Have we forgotten how to travel?

Did we forget how to travel? Even men are overpacking!

We’ve been traveling on and off during the pandemic, but like most road warriors, we realized how out of practice we really are recently when one of us (we won’t say who) gave up on our usual carry-on-only rule, only to come home with a big suitcase full of mostly clean clothes. Oh, and so much for that always-at-the-ready Ziploc bag of essential travel lotions and liquids, the contents of which have been pilfered and scattered throughout the bathroom closet. And where, oh where, did that pair of dress shoes go? Add in constantly changing travel rules for international trips, and just getting out the door can be downright stressful.

Apparently, we are not alone. People from all walks of life -- even the chief of a major association that deals with flying -- are having issues! 

Greg Principato, CEO of the National Aeronautic Association, admitted to Travel Essential that he’s practically forgotten how to pack while flying around the world, like to Prague recently for leisure.

“I used to come home with one extra pair of socks and clean underwear. You alway have just a bunch of dirty laundry and emergency items, and that was the perfect pack. Now? Every time I come back from a trip, I find I didn’t wear half the stuff,” said Principato, who did 88 takeoffs and landings in 2019. “People are trying to learn how to (travel) again.”

Daniel Leone, a personal injury lawyer from New Jersey, had a rude awakening when he recently took his first flight since Covid. Before lockdowns started in 2020, he'd fly every two weeks for work and detested it since he was prone to air sickness. On his first flight, he forgot to bring his usual motion-sickness wrist bands to avoid nausea. 

“My first flight post-Covid meant that I was very stressed, all consumed with what it was going to be like, and my mind was all over the place,” Leone told Travel Essential in an email. “This resulted in me forgetting those travel sickness bands. While on this flight, I started to experience nausea, and the sudden realization that I wasn’t wearing the bands hit me! I panicked and stood up so I could quickly get a flight attendant’s attention in case I needed a sick bag. The plane suddenly jerked due to turbulence at that exact moment, and I ended up gagging over the two passengers next to me.”

Fortunately, Leone didn’t lose his lunch on his fellow passengers -- but he did muck UP his suit. (Poor guy! Sure glad we weren’t at that business meeting, though.)

Nick Mueller,  director of operations for HawaiianIslands.com, is in the vacations business. But even he forgot how to pack.

”Before Covid, I traveled quite often," Mueller told Travel Essential. "However, I recently realized that my travel game is a little out of practice. I flew to California a few weeks ago for a family trip and somehow managed to pack half of my wardrobe for the three-day trip. While normally I'd pack just the essentials and could organize my suitcase like a pro, I seemed to have forgotten the importance of packing light. I brought outfits for a multitude of temperatures, occasions, and comfort-levels, even though I knew exactly what we'd be doing and what the weather would be like. I guess I'm going to have to get back in the swing of traveling!” 

Tips for navigating the changing rules of air fares 

If you’ve gone shopping for airline tickets recently, the fast-growing list of choices may have you wondering if you’ve also forgotten how to shop for travel. 

A search for flights today brings up a dizzying array of options, from basic economy to regular economy to refundable economy, premium economy, business class and first class.

Even Southwest Airlines, which only offers one class of seats, is entering the game, announcing this week that it’s adding a fourth level to its historically simple fare structure. The tier sits above the carrier's cheapest, most restrictive “Wanna Get Away” fare, and will allow same-day, no-cost changes while also boosting the earning rate for frequent-flier credits.

The upside: The growing number of fare classes might be confusing, but they’re worth checking out, especially if you are keen to book that summer vacation before airfares continue to rise but are worried that world events may leave you with yet one more potentially useless credit. For instance, while shopping for tickets to Mexico recently, we discovered that the major U.S. carriers -- Delta, American and United -- not only continue to offer economy tickets that can be changed without charge, they’ve also added a refundable economy class option for just $100 more. That would have been unheard of pre-pandemic, when you couldn’t even make a change to a standard coach ticket for less than $200. 

