After five flights this week that touched airports in Pittsburgh, Fort Myers, and Newark on two airlines I wanted to provide some observations of what it’s like for those that aren’t traveling.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Florida Terminals Are Full
Social distancing is not an option at Florida airports this week. That’s a good thing for everyone, kind of. It would be better if flights were spaced out or gates were, rather than bunching everyone together. I can understand the need for airports to close off sections of the terminal and consolidate operations both for airport staff, security, and cost savings.
However, even in pre-COVID periods, I would prefer the privacy, space, and the quiet of a lounge over a packed boarding area filled with gate lice.
That said, Pittsburgh was a ghost town this week. Newark was light and airy as well. Very few people were waiting for flights and it seemed that Fort Myers (Regional Southwest Florida International) might have had as many flyers in Terminal C as Newark did.
That’s like being in a strange parallel universe but reflects the pandemic at this stage perfectly. The snow and cold have shaken out even the most stalwart “stay home, stay safe” crowd as have falling positive COVID-19 test results and rising vaccinations.
Florida Flights Are Full
It could be that last-minute flights can be booked cheap at the moment. It could be that the flight price really doesn’t matter with that bitter cold snap last week, some in Texas were probably shopping cheap airfares to Florida, Las Vegas or anywhere else that got them away from freezing pipes.
But I suspect it’s not just cheap flights and cold weather that have many heading to the sunshine state, at least on my flights this week. While it might be time to buy trans-con flight deals like $31 cross-country upgradable to lie-flat business class, some of the cheapest fares are departing in favor of higher rates for spring break.
Some employees for Delta that I know were flying back north on one of two 767-400s to Minneapolis and planning for a long day of standby with just two seats available on either flight. Few seats were available on the five Atlanta flights from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM as a backup for them.
It’s not just Delta flying full from Florida, United had flights nearly to capacity to and from Newark, Spirit was loaded to about 130 of 160 seats to the sunshine state, yet flights from Newark to Pittsburgh were half empty or less.
Business Travel Hasn’t Returned, May Be Awhile
Based on how full flights were and which flights were full I can only surmise that leisure travel knows few bounds right now to Florida. If United can fill 170+ seats on Wednesday/Thursday flights to and from Florida but can’t get an E-170 to half full once a day, business travel is virtually non-existent.
One business traveler that works for a major pharmaceutical bragged to me this week that while her fellow salespeople were clamoring to get back on the road, just 55% had gone anywhere for work in the last few months nor would they any time soon. There’s not a huge need to do so either. Zoom is still good enough for the time being, and some simply aren’t allowed to return to in-person meetings.
Conclusion
The good news for leisure flyers is that while business travel is down, it’s a great time to find the cheapest deals for business/first class upgrades.
Of my four United flights this week, I cleared just one upgrade (Pittsburgh to Newark) and was never closer than 4th on the upgrade list to and from Florida despite my United Premier 1K status. On at least one flight I was surrounded by other 1Ks that didn’t clear either, which means those seats were sold to paying customers rather than given away to elite chumps like me.
The sweet spot will be when international routes open up again and business travelers don’t buy all of the good seats in the front of the plane, but leave those seats to leisure travelers with upgrade instruments flying on cheap coach airline tickets.
What do you think? Have you been flying this week? What did you find?
The interesting twist with Florida after spending the past ten days here for work is that yes, flights are full and unbelievably cheap, but the hotels are milking it for everything they can. Four Seasons Surfside has been selling (not asking, selling as it’s often booked) at rates approaching $3K some weekends. Edition Miami Beach has been getting upwards of $2k some nights. Further, the hotels are packed. Especially on weekends. Even a Courtyard in places like Naples I had to pay $300 a night. Not only are they asking these prices, based on what I have seen people are paying them for leisure trips given the packed facilities.
The one sweet spot in Florida right now is Downtown Miami. I managed to get a room at the Mandarin for $299. Which is unheard of this time of year, even under normal circumstances. The reason? Mandarin has long been 80% business travel and 20% leisure (despite having a secret beach set up on the bay with sand brought in etc). This confirms your point that any routes, hotels, etc that have long relied on business travel are in serious trouble. Those hotels and routes that are doing leisure to warm places are absolutely milking it right now.
[reads comment, runs to car and types “Mandarin Oriental” into Google Maps]
And no resort fees. Even though they have the fun faux beach set up that is never crowded and quieter than a “normal” beach. I’m telling you, it’s the ultimate sweet spot in Florida these days. The staff is incredible, the food at La Mar is first rate, and the rooms are lovely. As well with much less traffic in the city these days it’s MUCH easier to get to than the properties at the beaches. And shopping in the design district is a quick Uber away.
Business travel is not coming back anytime soon for a simple reason: fear of lawsuits. If an employee goes on a business trip and gets Covid he can sue his company. Thus, not happening anytime soon.
Four flights last week were 100% full. The Ruiz Carlton St Thomas was at 95% capacity during my two recent stays. People are on the move.
Maybe part of the reason for an empty Pittsburgh airport is one has to get a negative COVID test within 72 hours of departure to land in Pennsylvania. That is the reason I recently cancelled a planned trip there.
This may be suggested but there is zero mechanism for enforcement of this.