Trip report: travelling during COVID

About a month ago, after quite a bit of soul searching, I decided to fly for the first time since the pandemic started. I’d not seen my parents or my brother for nearly three years, and while there were a lot of “what-if”s, in the end there was only one choice I could make. So I started booking. As I work in the travel industry I’d like to share some notes on my experience, both the frustrations and pleasant surprises that I encountered.

Pre-Flight Teething

I was interested to see that booking two one-way flights was significantly cheaper than booking a return. First time I’ve ever seen that (outside of hacker fares).

The government site at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-abroad-from-england-during-coronavirus-covid-19 is really quite good, although there are so many links and sub-sites that it’s easy to get lost. Would be good if they (or better yet the airlines) were providing a standard travel checklist. The Canadian government site has something like this, very helpful.

Leaving the UK, you need to have a PCR test within 72 hours of your departure. Lesson learned: don’t travel on Tuesdays! Most of the test providers are closed on Sunday, which means you need to go on a Saturday, and then get your test results late on a Monday to be able to fly Tuesday morning. Flying any other day would have meant having a buffer in case there was a problem with the test, but as it was I was on a wing (no pun intended) and a prayer.

The whole experience of the pre-flight tests has provided me with a grim look at what the health service would be like if it were privatised. There’s a list with hundreds of potential providers, with no real standards of terminology or certification, and warnings everywhere about how the test providers are not liable if you don’t get your results in time. There are also numerous horror stories online of disreputable test providers, and a sublist floating around of user-approved providers. They all offer various “packages”, which vary in price from around £80 up to £400 for the 48 hour results, and £1000’s for same-day results. As I’m based in London even a basic test from a pharmacy cost me £129. Unfortunately now that the private concerns have got a taste of this money, they won’t let it go without a fight. My prediction is that for the next 3–5 years, COVID test results will be required for any flight. The price makes already-prohibitive travel costs downright exorbitant. Imagine being a family of 4 having to pay £129 per person, on top of flight costs. Oh yeah, and you have to do the same again to come back, and the same AGAIN once you return (although the day 2 test on return was “only” £70).

One thing that was awful: finding out when, how and where I needed to be tested once I arrived. The airline was no help whatsoever, they just said “a test is required once you arrive, and even though you’re fully vaccinated, you may need to wait up to three days for a result”. They said I would be tested at my final destination. Thank goodness I called my final destination though, who informed me they had nothing set up for testing, and in fact I would need to be tested at my initial point of entry into the country (in this case, Calgary airport). The person I spoke to at Calgary was really great, and she detailed for me exactly what the setup was, that I would be given a basic test on arrival with results in 15 minutes. That was good news as my connection was really tight, with 1h30 between flights.

The Airport and Flight

Gatwick itself felt pretty deserted, was an odd “28 Days Later” vibe.

Checking In & Security was a good mix of smooth and safe. I was asked multiple times for negative test results & vaccination papers, and it was clear that they weren’t making any exceptions that would jeopardise the health of passengers.

The flight itself was surprisingly full. You look around at everyone and think, “look at all these irresponsible people, travelling away during a pandemic without a care in the world. Not like me, Mr. Valid Reason, champion of safe flying”. And everyone is looking at you and thinking the same thing.

That said, I never felt unsafe. Everyone was wearing masks, there was sanitiser everywhere, the air in the cabin was being refreshed every couple of minutes, and security seemed very tight around requiring valid negative test results & vaccination papers. I felt at-ease on the flight, which I hadn’t expected.

On arrival into Calgary: absolute chaos. Right before we left the plane a steward came on and told us, we’d have to pick up and re-check our baggage onto the next flight. I don’t remember ever having to do that with a connection. I imagine it’s because they’ve cut the number of baggage handlers to save money. Anyway, I ran down to the baggage area and spoke to a rep from the airline, saying I was concerned about my connection. They said “oh, you won’tmake that, your travel agent shouldn’t have booked that for you”. Great news since I’d made a point of booking directly through the airline! But they said sorry, you’ll just have to get on a later flight, or catch one the next day.

I was livid! Especially as my folks were waiting for me at my final destination. I decided to give it a mad try, and ran hell for leather to the testing area, where they again had staffing issues so just gave me a take-home kit and asked me to mail it in when I arrived. Had to re-check my bag and re-go through security, but caught my connection with seconds to spare.

I get that we’re all new to this, but I really feel like the airline could have been more knowledgable about all the new processes, and set my expectations better. Seeing as every single passenger has to go through the same basic processes, it would save us all so much time if they’d just tell us what we needed to do. In fact, for the first time since the birth of the internet I found myself wishing for a travel agent! Might be a little side business there for someone, a COVID travel consultancy.

Canadian Experience

Dallas Road, Victoria BC, looking out to the Olympic Mountains in WA.

In the UK you can just do your test yourself. The Canadian take-home test though: you have to do it on a video call with a health consultant. Felt very inefficient, I was on hold for 45 minutes, just for the person to watch me stick a swab up my nose.

The cost of the test to fly home and the overall experience was roughly the same ($300 for a PCR test). There were only 3 providers in my home town though, compared to the hundreds in London. I was lucky to get a slot, so book early!

One thing I never considered: getting a rental car is incredibly difficult! I’ve read up on it now, what they’re calling the “carpocalypse”. Basically: the rental car companies all sold their fleets during lockdown (as they pay taxes depending on the # of cars they hold). Then, when lockdown eased, consumers bought up all the used cars, and the rental firms are struggling to re-stock. In the end I didn’t rent one, as the only thing I could find available cost over $1400 for a seven day rental!

Flight home was much more straightforward, as my connection was within Canada.

Conclusions

Overall, I’m thrilled that I travelled when I did, and seeing my family was amazing.

While the airlines have managed to make the flight itself feel calm and safe, my pre-and-post flight experience was all very frustrating. The airlines could do more here to make the experience more pleasant, especially as travellers will already be frustrated by the cost of tests. The amount of searching and phone calls I had to do for basic research was ridiculous, the answers should be provided to us directly.

My experience gives me hope that the industry I love will be able to make a solid comeback, and that others like me will be pleasantly surprised by how familiar and secure the experience of travelling in the time of COVID can be.