Originally Posted by Stuart Zaikov (Post 1762498)

I would be afraid to stay at a hotel who knows how well they cleaned since last occupant. Would have to sleep in our car and not something we would want to do at this age.

Waiting for things to be better and will do a road trip out west.

Originally Posted by canyonblue (Post 1762767)

That is probably the most widely circulated rumor on how an aircraft cabin air system works. It's almost as bad as the STD in The Villages rumor.

THE TRUTH ABOUT CABIN AIR

Filthy, germ-laden, rotten, disgusting, wretched, skanky, rancid, putrid, fetid, and fart-filled are just a few of the adjectives used to describe cabin air, and legion are the accounts of flyers allegedly made ill by microscopic pathogens circulating throughout a plane. In reality, the air is very clean.

On all modern aircraft, passengers and crew breathe a mixture of fresh and recirculated air. Using this combination rather than fresh air only makes it easier to regulate temperature and helps maintain a bit of humidity (more on the humidity in a moment). The supply is bled from the compressor sections of the engines. Compressed air is very hot, but the compressors only compress; there is no contact with combustion gasses. From there it is plumbed into air conditioning units for cooling. It’s then ducted into the cabin through louvers, vents, and the eyeball gaspers above your seat. The AC units are known to pilots as “packs.” That’s an acronym for pneumatic air cycle kit. Usually there are two per plane.

The air circulates until eventually it is drawn into the lower fuselage, where about half of it is vented overboard—sucked out by the pressurization outflow valve. The remaining portion is remixed with a fresh supply from the engines and run through filters, and the cycle begins again.

Studies have shown that a crowded airplane is no more germ-laden than other enclosed spaces—and usually less. Those underfloor filters are described by manufacturers as being of hospital quality. I needn’t be reminded that hospitals are notorious viral incubators, but Boeing says that between 94 and 99.9 percent of airborne microbes are captured, and there’s a total changeover of air every two or three minutes — far more frequently than occurs in offices, movie theaters, or classrooms.

Originally Posted by Professor (Post 1763162)

We will travel slightly more than that distance, about 1100 miles and we will do it all in one day. Leave at 2 AM and get there about 11 PM after time zone adjustment. We will take our own food (sandwiches and so on) and our own drinks. Gas and pit stops will be short and we will wear masks and gloves at these stops. One of us has a compromised immune system so we are not taking any chances.

How do we stay awake that long? We listen to an audio book...a long one spanning 11-12 discs usually. I could drive around the clock if I have something like that to listen to.


Before everyone gangs up and tells me how unsafe this is we have been doing this for years and I happen to be one of those people who rarely gets more than 5 hours of sleep a night (my dad was the same way actually) and functions just fine at this lower sleep level. My spouse cat-naps occasionally and keeps me company most of the trip so we do just fine. This is not for everyone though.

We have discussed how we would stay at a hotel if we need to and we are taking our own bedding, including pillows, and we have a big canvas cover to lay over a hotel bed before we put our stuff over it. Carry a plastic bag to drop the remote into (using a tissue to pick it up with) and alcohol wipes to get all the surfaces we plan to touch. We also never go barefoot in a hotel except in the shower. May be overkill but with a compromised immune system one can't be too careful.

Safe travels.

Originally Posted by B-flat (Post 1763269)

Thank you for that informed post. I really appreciate it because in the next 3 weeks I may have to fly north. On the subject of air travel I have 90 year old uncle who flew with his 70 year old friend from Tampa to the Northeast. He has not contracted corona virus.