Would you fly?

[GH85Carrera]

Only in our Cessna 182 that is kept at an airport in our private hangar where we can go to the airport and never even see anyone except at a distance.

[911boost]

No, as I am used to multiple trips every week.

I am going to develop a nervous tick from not traveling.

[gordner]

Originally Posted by masraum

Absolutely not. We are cancelling some flights that we setup earlier this year.

Being in an airplane is, to me, probably 1000x worse than being in a cruise ship for the same amount of time due to the recirculated air.

Air is not recirculated in commercial aircraft, it is pulled into the ACM, conditioned, pushed into the pressure vessel and flows out the outflow valve. Zero recirculation.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gordner

Air is not recirculated in commercial aircraft, it is pulled into the ACM, conditioned, pushed into the pressure vessel and flows out the outflow valve. Zero recirculation.

Good to know. Where is the outflow valve or are there multiple locations throughout the aircraft?

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by masraum

Good to know. Where is the outflow valve or are there multiple locations throughout the aircraft?

Here: https://www.askthepilot.com/questionanswers/cabin-air-quality/

So, the air is "clean": How long does it take to replace all the stale, contaminated air? What is the refresh rate of bad air three seats over with "clean" air?

Still not going.

[450knotOffice]

Originally Posted by gordner

Air is not recirculated in commercial aircraft, it is pulled into the ACM, conditioned, pushed into the pressure vessel and flows out the outflow valve. Zero recirculation.

There actually is plenty of recirculating happening, by design. Here a schematic of the air conditioning system distribution in the Boeing 737 that I currently fly:

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Here: https://www.askthepilot.com/questionanswers/cabin-air-quality/

So, the air is "clean": How long does it take to replace all the stale, contaminated air? What is the refresh rate of bad air three seats over with "clean" air?

Still not going.

Right, NFW.

No planes, no cruises, no trains/subways or buses either.

[450knotOffice]

And the Airbus 319/320/321 that I used to fly up until recently, note the cabin air INTO the mixer unit.:

[KNS]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

Completely ignoring the issue of actually catching something, I wouldn't want to be quarantined in some strange city for 2 weeks if someone on the flight showed symptoms, which, is a real possability.

And this is what will hurt travel the most. The airline can make the plane as clean as a surgical suite but the possibility of getting quarantined far from home is going to keep people at home.

[jhynesrockmtn]

My buddy is a senior SW Air Captain. He flew several segments last week. 1 with 1 passenger on a 175 seat airplane, the most he had was 13. They are still flying cargo around but even if you were brave enough to book a flight, good chance it will be cancelled. The rumors are starting to fly about the majors giving senior crew buy outs to get them to retire. Hard to believe given how hard up they were for new pilots before this thing hit.

[stevej37]

Spent an hour today cancelling airfare, hotel, car rental for April 19 to Florida.
Damn...that hurts.

[Noah930]

Life is a balance of risks and benefits. I wouldn't fly right now unless I really had to. For all the reasons mentioned above. Then again, there are pics circulating on the web of flights with 2 or 3 passengers on them, right now.

But my in-laws are east coast snowbirds. They live in New England, and winter in FL. They were already in FL when this whole thing hit. This year they had driven their own car down. So how to get back to MA? Is it safer to drive back? You're inside the safety of your car, but realistically you'll have to hit multiple gas stations, restaurants, and motels along the way. Cumulatively that's a lot of public exposure. Or is it better to fly back and risk the maybe 5 or 6 hours of potential exposure from the airports/plane/ground transportation back home? Then what to do with your car, which was left in FL? I suppose either way is better than taking a cruise ship home, though.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Life is a balance of risks and benefits. I wouldn't fly right now unless I really had to. For all the reasons mentioned above. Then again, there are pics circulating on the web of flights with 2 or 3 passengers on them, right now.