The downside: The cheapest tickets come with fewer and fewer basic amenities, such as a pre-selected seat or a carry-on bag, let alone a checked bag or the ability to apply any part of that fare to a future ticket if you have to make any changes to your travel plans. 

The key takeaway: Before you click on that cheapest fare, think through the choices and your flexibility or lack thereof. We’d much rather pay an extra $100 for the option of a full refund than add to our collection of pandemic credits.

So what’s driving all these airfare changes?

The pandemic, of course, is a major reason. Carriers are attempting to offset the drop in premium-paying business travelers who used to buy last-minute fares that cost more money. Now, they're trying to lure more upscale leisure travelers who traditionally may have sat in economy, according to a new report from IdeaWorks.

The lack of business travelers is especially evident across the U.S.A. Delta recently said that domestic business travel is down 40% from pre-pandemic volumes, and United disclosed business travel revenue is  down by 40%, the report says. On Alaska Airlines’ most recent earnings call, Chief Operating Officer Ben Minicucci told Wall Street analysts that air travel is down between 70% and 90% among large companies in the region. Alaska is based in Seattle, where Amazon is also headquartered.

“They are not traveling," Minicucci said, referring to business people. "And that impacts the volumes in those high-tech markets."

Many experts predict the decline in business travel will be a long-term shift rather than a pandemic pause, and the report backs that up. Some carriers have even announced plans to retrofit aircraft to reduce first and business class seating in favor of premium seats.

Among the airlines tweaking aircraft seating:

• British Airways plans to more than double the size of its World Traveller Plus cabins fleet wide.

• Delta Air Lines is introducing a new product called Delta Premium Select to the transatlantic marketplace.  

• Emirates is adding premium economy across its entire fleet.

• Lufthansa is reducing first and business class capacity by 30% to create larger premium class cabin

• Singapore Airlines is adding 20% more premium economy seats to its A380 aircraft.

We’ve long felt the extra cash for premium economy was well worth the extra leg room, early boarding options and, of course, free cocktails. The limited number of seats, however, often fill up fast.

So we’re hoping IdeaWorks is right in concluding that the pandemic-fueled trends in air classes may be a two-fold silver lining that gives leisure travelers more options while reducing, even if slightly, the industry’s carbon footprint by cutting back the size of the high-priced cabins that carry fewer passengers.

“Airlines have spent decades chasing business travelers for the front of the plane, and luring ultra-low-cost consumers for the back," IdeaWorks said. "Suddenly we have discovered a middle way -- and this nicely balanced approach seems to be the perfect anecdote for our troubled times. Innovation and resilience saved airlines during the pandemic, and these same traits will allow airlines to adapt to the changes wrought by new communication technologies and carbon emission concerns.”

In other news ...

Vail Resorts' epic deal promises first European property

Vail plans to buy a majority stake in Andermatt-Sedrun in the Swiss Alps, which is about 90 minutes from Zurich and two hours from Milan. While not finalized, the deal should be complete in time for Epic Pass holders to take advantage of unrestricted, unlimited access next season. “Entering the European ski market has been a long-term strategic priority for Vail Resorts,” Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch said in a press release. Vail plans to invest about $160 million in the resort, about $118 million of which has been earmarked for capital improvements like lift upgrades, better snowmaking capabilities and expanded on-mountain dining.

Mexico's military gets beach duty; attracting spring break selfies

The Mexican government is upping its game against not one, but two ongoing threats to tourism in the Yucatan Peninsula: cartel-related violence and that particularly nasty form of seaweed called sargassum that has been turning the Mexican Caribbean’s once pristine beaches into ugly, smelly messes.

