Corona virus and travel – what to consider

Corona virus and travel

Tourism is currently in a major crisis due to the Corona virus. Corona virus and travel – the effects are enormous. Travel activities have come to an almost complete standstill in many places. We believe that with the right flight product and the right precautions, you can still travel relatively safely on long-haul routes, but daily entry requirements in countries change so that you either cannot enter or quarantine there or not can travel back more. Plus we strongly advise NOT to travel right now. The following IATA country list gives a very good, up-to-date overview – see here

Due to the corona virus pandemic, almost all major airlines have modified the rebooking and cancellation rules for flights. Using the link below, we would like to give you an overview of both existing and any new bookings – see here

Minimize travel – ideally temporarily to zero

You should currently refrain from travel activities completely, if possible. It is too uncertain how entry requirements will change in the next few days. Possibly, then you get stuck abroad. If travel cannot be avoided at all or if you want to sit far away in a hotel for the next few weeks, then we definitely recommend a Business Class product in 1-2-1 configuration for the flight, where you can get enough distance from other travelers or a First Class product, ideally with suites that also allow maximum distance to fellow travellers. Of course, this does not give 100% protection, but it is significantly less risky than in Economy Class. Find out more on the best seating configurations for Corona Virus and travel below. However, we strongly advise NOT to travel.

Corona virus – precautions for travel

In general, you should take the following precautions when travelling by plane:

• Hand hygiene is most important. Wash hands regularly with soap for 20 to 30 seconds and disinfect again and again with an at least limited virucidal disinfectant when touching objects or surfaces. Only anti-bacterial disinfectants are better than nothing, but they do nothing against viruses.
• DO NOT touch your face with your hands.
• The infection with the corona virus occurs through the mucous membranes. So that they are less susceptible, they have to be kept moist during travel – you can use nasal sprays (e.g. sea salt spray), eye drops and always drink a lot – ideally something every 15 minutes during a flight. Because during a flight, the mucous membranes dry out heavily.
• Generally, strengthen the immune system as much as possible  – lots of sleep, possibly nutritional supplements
• Ideally, you should keep a distance of at least 1 meter from other people.
• No shaking hands – politely refuse to be given a hand and prefer to greet people in a different way
• Disinfect the seat in the plane with limited virucidal disinfectant wipes (e.g. Sterilium) – in particular, fold-out table, remote control, armrests, buckle or anything else that usually people touch multiple times
• Be especially careful when going to the toilet. Do not reach door handles by hand, better with a handkerchief that is disposed of immediately. Before leaving, wash your hands thoroughly with soap for 20-30 seconds and open the door again with a cloth and dispose of it immediately. It is best to disinfect your hands again afterwards.
• Ideally, you bring your own pillow
• When travelling by bus to and from the plane, it is advisable to either wear disposable gloves, which you can then dispose of without touching the palms of your hands, or to disinfect your hands carefully.
• At the airport, another “critical” point is security control. Disinfect your hands again after passing through them.
• Breathing masks are generally not considered useful when it comes to preventing infection. FFP 3 masks are an exception. If you could still get them somewhere, you can consider wearing them in special situations. In principle, however, these are not necessary in most cases.
• Basically, avoid cash, rather choose card payments.
• Do not reach doorknobs, elevator buttons, railings etc. and then disinfect your hands immediately afterwards. And NEVER touch your face.

Corona virus and travel – the best flight products

One of the most important points is to keep your distance. Of course, this is not easy with the Corona virus and travel. But if you choose the right business or even first class products, this is of course easier. Unfortunately, there is never 100% protection. In Business Class, 2-2-2, 2-3-2 or 1-2-1 seating configurations are usually installed on long-haul routes. 2-2-2 means: 2 seats on the left, 2 in the middle and 2 on the right. This is not suitable for keeping a distance, since in these configurations the seats themselves are usually also relatively open.

Unfortunately, Lufthansa only installed 2-2-2 configurations on the long haul. The situation is different for Swiss and Austrian, which offer almost only 1-2-1. Emirates has a 1-2-1 in the A380, while the Boeings have a 2-2-2 or 2-3-2. Etihad and Singapore Airlines offer almost only 1-2-1.

The lockable Qsuites from Qatar Airways are particularly attractive in terms of distance.

