Greetings from – where else? Home in Southern California! I’m itching to get away and I’ve even been toying with the idea of getting on one of American Airlines’ 777 from LAX to Miami as their business class is looking empty and I could get upgraded for free thanks to my elite status. The only reason I would go is to see my dad; he’s lonely as can be. He’s 91, can barely see and is hard of hearing. But it’s just too risky unless I stay six feet away and not hug him which wouldn’t be possible for either of us. I feel like the longer we go, the better doctors understand COVID-19. If they don’t find a reliable vaccine, I do think the world will just adapt.

TSA Screened Over 800,000 People on Sunday
It looks like I’m not the only one ready to travel. On Sunday, August 9, security checkpoints passed 800,000 for the first time since March 17 when TSA officers screened 831,789 people. Keep in mind, numbers are still way down (70%) from a year ago, when that number was 2,647,897.

What’s the Best Airline to Fly During COVID-19?
If you do have to fly, you will probably want to read this post as it’s one of the most frequent questions I get from friends, family and readers. What’s the best airline to fly during COVID-19? There are a lot of variables to that answer. I break it down here.

2020: The Year of the Road Trip
While air travel is still way down, AAA recently reported that 97% of summer trips this year are road trips. One of the places Americans can’t legally go is Canada but some Americans have been using a loophole to cross the border (they say they’re driving to Alaska). According to the New York Times some Canadian citizens, concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, are taking matters into their own hands and reporting illegal American visitors and actually doing damage to vehicles with U.S. plates on them.

It turns out these local efforts aren’t confined to Canada either. “In Hawaii, a group with more than 5,600 volunteers called the Hawai’i Quarantine Kapu Breakers works to track people breaking the mandatory two-week quarantine for visitors to the islands. The quarantine law, which will be in effect until at least Sept. 1, carries a possible $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail.”

New York City Is Ramping Up Enforcement of State Quarantine Rules
Before you travel somewhere, find out what the local laws are and abide by them or face punishment, either by law enforcement or locals. Even New York State is requiring quarantining from travelers coming from dozens of states.

SAS Flight with 158 Passengers Lands 60 Seconds After New Quarantine Rules
Speaking of quarantining, did you read the story about the SAS passengers returning from France to Norway on Saturday and missed out on the quarantine exemption by one minute after their plane touched down at 00:01 local time? That hurts especially because the passengers initially thought they had made it before the curfew but they now need to isolate for 10 days.

Aviation Experts Suggest Coronavirus May Change Flying for the Better
One aviation expert says Coronavirus may change flying for the better. Vanity Fair lists some examples from around the world including: “Pearson Airport in Toronto has begun allowing GrubHub and Uber Eats to get food to people wherever they may be waiting, rather than having them bunch up in queues to grab a pre-flight meal. Naturally, the biggest change will be the TSA, but tech advances on the fast track reportedly include remotely operated X-ray machines that can scan carry-ons and shoes to fight conveyor belt bottlenecks.”

US Government Issues New Zealand Travel Warning Due to its 23 Active Cases
The biggest joke of the week is that “the US Government has warned its citizens to be very cautious about travelling to New Zealand because of our “23 active cases” of Covid-19. Despite the US recording more than 2 million cases and 160,000 deaths, the government is advising against travelling to New Zealand.” Is that insane or what? New Zealand went 102 days without a case of COVID-19 until the streak broke on Tuesday. When three people (it’s now 17) from South Auckland (from the same household) tested positive, the NZ government made Auckland go on a three-day lockdown to “give health officials time to conduct urgent contact tracing and assess the situation.” New Zealand has a plan –something the U.S.A. still doesn’t have when it comes to the coronavirus. To give you an example, when my sister contracted COVID-19 in June, her Florida doctor told her NOT to tell anyone because people would freak out. Fortunately, she didn’t listen to him.

The U.S. State Department Lifted its Blanket Advisory for Americans to Avoid International Travel
The advisory was put in place five months ago because of COVID-19. However, as USA Today explains, “that does not mean Americans should travel anywhere they like. Many countries won’t allow them to enter anyway. And the State Department still maintains a level 4 alert — its highest — for more than 50 countries. A substantial number remain at level 3, which means reconsider travel.”

