News article: "Delta is confident that Covid entry testing soon will end"

Rob, thanks for the encouraging article. I have all parts crossed that the reg will change soon. I just spent the money to order the BinaxNow test kits for travel. So hope I don’t need them.

I hope so too! That requirement added a level of unease to two recent trips and made me reluctant to do things like eat in a restaurant.
I hope that it's dropped for vaccinated and boostered travelers only, however. I'm 100% okay with unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated travelers still having to meet that requirement.

Thanks for that link!

Just flew Delta from Seattle to Paris on Tuesday and noted the FA announced a reminder several times that a negative test was required for a return to the US. They did not make that same announcement in October when I flew to France.

Fingers crossed it’s lifted! (I’m old and that’s about all that can be easily crossed, lol!!)

Testing is a good thing, as it tells you if you are infectious to others. Several friends have been very ill for several days with Covid in the past 2 weeks. One initially had no idea she had it, so testing prevented her spreading it.

I’m wondering how many ill people will just go ahead and fly back because testing is not required?

Since this was part of a financial call, the cynic in me thinks Delta said what the analysts wanted to hear. I’m not as confident this requirement will be dropped prior to our June flight back to the US. Particularly in light of the mask extension on flights due to the recent uptick in cases.

Ahhh...Katheryne's explanation makes perfect sense, unfortunately. I'm struggling to figure out purpose of the regulation today. If to prevent new variants from entering US, I'm sorry but that ship has sailed. If to protect others on the flight, then what about the outbound leg? No one tests when you leave US if not required at destination.

The regulation makes no sense now. People with Covid can flying anywhere they want in the US (and do) without repercussion, so it makes no sense to make international travelers test. As GimmeGrenache said, "...that ship has sailed".

With regards to masking, those are two separate issues. Everyone on a plane has to mask up, but only people traveling to (or back to) the US have to test. I'm hoping it ends soon (at least before May 25th).

Ditto to what Katheryne said

Hallelujah for the day it ends!
I agree with Mardee the current Antigen test requirement is a bit of an illusion. They usually only detect Covid after a person’s been infected for more than 2 days. The tests mostly show false negatives in that initial timeframe which means infected people are already getting the green light to board flights.

The hospitals here in California use PCR tests to prescreen surgical patients and staff because they know the Antigen tests can’t do what they need them to do- detect the bug before someone contaminates a surgical center.

Many in the medical community believe with the Omicron substrain being weaker and causing very few hospitalizations, it’s time to let natural immunity develop in those who remain unvaccinated.
Whatever the case, my fervent hope is that we never have to go through another pandemic for another millennia.
🌅

A lifetime of experience has taught me that if this requirement is to change, it undoubtedly will not be before my next trip! I can’t tell you how many times things have changed after they would have done me some good. 😀

I return May 8th. Don’t look for a change prior to that…….

I still plan to self-test before flying to Europe next month and again before returning. But it's heartwarming to see that Delta, my least favorite airline, is doing so well financially. I'm sure that means they won't be raising fares as fuel prices rise, they'll pay their employees better, and they'll up their customer service staffing so we can get a person in less than six hours. ;-)

Carol, that made me laugh! Let's hope your luck is changing!

But it's heartwarming to see that Delta, my least favorite airline, is
doing so well financially. I'm sure that means they won't be raising
fares as fuel prices rise, they'll pay their employees better, and
they'll up their customer service staffing so we can get a person in
less than six hours. ;-)

snort/laugh

“Carol, that made me laugh! Let's hope your luck is changing!”

Agree with Mardee!! My return is after Carol’s so here’s hoping!

Carol, you gave me my second laugh of the day here…. 🤣🤣

I am booked to fly (domestically) on May 4th, the day after the mask mandate is set to end. I will still wear a mask, but I'll be curious to see how many others do/don't.

Rob, thank you for the link, I hadn’t seen that ‘good news’ article. I don’t have a problem masking on a plane, despite the fact that most people will be eating or drinking without them half the trip. We will have our second booster before traveling but I’m still freaking out about possibly of testing prior to returning to the US. I hope they lift the regulation on May 23 in conjunction with the immigration ruling.

I'm hoping the Delta CEO wouldn't have said it without good reason since I think -- I'm no financial export -- there executives have to be careful of what they say on earnings calls lest they run afoul of rules about they can or can't say in that context.

Like many here I'm concerned about an involuntary, expensive, and boring extension to my trip. I haven't found any trip insurance that seems to cover it. I mean, the test happens at the end of your trip when you've already enjoyed the thing you insured against losing and the quarantine goes past the end of the insurance-covered time period. The policies I've read define "quarantine" as something ordered by a doctor and not just adhering to a countries rules or guidelines. It would seem to be "trip delay" and not "trip interruption" and the trip delay policies seem to focus on covering you for a short time caused, for example, by a flight cancellation. I have not found any insurance that explicitly says they'll reimburse you for the expense of failing the pre-flight test.

We bought an annual family policy with Covid coverage —includes medical covid related, and quarantine costs if you or one of your family members traveling with you tests positive. So it can be found. Plus, if you have a medical diagnosis while traveling, that is usually covered until you are medically cleared. Ie, the usual would be you broke your arm while traveling, had a heart attack, etc., and still needed care for it after returning home — because it occurred during the trip, it could be covered under your policy. These are the kinds of things to look for when choosing a policy.

@ecetera do you mind sharing the name of the company? I'm currently shopping for travel insurance and all the fine print is making my head spin!

Allianz — we purchased it from July 21 to July 22 so be sure to read the fine print as the policies they currently offer could be different. If you are doing multiple trips in a year (and you can choose the start date you want, it’s not Jan 1 to Dec 31st unless you choose that) it is a much more affordable option than purchasing per trip. We’ve done….5 cruises, one land trip so far, with our month long Europe trip starting tomorrow, woo Hoo! So for us, it was much, much cheaper. Also, pay attention to whether the coverage categories (trip delay, cancellation, medical) are per trip, or per policy. We did opt to increase one of the coverage categories because it was annual and we wanted more given the amount of travel we knew we would be doing.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Hey roubrat, another recommendation for Allianz. They have a very detailed FAQ on covid coverage. I was going to link to it, but it appears their website might be down. Unless the issue is at my end.

Hope so! CDC, nor any other entity, has disclosed the data. As this drags on, its like watching an old Keystone Cops movie, throwing mandates out with no real evidence of its effectiveness, and then running to the next thing. Vaccines appear to be the only consistent that has been truly effective. I

Thanks, Carrie. I found the page.