Last week, a photo of a packed United Airlines flight from New York went viral, as passengers and social media users alike were flabbergasted at the seeming lack of social distancing happening on the plane.
In an effort to combat that backlash and help mitigate the problem, the carrier has announced that it will now notify passengers if their flight is "expected to be closer to full capacity" and allow them to earn travel credit or rebook their trip if so desired.
As for when you'll be notified, the airline announced it'll try to do so before you even get to the airport but it will also give folks the option to reschedule or receive credit once they reach the gate if over 70% of the flight's passengers have already checked in. The policy will stay in place through June 30.
Although the airline acknowledged their steadfast dedication to operating each flight at a lower capacity, it also noted that, given the fewer number of scheduled trips, the possibility of planes being fuller than expected shouldn't come as a surprise.
To help solve the situation, the carrier also made public that, in addition to passenger notifications, it will try to implement an alternate seating plan when possible. "While we cannot guarantee that all customers will be seated next to an unoccupied seat, based on historically low travel demand and the implementation of our various social distancing measures, that is the likely outcome," reads the official company statement.
The latter effort seems to be the new modus operandi across the industry, as, earlier this week, the likes of Delta settled on blocking off 40 percent of main cabin seats moving forward. When it comes to changes in travel, we're personally still excited about this possible economy cabin redesign—thoughts?
Most popular on Time Out
- Brace yourselves for the return of the drive-in movie theater
- US-based airlines will resume operating international flights as early as next month
- You can send a free pint of ice cream to anyone you want to right now
- Online party games to play remotely with friends
- You can play Cards Against Humanity online for free