortune-telling blog posts of a lot of travel bloggers who vaguely and unscientifically pontificate about the future of travel in a post COVID-19 world, so I'm not going to bother talking about areas that aren't in my field of expertise because frankly it's a waste of time for anyone reading this. I think I'd say first off that the 'new normal' is more the 'temporary normal'.
Travel blogging for me is a hobby, hence the name of my site. Some of you might (or might not!) know that I work day-to-day in mass-transit rail operations, and so I do know quite a bit about post COVID-19 recovery in the transport sector, application of social distancing and network resilience in the realm of rail, which I suppose could be loosely translated over to aviation too. After all, whether it's planes or trains, in its simplest form, you're taking people from point A, in a closed environment, to point B, en masse.
I don't think we will see social distancing last very long in train stations or in airports because it just isn't feasibly possible in terms of mass movement of people from one confined space, into another confined space (and holding them there for a period of time) and then unloading them into yet another confined space for them to then finally disperse. The only thing anyone trying this would achieve would be to create a veritable maze of snaking tenser barriers around a terminal building which would be stressful and confusing to navigate (thus increasing cross-contamination risk with confusing directions) for everyone involved.
And that goes for on board a train or a plane too; there just isn't the room to make it economically viable for the train company/airline or for passengers, and that in turn hampers recovery of economies; after all, travel and data have effectively shrunk the world we live in and moving about the world is hugely vital. This is also why I don't think we will see social distancing implemented en masse in transportation; money. A train company/airline can't hope to recover financially with sky-high prices to cover fewer passengers using it as nobody will be incentivised to travel, particularly in terms of business travel as we have demonstrated in the past few months the world over that meetings can take place quite pragmatically using video conferencing. Therefore, I think that train companies/airlines may end up being far more reliant on leisure travellers in the short to medium term. The same goes in reverse; if you maintain 'normal' (aka pre COVID-19) pricing, you need to have trains/planes operating at higher capacity than with social distancing in place to cover your costs and return to profitability. But all of that must be done alongside the mitigation of health and safety risk; rail and aviation are two of the most heavily regulated sectors on the planet, and rightly so; the health and safety of those using those systems is paramount, even more so than money.
And there's the rub; what's the balance? I think that lies in stringent personal and mass hygiene combined with rapid testing before entering a terminal building, and innovation in technology to make the airport/train station and journey experience as touch-free as possible. Now, I certainly don't have medical or hygiene technology expertise, but I do think stringent cleaning of both ourselves and the spaces we find ourselves in is critical and very easy to continue doing. This is straying into the realm of fortune telling, which I said I wouldn't do (but it's my blog so I'm going to just touch on it!) and that's mass rapid testing (with results) before anyone enters a terminal building. Having that capability would show through evidence that you're either fit or unfit to travel, and should be denied entry due to the fact you're importing risk to the integrity of a system. I also fully believe in the minimisation of risk of airborne viral spread through enforced mask wearing. I understand that wearing a mask doesn't stop a person catching the virus, but wearing a mask does minimise the spread of the virus from a person with the virus who is wearing a mask vs. someone who is not wearing one, and if we all undertake this common courtesy to each other, viral spread will reduce. This is a simple and easily enforceable mitigation measure which is also inexpensive, and is therefore pragmatic from all angles, particularly when you combine that with much-enhanced aircraft cleaning and the air filtration systems now on board most modern aircraft. In addition, wearing a mask means you subconsciously don't/can't touch your face, which also helps. The exception to all of this is meal/drinks service while airborne. I have no idea how that would work. It sounds like it'd be a headache. The above is of course all reinforced with increased/enhanced aircraft cleaning regimes, more frequent hand washing and sanitisation requirements, glove wearing, UV sterilisation and the like. And this 'new normal' I would think will last until a vaccine is produced, though how long that will be in anybody's guess; like I said, no fortune telling (except that one indulgence above).
