My First Flight in 493 Days

For the first time in forever, from IAH to EWR.

My last flight was on March 9, 2020. I had just finished giving a talk at the University of Oklahoma, and boarded a 90-minute flight on a regional jet back to Houston. At the time, the Coronavirus was still something that I didn't think I had to worry about. Earlier that morning, the passenger next to me wiped down her seat with Clorox wipes. I thought she was over-reacting. No one at the airport was masked. Everything was normal. I landed back in Houston, and thought life would go on, as normal. Little did I know, that the OKC leg would be my last flight for 493 days.

Yes, I went nearly 500 days without even stepping foot in an airport. In years past, I flew about 100,000 miles annually. Yet I quit, cold turkey. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I enjoyed spending time at home with my family. I never went stir crazy. And Zoom wasn't nearly as bad as people predicted. (And if variants continue to spike, we may not yet be done with Zoom.)

In April, I wrote about my concerns with re-entering civil society. Since then, I've slowly emerged. First, I went to an outdoor restaurant with a mask on. Second, I visited an outdoor restaurant sans mask. Third, I tried an indoor restaurant with a mask. Fourth, I rode Ubers with, and without a mask. (Some drivers volunteer they are vaccinated, and ask your preferences.) Finally, I went to a restaurant without a mask. It was a bit strange at first, but I dealt with it.

Today, I finally ventured back to the airport. Houston to Newark was a leg I had taken dozens of times. The trip was both familiar and novel at the same time. The terminal looked the same, though I noticed several stores and kiosks were closed. There was a COVID testing center where a watch store was previously located. That was new. And the CLEAR agent asked me if I needed a mask. That didn't happen before. But things were still comfortable. People were uniformly wearing masks. Social distancing is impossible in a crowded terminal, but that was to be expected.

When I booked this trip a few months ago, I deliberately selected a bulkhead business class seat on a widebody jet, which provides maximal distance. Originally, the plane was Polaris configuration on a 767. The 2-1-2 layout would keep me quite far from other passengers. Alas, United changed the hardware to an ancient 757, so I switched the flight to a Dreamliner. This Dreamliner still has the legacy configuration without physical partitions between seats. But there was sufficient space.

United has restored the normal boarding process by zone. I was handed an alcohol swab when I boarded. There were no pre-departure drinks. But they did restore warm meal service. For breakfast there was a choice between waffles and eggs. I chose the former, which were tasty. Now water is served in small Dasani bottles. Recently, United abandoned the deplaning by row. We are back to the free-for-all.

After spending nearly 18 months without leaving Houston city limits, I re-entered New York. Well, New Jersey to be precise. But I eventually made it back home.

Comments

[Noscitur a sociis]

Thanks for sharing?

[Doug Heffernan]

I enjoyed this story by the blackman kid. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

This must have been something like what Lewis & Clark experienced. Of course, they didn't start in Newark, and Houston was still part of Spain, but the similarity in adventurousness is uncanny.

[Dan Schiavetta]

LOL

[Don Nico]

Excellent observation Doug.

[DaivdBehar]

Flew 100000 miles.

That is idiotic, pointless, expensive, dangerous, and environmentally damaging, a complete waste of time, effort, and money. So are buildings. End them both.

[DaivdBehar]

In March, 2020, I flew from Ft. Myers to Philly, on a full, unmasked plane. Still here. Waiting the standard hour for bags because Philly Dems are lazy and shiftless. In Ft. Myers, bags beat you to the carousel, are waiting. Guy yells, "I am Michael. I have autism. I missed my flight. The sirline refuses to pay for a hotel. I need $99 to stay overnight." Dem females lined up to give him money. I said to one of them, "Enough. I'm calling the fuckin cops." She said, don't, Michael needs our help. After 5 minutes, Michael cut off the line of waiting wpmen. "I have $99. I cannot accept anymore." He left, presumably for a baggage carousel in the next terminal.

Michael did answer a question I've always posed. You are alone, far away from home. You do not have your wallet, any ID, or any money/card/cell phone. What do you do?

Michael's bullshit scam was nothing compared that of the Dem gov lockdown.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I encourage you not to drink any liquid on an airplane that did not board in a sealed container (bottle, can, pouch). No coffee, no tea, no water, no ice. You’re welcome.

Hotel or restaurant ice is also a good choice to avoid.

[Nick Gillespie's Jacket]

First, it was surprising and nice to see a Rev. ALK comment that was “normal” (not angry, sarcastic, combative, etc.). With respect, I’d encourage more of this. There was a time you used to post about craft beer and other topics. Maybe reduce the comments about Professor Volokh or “clingers” to only 50% of your posts?

Second, I’m interested in why you say avoid the water/ice/coffee/tea on an airplane. (I mean, I assume it has to do with a problematic water supply of some sort, but it sounds like you may have some interesting, if horrifying, details.) Thanks.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

This is based not on direct expertise but instead on advice from hospitality industry colleagues persuasive enough to guide my conduct for decades:

The potable water systems on airplane are old-fashioned and casually maintained. They share some issues associated with restaurant and hotel ice machines that are not cleaned or maintained carefully (mold, biofilm, etc.). I sense that many people figure cold temperatures are antiseptic -- so why would an ice machine require frequent cleaning? -- but experience with opened jars, produce, and the like in your refrigerator over time should dispel misconceptions along that line.

