Bat Guano

Those crowing about the seriousness of this event and who have guffawed at the Furlough thread have just been issued a stern rebuke. I keep reading that this is just the flu. Then I read someone who actually knows what they're talking about and who's not just beating their chest.

For those of us who fly for a living, the old saw about 6 months saved is about to be tested. Call me a skeptic but I think 12 months saved might not even be enough.

paulcg77

I'm all for not overreacting but on the same day we have a bear market that ends the last 11 years of economic growth, all travel to Europe (except the UK) is banned. I'd say we should all be in the "let's take this seriously" stage of our financial planning and saving.

BMEP100

Dr. Osterholm is no quack. Maybe the greatest expert on the subject in the U.S. He has written books on China virus and how unprepared our county is to handle a virus like this. Sad to hear. So many of our drugs are manufactured in China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw

baseball

just seeing the Europe ban. I thought this would happen soon.

No one knows if furlough is looming or not. Economically it doesn't make sense if a furlough is short-term. I think the math experts agree if less than a year, not worth the expense. Maybe ALPA has an opinion on that.

Bigger picture. We've gotta get back our domestic pharma industry. Like 97% of our drugs come from China. All of the other goods and services being made there add up to a big vulnerability to our economic center of gravity.

We might need pharmaceuticals to treat this pandemic. China controls the industry and our access to it. China government Op-Ed yesterday reminds us of their control.

Wife, who is a Doctor predicts our family will get it just due to all my traveling with the airline. She says to "self quarantine" at an airport hotel, or a layover hotel should I get sick while traveling for the airline. She asked me to locate my SOS card and to be sure how to get a hold of help if abroad and ill. Has our airline come out with any instructions for us in this area? I didn't see anything when I logged in to CCS.

MCDUmanipulator

Screw that, I’m not leaving my family for a minimum of 2 weeks during one of the worse disasters in history. If I got sick on the road I’d drive back If I had to.

Itsajob

How much damage will a temporary ban actually have? We’ve been running European flights with 200 open seats to protect slots. That’s 20,000++ gallons of fuel each way for less than 100 passengers. I don’t think that our slots are at risk. If the EU were to enforce the 80% rule, the US government would reciprocate and cancel their slots here. My guess is that parking those planes until this is over would cost less than running empty flights. This isn’t going to be a year for high line values or profit sharing, but I doubt that we see anyone hit the street. We won’t be hiring for a while either, so all growth plans and vacancy opportunities are simply on hold for a while.

klondike

No one doubts that the virus exists or that if the wrong person contracts it, it can be deadly.
But what is manufactured here is the whipped up and unnecessary panic that has been created by certain elements of the society with certain motivations. That unnecessary panic and manufactured crisis mode is, at this point, very seriously threatening to crash this economy.
It is completely unwarranted and absolutely disgusting.

SOMEONE- ANYONE- with some common sense needed to stand up, be a LEADER, and tell the truth about this virus before this hysteria got out of hand.
The horse is out of the barn and running amok. It’s way too late now for common sense. The fear mongers won.

MaxQ

northern Italy was exactly where you are 3 weeks ago..

”it’s just the flu...chill”
their icu capabilities are now on the verge of having to ration life saving care. Largely because of most of the population ignoring it’s dangers.

paulcg77

Agreed. For anyone still pushing the "This is just a cold, it'll be over in two weeks" line, please read this article by a Johns Hopkins professor about what is going on in Italy right now: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...7Mdp8AvwBscSiE

BLUF: COVID-19 is primarily killing older people, it's true. But even in developed first world countries with excellent healthcare (which northern Italy has), so many older people with comorbidities are getting sick and dying that it's overwhelming the local hospitals. There aren't enough healthcare workers or supplies, so they are triaging, which dictates prioritizing care for the people most likely to survive. You might not care about COVID-19 because you are under the age of 70 right now, but you might care more if this gets to a high density part of the USA with inadequate existing healthcare resources (i.e., half of the US) and your parents or grandparents get sick. This isn't the common cold and it's not going away in two weeks.

horrido27

Why is no one yelling about the lack of responsible reporting?
So, Italy has had the most cases and deaths. Hmmn
Can we get the age, sex and health status (prior to getting sick) of those who have died?
Same for those who have tested positive?

Just read that children ARE NOT getting the virus?! True? Not sure?
Doctor reported on a live webcast on News12 (NJ) yesterday that 'interestingly enough, women who gave birth to newborns in China DID NOT transfer the virus from host to newborn"

Another guy (Soccer reporter from Spain) has a twitter feed. He got it in Italy and went home without knowing. After 2 days of home quarantine (in which he did call a doctor and hospital), he finally went in and got tested. Yupe- Positive.
Been in the hospital since. Bored. Reading, watching movies..
But interestingly enough, no mention of his wife and child who had been in the house with him!

At this point, not sure what to believe anymore. djt announces a travel ban to Europe starting Friday.. oh, not including the UK?! (and actually a few other countries too- Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania)
Homeland Security says its a ban for Europeans traveling to the US?! Says it doesn't apply to crewmembers (see latest CCS msg) Which is it?! Also seems Americans can travel?

All we can do is to remain calm, try to go about our day to day life. Both sad and angry that we have to tell people to 'wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough..'.
Like EVERYTHING else that has come before, this too shall pass.

Wonder if there is any coordination between US carriers or Star Alliance carriers to set up 'schedules' of flights. Obviously, air travel must and will continue.. but no need to fly half empty days every day when maybe you could schedule something between different airlines.

Oh Well
FS, FP & FtC
Motch