But my in-laws are east coast snowbirds. They live in New England, and winter in FL. They were already in FL when this whole thing hit. This year they had driven their own car down. So how to get back to MA? Is it safer to drive back? You're inside the safety of your car, but realistically you'll have to hit multiple gas stations, restaurants, and motels along the way. Cumulatively that's a lot of public exposure. Or is it better to fly back and risk the maybe 5 or 6 hours of potential exposure from the airports/plane/ground transportation back home? Then what to do with your car, which was left in FL? I suppose either way is better than taking a cruise ship home, though.

I'd drive before I flew. There probably won't be many restaurants to stop in. I can wear disposable gloves when pumping gas.

[jcommin]

Unless it was an absolute emergency. I was talking to my ex about our younger son who lives in Philadelphia. We both live in Chicago. If he gets sick - do we go and how? I'm probably driving.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Life is a balance of risks and benefits. I wouldn't fly right now unless I really had to. For all the reasons mentioned above. Then again, there are pics circulating on the web of flights with 2 or 3 passengers on them, right now.

But my in-laws are east coast snowbirds. They live in New England, and winter in FL. They were already in FL when this whole thing hit. This year they had driven their own car down. So how to get back to MA? Is it safer to drive back? You're inside the safety of your car, but realistically you'll have to hit multiple gas stations, restaurants, and motels along the way. Cumulatively that's a lot of public exposure. Or is it better to fly back and risk the maybe 5 or 6 hours of potential exposure from the airports/plane/ground transportation back home? Then what to do with your car, which was left in FL? I suppose either way is better than taking a cruise ship home, though.

I've never driven that route so not sure how many days are involved. I would almost certainly rather drive and take a big ole ice chest with provisions than risk airports and shared air/seats/bathrooms in airplanes. Gas pumps are easily managed with paper towels between all surfaces. A motel is probably low risk with the virus only hanging airborne for up to 3 hours. Doorknobs and surfaces could be quickly wiped down.

No such thing as zero risk but this would probably give them the best shot.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by gordner

Air is not recirculated in commercial aircraft, it is pulled into the ACM, conditioned, pushed into the pressure vessel and flows out the outflow valve. Zero recirculation.

+1

I don't know the tech part but I worked at BP and we flew ORD to LHR lots business class.

During one of the flu scares (2007-ish?) we met with them and they assured us no re-circulation. Now, they said fresh air from pressurized tanks but that was on a newer heavy.

I would not fly now. I won't even get in a car with another person.

[seafeye]

I was just asking because I’m still scheduled to fly 76 hours in April. East coast-West coast etc....

My company offers nothing in regards to safety masks cleaners training etc..
We were told to pack enough food for our trips as restaurants aren’t open. 3,4 or 5 days.

I think I’d rather be at home. Unpaid.

[450knotOffice]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

+1

I don't know the tech part but I worked at BP and we flew ORD to LHR lots business class.

During one of the flu scares (2007-ish?) we met with them and they assured us no re-circulation. Now, they said fresh air from pressurized tanks but that was on a newer heavy.

I would not fly now. I won't even get in a car with another person.

Unfortunately you were given entirely bad info, or they may have explained it in unclear terms. Every jet airliner flying today uses a recirculating system that mixes used cabin air with the incoming fresh compressed air. Granted, the recirculated cabin air is first run through high quality “hospital quality” air filters, but it is still recirculated air mixed with the new air.

Anyway, if I weren’t basically required by my company to fly their planes around as a supposedly necessary part of the country’s infrastructure (which I understand to a degree), you wouldn’t catch me on an airliner either.

[Kraftwerk]

No one should be flying r/n.. besides a few pilots shipping medical supplies etc. It's safer if everyone stays at home. This is just the very beginning.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Life is a balance of risks and benefits. I wouldn't fly right now unless I really had to. For all the reasons mentioned above. Then again, there are pics circulating on the web of flights with 2 or 3 passengers on them, right now.

My neighbor is pilot for Virgin American. He said right now if the flight doesn’t get cancelled, it’s not uncommon for there to be more crew than PAX onboard, and he’s heard of planes flying with no passengers at all. It’s crazy! I bet we will be seeing even more planes parked in the coming weeks