Please see a list of airline products below. With regard to corona virus and travel when booking flights, you should always pay attention to which flight product is used, although this can also be changed at short notice in individual cases. At the moment, if you have a choice, you should only book 1-2-1 configurations or suite products. Not every 1-2-1 configuration is ideal. It is always particularly good if the seats are installed offset. This is often the case in the Boeing 787 aircraft and also in the new A350. But it is better to avoid travelling altogether at the moment.

Here in the blog you can always find the currently best offers in Business and First Class.

 

Airline	Aircraft	Seat configuration	Number of seats	Doors
Lufthansa	Airbus A330-300 Layout 1	2-2-2	30	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A330-300 Layout 2	2-2-2	42	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A340-300 Layout 1	2-2-2	30	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A340-300 Layout 2	2-2-2	42	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A340-300 Layout 3	2-2-2	18	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A340-600 Layout 1	2-2-2	44	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A340-600 Layout 2	2-2-2	56	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A350-900 Layout 1	2-2-2	48	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A350-900 Layout 2	2-2-2	36	no
Lufthansa	Airbus A380-800	2-2-2	78	no
Lufthansa	Boeing 747-400 Layout 1	2-2-2 + 2-3-2	53	no
Lufthansa	Boeing 747-400 Layout 2	2-2-2 + 2-3-3	67	no
Swiss	Airbus A330-300	1-2-1	45	no
Swiss	Airbus A340-300	1-2-1	47	no
Swiss	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1 / 2-2-1	67	no
British Airways	Airbus A350-1000	1-2-1	56	yes
British Airways	Airbus A380-800	2-3-2	97	no
British Airways	Boeing 747-400 Layout 1	2-4-2	52	no
British Airways	Boeing 747-400 Layout 2	2-4-2	86	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-200 Layout 1	2-4-2	48	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-200 Layout 2	2-4-2	32	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-200 Layout 3	2-4-2	48	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-200 Layout 4	2-4-2	40	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-200 Layout 5	2-4-2	32	no
British Airways	Boeing 777-300ER	2-4-2	38	no
British Airways	Boeing 787-10	1-2-1	48	yes
British Airways	Boeing 787-9	2-3-2	42	no
British Airways	Boeing 787-8	2-3-2	35	no
Etihad Airways	Airbus A380-800	1-2-1	70	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 1	1-2-1	40	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 2	1-2-1	28	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 3	1-2-1	40	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 787-10	1-2-1	32	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 787-9 Layout 1	1-2-1	28	no
Etihad Airways	Boeing 787-9 Layout 2	1-2-1	28	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-200 Layout 1	2-2-2	24	yes
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-200 Layout 2	2-2-2	24	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-200 Layout 3	2-2-2	24	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-200 Layout 4	2-2-2	24	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-300 Layout 1	2-2-2	30	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A330-300 Layout 2	2-2-2	24	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A350-1000 (Qsuite)	1-2-1	46	yes
Qatar Airways	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	36	no
Qatar Airways	Airbus A350-900 (Qsuite)	1-2-1	36	yes
Qatar Airways	Airbus A380-800	1-2-1	48	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-200LR	2-2-2	42	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-200LR (Qsuite)	1-2-1	42	yes
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 1	2-2-2	42	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 2	2-2-2	24	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Layout 3	2-2-2	42	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 777-300ER Qsuite	1-2-1	42	no