Ice inventory bins frequently feature disgusting contents, but who looks inside those bins? (The non-augured, 'scoop you own ice from a reservoir' machines are, of course, just revolting, no matter how carefully maintained.) Conscientious restaurateurs I know tend to reject hotel and restaurant (especially fast food) ice. I began to follow their lead 25 years ago.

This suggestion is based on more direct understanding: Buy your beer in dark (brown) glass, non-twist-off bottles. No clear glass (although some claim special hop extracts or new coatings can make a clear bottle acceptable, I am unconvinced). No twisties (not air-tight, which makes them a poor candidate for dunking in a cooler of sketchy water). Cans have become much better during the most recent decade or so; I no longer avoid them. Avoid draft beer, however, in most circumstances. Beer from a meticulously maintained draft system with good velocity can be sublime. The likelihood a system is that system is remote. (If you like stale, dirty beer, please disregard this observation.)

If you attend the first game of a homestand after a baseball team's long summer roadtrip, don't choose a draft beer, especially during the first few innings.

I hope this information is helpful.

[Currentsitguy]

Beer in particular is an amazing growth medium.

[LessinSF]

Slime in the Ice Machine! https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/46d59y/remember_marvin_zindlers_slime_in_the_ice_machine/

[Commenter_XY]

VERY helpful, Arthur.

[rsteinmetz]

Perhaps the Mute Function is having a positive effect.

[PeteRR]

Back in February we emigrated to Spain from Houston. Three flights IAH to EWR to LIS to VLC), 22 hours with layovers. We were masked probably 21 out of the 22 hours. By the time we cleared customs in Valencia, I had a massive headache and felt like I couldn't get enough air.

[iowantwo]

Just curious. What are you so scared of? Your vaccinated right? Healthy, no co-morbidities. Whats all the theater about?

[Don Nico]

He could have double masked and had no worries.

[ChrisC]

I honestly don't understand the ongoing fear about Covid, especially amongst vaccinated people. I see young people afraid to go to restaurants or fly and wearing masks walking in the park. If they are vaccinated, this is, frankly, bizarre behavior. My wife says they are not vaccinated. But, I suspect that it is a year and half of fear mongering by politicians and the media, continuing with the constant updates on "variants", none of which are infectious to vaccinated people. Anyway, best of luck to Professor Blackman - you will be fine.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Get an education, ChrisC. Start with science.

Backwater religious schooling doesn't count.

[Life of Brian]

Start with science.

Because there is only One True Science, and all who practice it know the same truths and share the same beliefs. Its tenants are so unquestionable and immutable, we need not even voice them. On occasion we may cite to its sacred scriptures, but simply as a method for spreading the gospel -- only the High Priests of the One True Science are qualified to interpret them.

Take heed, though, brethren: there are those who claim to follow something they may call "science," but such are rank apostates. Do NOT listen to them -- their sweet croonings of data, logic, and common sense are solely meant to confuse you into falling away from the One True Science.

Backwater religious schooling doesn’t count.

Indeed.

[M L]

I F*cking Love Science!™

[Jmaie]

Science be praised...

My s/o wears a mask when going inside any public building, despite having been inoculated and living in an area with 80% inoculation rates. No better reason than liking to "feel safe."

[Currentsitguy]

My wife and I were delighted when we got it back in February. After 10 days of misery we had achieved natural immunity and subsequently burned every mask we had.

[Dan Schiavetta]

You weren't so thrilled when you turned out to be one of the every 500 Americans who died of it.

[KenveeB]

I flew Texas to Hawaii in April. 8 hour flights. We were masked unless eating or drinking, everyone was cool about it. Hawaii has very strict rules about Covid testing, so there was a lot of extra work on the arrival to go through that. But otherwise it seemed very normal and unremarkable. I'm not sure why a short flight to New York seemed so scary.

[Don Nico]

Kenvee,
I have flown over 6 million miles, yet when I took a flight a couple of weeks ago. I was actually nervous about getting on a plane. \Why? COVID? absolutely not.
But getting in a heavy metal tube that is supposed to stay up in the sky, that seemed a bit scary.
I had no worries flying back home.

[Jmaie]

"But getting in a heavy metal tube that is supposed to stay up in the sky, that seemed a bit scary."

The sun is supposed to rise in the east every morning, in my experience it generally does. The laws of physics being relatively stable, airplanes tend to stay aloft as well. Have you found it to be otherwise?

I kid of course. A bit...

[BadLib]

I enjoyed spending time at home with my family.

When people say this, I always wonder if the feeling was reciprocal?

[Dan Schiavetta]

He says he normally flies 100,000 miles a year. If his trips were to London, he'd be gone only once a month. If he flew to places like New York, that meant he was gone practically every week. However he seems to go on shorter trips around the country so that means he's gone more often than that.

[David Bernstein]

FWIW, airplanes never seemed especially risky given the medical grade air filters and the early studies showing that almost no one caught covid on planes in which passengers had covid, the only risk was if you were sitting in very close proximtiy for a very long flight, unmasked.