Anyway. So other than Thailand in January, my travel plans all got shot to absolute sh*t, starting with Hong Kong and Taiwan being torpedoed in March. Had I planned the trip for two weeks earlier it would've happened, but... it didn't. I'm due to go to Sofia on Friday but that's similarly (and understandably) been cancelled and refunded. I am going to voluntarily cancel my trip to Moscow due in late August because the juggling of flights going ahead, borders reopening and the complexity and expense in the acquisition of a visa is all just too much of a headache to entertain at the moment, which is a shame as this is the second time I've tried to visit Russia and the second time it's gone wonky for reasons out of my control. My partner and I were due to fly to the USA for a Colorado, New Mexico and Texas road trip in late October but given the handling of the COVID-19 situation by he who shall not be named, we decided that the USA is probably not a particularly safe place to travel to, and managed to move our BA Reward Flights (using our 241 Amex Companion Voucher) to take us to Japan and South Korea instead. Though of course, all of that remains at the mercy of a virus, governments and airlines. Luckily, everything has been modified, cancelled or refunded with no cost to myself, and so I'm lucky in that regard. Plus the flight to Tokyo is (currently) scheduled to be on BA's A350-1000, so I am psyched about that. I hope it doesn't get swapped out!
In an uncharacteristic bout of optimism, (and entirely in-character forward planning), I'm planning on taking myself to Hong Kong and Taiwan in mid-December, partly due to the fact I need to use a large chunk of holiday entitlement this year and that I more or less refuse to take holidays and not actually go somewhere on holiday (though this god-damn year is testing that habit). The Qatar Airways rebooking policy saga (which I wrote about quite bluntly here) inadvertently revealed an excellent fare with SWISS and Lufthansa from Stockholm to Hong Kong (via Zurich outbound and Munich inbound) for just £1075 which in business class is an absolute steal. It's also fully refundable/rebookable as the Lufthansa Group policy was just extended to be quite generous (not as generous as Qatar Airways', but similarly it can't be exploited the way Qatar's can). It's a win-win as it's a trip I really wanted to do earlier in the year but had to cancel, and if it can't go ahead, I just shift it into 2021 with no drama.
I'm particularly excited about this as I absolutely adore the overall aesthetic of SWISS and I think their long haul business class looks very smart indeed. I've never flown with any of the Lufthansa Group airlines before so it would be a brand new experience. If you've read my reviews of Qatar Airways, you'll know I am a huge fan of a consistent and refined brand-wide aesthetic (aka not Emirates), and SWISS appear to have that nailed. Side-note: is it wrong to be in love with their typeface? I'm also very much looking forward to seeing what Lufthansa have to offer. While their seat may not be highly competitive, they're regularly ranked highly with regards to service. Even if the post COVID-19 travel world looks diminished (different service levels, fewer crew interactions, closed lounges, etc), I'm still excited as I'll be getting back out there.
Star Alliance partners (particularly Lufthansa Group) have some really good fare deals at the moment (see here at GSTP and here at TLFL) so while I am keen to keep my status with BA/Oneworld, I am not overly fussed about flying with them once that's done. BA's treatment of their staff in the COVID-19 crisis has been utterly appalling, and that has significantly diminished any desire to give them my business other than for my own status. Willie Walsh and Alex Cruz have proven that they are really terrible leaders in a crisis; thankfully September sees the exit of Walsh from IAG, and it's a good riddance. It's a shame Cruz isn't following him as I don't think highly of either of them.
Despite the above statement, one thing I do need to do is to take two flights with BA to seal my Silver/Sapphire status for 2020/2021, as I currently have the Tier Points (thanks Qatar!) but not the four BA flights to qualify. That'll need to be done before our trip to Japan (if that happens!) and so may just be a nice little jaunt to Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow for a long weekend, or maybe somewhere European, borders pending of course.
So, the remainder of 2020 looks a bit more stunted than I'd planned, and that's ok. And it looks a lot more malleable than I'd usually like, considering how risk averse I am by nature. And that's ok too; 2020 has taught me to be a bit more laid back and to roll with the punches a bit. And these things happen; we adapt and get on with it. Hopefully as the year progresses, you'll see me posting more, albeit gradually, and I can start to build the site back up again with some helpful pieces.
Stay safe everyone.
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