Plane Travel is Still a Risky Bet

For franchisors, travel is an essential part of doing business. The industry revolves around expansion and inter-market coordination, so staying put is just not an option for an engaged franchise executive. Now that the coronavirus crisis is stretching throughout the summer with no end in sight, many franchisors are starting to weigh the risks of picking up travel again. But according to an article in Flyertalk, they would do well to avoid air travel.

Citing data gathered by the Texas Medical Association, the article recommends avoiding planes and airplanes at nearly all costs. A chart by the TMA lists five categories of risk, with air travel listed “among one of the ‘moderately-high’ risk behaviors someone trying to avoid catching COVID-19 could take. Boarding a commercial aircraft ranked 7 out of 9, with the higher number reflecting the highest possible risk.”

The good news is that, aside from airplanes, travel itself is not an inherently high-risk proposition. “According to the doctors, going to a beach, shopping mall or swimming in a public pool provide a ‘moderate risk’ of exposure, while staying at a hotel for two nights presents a moderate-low risk – the same as sitting in a doctor’s waiting room.”

Many airlines are still rolling out new measures to mitigate the risks of passengers contracting COVID-19, including mandatory face-mask policies and preflight health screenings, but many passengers are resisting or outright flouting those policies.

Read the full article at flyertalk.com.