Qatar Airways	Boeing 787	1-2-1	22	no
Austrian Airlines	Boeing 767-300ER	1-2-1	26	no
Austrian Airlines	Boeing 777-200	1-2-1 / 2-2-2	40	no
SAS	Airbus A330-300	1-2-1	32	no
SAS	Airbus A340-300	1-2-1	40	no
SAS	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	40	no
Finnair	Airbus A330-300 Layout 1	1-2-1 / 2-2-1	45	no
Finnair	Airbus A330-300 Layout 2	1-2-1 / 2-2-1	32	no
Finnair	Airbus A350-900 Layout 1	1-2-1	46	no
Finnair	Airbus A350-900 Layout 2	1-2-1	46	no
Iberia	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1	19	no
Iberia	Airbus A330-300 Layout 1	1-2-1	36	no
Iberia	Airbus A330-300 Layout 2	1-2-1	29	no
Iberia	Airbus A340-600 Layout 1	1-2-1	46	no
Iberia	Airbus A340-600 Layout 2	1-2-1	36	no
Iberia	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	31	no
Turkish Airlines	Airbus A330-200  Layout 1	2-2-2	22	no
Turkish Airlines	Airbus A330-200 Layout 2	1-1-1	30	no
Turkish Airlines	Airbus A330-300	2-2-2	22	no
Turkish Airlines	Boeing 777-300ER	2-3-2	49	no
Turkish Airlines	Boeing 787-9	1-2-1	30	no
Air France	Airbus A330-200	2-2-2	30-40	no
Air France	Airbus A340-300	2-2-2	30	no
Air France	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	34	no
Air France	Airbus A380-800	2-2-2	80	no
Air France	Boeing 777-200ER	1-2-1	28	no
Air France	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	40-42	no
Air France	Boeing 787-9	1-2-1	30	no
Delta	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1	34	no
Delta	Airbus A330-300	1-2-1	34	no
Delta	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	32	yes
Delta	Boeing 767-300ER	1-2-1	26-36	no
Delta	Boeing 767-400ER	1-2-1	34-40	no
Delta	Boeing 777-200ER	1-2-1	28	yes
United	Boeing 767-300ER	1-1-1	30	no
United	Boeing 767-400ER	2-1-2	39	no
United	Boeing 777-200ER Layout 1	2-4-2	50	no
United	Boeing 777-200ER Layout 2	1-2-1	50	no
United	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	60	no
United	Boeing 787-10	1-2-1	44	no
United	Boeing 787-8	2-2-2	36	no
United	Boeing 787-9	2-2-2	48	no
Emirates	Airbus A380-800	1-2-1	76	no
Emirates	Boeing 777-200LR	2-2-2	42	no
Emirates	Boeing 777-300ER	2-3-2	42	no
TAP Portugal	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1	25	no
TAP Portugal	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	34	no
Japan Airlines	Boeing 777-200ER	1-2-1	42	no
Japan Airlines	Boeing 777-300ER	2-3-2	49	APEX Suite
Japan Airlines	Boeing 787-800	2-2-2	38	APEX Suite
Japan Airlines	Boeing 787-9	2-2-2	44	APEX Suite
Singapore Airlines	Airbus A330-300	2-2-2	30	no
Singapore Airlines	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	42	no
Singapore Airlines	Airbus A380-800	1-2-1	86	no
Singapore Airlines	Boeing 777-200ER	1-2-1	26	no
Singapore Airlines	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	48	no
Singapore Airlines	Boeing 787-10	1-2-1	36	no
Brussels Airlines	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1 / 2-1-2	22	no
Brussels Airlines	Airbus A330-300	1-2-1 / 2-1-2	30	no
Eurowings	Airbus A330-300	2-2-2	30	no
Eurowings	Airbus A340-300	2-2-2	30	no
KLM	Airbus A330-200	2-2-2	18	no
KLM	Airbus A330-300	2-2-2	30	no
KLM	Boeing 747-400	2-2	35	no
KLM	Boeing 777-200ER	2-2-2	34	no
KLM	Boeing 777-300ER	2-2-2	34	no
KLM	Boeing 787-10	2-2-2	38	no
KLM	Boeing 787-9	2-2-2	30	no
Alitalia	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1	20	no
Alitalia	Airbus A330-200	1-2-1	22	no
Alitalia	Boeing 777-200ER	1-2-1	30	no
Alitalia	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	22	no
Thai	Airbus A330-300	2-2-2	36	no
Thai	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	32	no
Thai	Airbus A380-800	1-2-1	60	no
Thai	Boeing 747-400	2-2	50	no
Thai	Boeing 777-200ER	2-2-2	30	no
Thai	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	42	no
Thai	Boeing 787-8	2-2-2	24	no
Thai	Boeing 787-9	1-2-1	30	no
Condor	Boeing 767-300ER	2-2-2	30	no
Cathay Pacific	Airbus A330-300 Layout 1	1-2-1	39	no
Cathay Pacific	Airbus A330-300 Layout 2	2-2-2	24	no
Cathay Pacific	Airbus A350-1000	1-2-1	46	no
Cathay Pacific	Airbus A350-900	1-2-1	38	no
Cathay Pacific	Boeing 777-200ER	2-3-2	42	no
Cathay Pacific	Boeing 777-300ER	1-2-1	53	no