What would be the surest bet for saving the airline industry? Controlling Covid. Why isn't that part of the conversation here? Travel will not come back until covid is under control. Pilots take a black and white view of covid and we miss the nuance that goes into most people's travel decisions. The general public isn't terrified of covid, they're making rational choices based on risk. Traveling sucks right now, you can see it on your overnights and deadheads. Who would voluntarily go out into this and risk catching something that could put them out of work for weeks and possibly kill grandma? What company would send their employees out on business trips? Who wants to vacation like this?
There are common sense measures that we all could be promoting that would help save our industry and speed recovery. Yes, we're all waiting for the vaccine but there are things we can do today that'll have positive consequences. The less people that have covid when the vaccine arrives the faster we beat this thing.
We're likely to get a vaccine that's 60% effective. That means we'll still have to wear masks, social distance, and contact trace until covid has shrunk back to nearly nothing. Less total cases means a faster return to normal. I don't know why pilots aren't on the forefront of promoting safe behaviors and voting like your career depends on it. Look at where covid is spiking right now: it's the states that don't enforce mask rules and where they opened the schools. This massive wave we're seeing is going to push back recovery. No one is saying go back to lock down, but be sensible, lower your risks of transmission wherever possible. Vote for leaders who listen to the specialists, believe in science, and have a plan. If we continue on the current path we're going to wallow in covid for another year or two and see another 200,000 deaths.