As spring break travel season kicks into full swing, Mexico's Marines -- at the request of hotels and other businesses -- have been dispatched to patrol beaches, both to deter gun violence and keep an eye on rowdy revelers, according to the Cancun Sun. Their presence doesn’t seem to be bothering the tourists, though.  In fact, the news outlet reports they’ve become a bit of an attraction in their own right, with beachgoers increasingly seeking selfies and capturing photo bombs with the armed militant

Militants also enlisted to battle the stink

While the fully armed guards may be keeping cartel disputes off the beaches, they can’t do much to stop the seasonal return of the sargassum that has plagued the region in recent years. Indeed, it’s gotten so bad that when we were in Cancun a year ago the smelly piles were so prevalent we didn’t even want to walk along the beach, let alone go swimming. While many resorts have tried to mitigate the impact by constantly raking and removing the tangled piles, it’s been kind of a losing game. This year, the government is  enlisting the Navy to help by installing sargassum sea barriers. Puerto Morelos was set to receive the first barrier this week, followed by Playa del Carmen and Tulum in April.

Restaurants: Limited menu here to stay?

If one of the nation's biggest operators of full-service restaurants is any indicator, the answer's yes. Last week, Orlando-based Darden -- with chains including Eddie V's and The Capital Grille on the pricier side and the Olive Garden and Red Lobster on the affordable end -- told analysts that they really like the limited menus they ushered in out of necessity. Between lockdowns, staffing shortages, limited hours, takeout demand and supply chain issues, the limited menu makes business sense, executives said.  It “provides our guests the high-value dishes they want and makes it easier for our teams to produce them. If we add a new item, we take another item off,” said Rick Cardenas, Darden's president and chief operating officer.

And last, but certainly not least ...

Dress codes: Is the travel industry finally chilling out? 

Airlines, hotels and cruise ships have long had notoriously strict, gender specific and downright old-fashioned dress codes. Finally, that appears to be changing. Alaska Airlines is bucking travel’s buttoned-up traditions and embracing tattooed, gender-mixing employees. It’s a bold – and welcome – move.

At the height of the glamorous jet age, flight “stewardesses” dressed in skirts with cinched waists, heels and matching caps. Think: Mad Men era. Even passengers gussied up. That’s distant history. 

Over time, airlines have evolved the way flight attendants dress to keep in touch with modern times, sometimes working with actual clothing designers. Clothing is no small matter. For airlines, deciding how the human face of their brand will look is part of the equation. It also matters how they FEEL. 

In the 1960s, Emilio Pucci dressed Braniff International Airways flight attendants in wild psychedelic uniforms. Air France commissioned designers including Nina Ricci, Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix. In 2009 United Airlines collaborated with American designer Cynthia Rowley.  Delta Air Lines worked with Zac Posen, unveiling new uniforms with a splashy PR campaign in 2018 only to reverse course amid complaints about skin rashes and irritations.

Fast forward to 2022. 

Seattle-based Alaska announced on Monday that it is unveiling gender-neutral uniform pieces for flight attendants, customer service agents and uniformed lounge employees. It is also creating pronoun pins that they can wear while working so passengers and peers can know how they self identify. The broader personal self-expression rollout comes after the American Civil Liberties Union called out the airline for discrimination against non-binary and gender-fluid flight attendants.

The airline is developing the uniforms with Seattle fashion designer Luly Yang, while relaxing personal style and grooming rules to allow for more self-expression. 

The new policies allow all employees to wear “fingernail polish, makeup, two earrings per ear, and a single stud nose piercing.” Tattoos in more locations and more hairstyle options are also allowed.

Alaska Airlines’ passengers will also be able to select their prefered pronouns when booking flights by the end of 2022. 

The news comes following a June 2021 petition from the American Civil Liberties Union petition to change uniform offerings on behalf of Seattle-based Alaska flight attendant Justin Wetherell. The ACLU cited differences such as long hair (men had to pull theirs back); makeup (women had more leeway); and the rolling up of sleeves (men could roll away while women could cuff a sleeve just once).

“It is difficult to understand how a company that professes to be committed to diversity and inclusion can take the position that enforcing gender stereotypes on its employees is an expression of its corporate ‘brand,’” the ACLU’s petition said. “We urge Alaska Airlines to take corrective action to remove gender-based distinctions and restrictions from your uniform policy, in accordance with your employees’ rights under the WLAD (Washington Law Against Discrimination) and Title VII  (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)."

We're happy to see that Alaska listened.