MLB Tightens Health and Safety Protocols Following COVID-19 Outbreaks
I have to give credit to the NBA for going a month without a COVID-19 case, something I didn’t think would happen. I bet MLB is wishing they had created a bubble for players like the NBA did (in fact, they’re talking about one for the playoffs). But MLB has tightened health and safety protocols following more COVID-19 outbreaks. They’re telling their players and coaches that “surgical face masks or N95/KN95 respirators should be used on buses and airplanes.” They’ve also said, “While we are not at this time banning eating and drinking on planes, players and staff must be mindful of limiting the amount of time they remove their masks for purposes of eating and drinking.” Something else that’s interesting: “No one should be conversing with others while they’re eating or drinking and members traveling together should not eat or drink at the same time as others in their row.”

Miscellaneous News Besides What’s Listed Below (Scroll Way Down):
-Australia’s Qantas is reviving its 12-hour sightseeing flights over Antarctica, which land right back where they started.
-AA matches Delta and United in banning masks with exhaust valves/vents – as well as mesh materials. h/t JT Genter
A nudist bather who chased a wild boar near a Berlin lake after it stole his laptop was applauded by onlookers after a successful pursuit.
U.S. Airlines Are Now Banning This Kind of Face Mask
-Complaints of sea lice popping up across the Jersey Shore. What to do if you are a victim (my sister experienced them in Long Island Sound)
Woman hits Phoenix airport gate agent after being denied boarding for not wearing a mask
-Here’s my weekly travel segment on Leo Laporte’s The Tech Guy (I go on at 1:21:30)
How a Biden Win Could Change the Course of COVID-19 (If we can get COVID-19 on track we can get back to traveling!)

NEW: What’s It Like Flying and Quarantining in Australia In Late July
When I found out my friend Dominika Dryjski has been traveling all around the world including to Australia, where she’s currently in mandatory quarantine, I thought I could help her pass the time by interviewing her on my YouTube Channel and Podcast.

The Best TravelSmart App Yet (Version 5.4) Is Now Available
Finally, my once longtime sponsor, Allianz Travel Insurance has updated their awesome app to version 5.4. You don’t have to be a customer to benefit from it so check it out.

Travel news roundups (scroll down)
Once again, there’s a ton of travel news so I created separate posts for each category (air, cruise, domestic, international…) to help organize it. Below are links to most of the major travel industry stories…

Airline and airport news:

Domestic news:

  • Trump Could Temporarily Block Americans Who Might Be Infected From Returning to the U.S.
  • All travelers flying to Puerto Rico must now arrive through San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, with documentation of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival
  • See all the domestic news that’s got people talking this week…

International travel news:

Miscellaneous travel news:

Travel deals
In case you’re planning your next (safe) getaway, here are a few of the best travel deals out there right now:

Hoping you all stay safe and healthy!

Follow me on social…
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest…and please subscribe to my
YouTube channel | Podcast

Was this email forwarded to you?
Sign up
 for our free daily and weekly travel newsletters on this page to get the latest travel news, deals and tips from JohnnyJet.com.

And tell your friends/family!


<<< Work with us! >>>

Follow us on social!
As always, if you’re on social media, you can follow me on:
YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

3 Comments On "Travel News, Deals, Tips and Stories For August 13, 2020"
  1. Abe|

    Hi johnny! How is that AA LAX-Miami flight on the 777? I believe you’ve written about it before, right?

    1. Johnny Jet|

      It’s the best since it has lie flat business class and premium economy is better than AA’s domestic first class. I haven’t really written about the flight in a post except for
      https://johnnyjet.com/getting-upgraded-on-an-american-airlines-flight-from-miami-to-l-a/
      and
      https://johnnyjet.com/travel-tip-of-the-day-not-all-planes-are-created-or-configured-equal/

  2. Clare|

    The US government’s warning not to go to New Zealand was a waste of time. Nobody is getting in unless a citizen or permanent resident all of whom have a mandatory two week quarantine in a hotel, paid for by taxpayers. There are a few rare exceptions such as big movie crews (one is filming Avatar II) who go into quarantine at their own expense for two weeks.

Leave a Reply

Required fields are marked *

Recent posts