Hypothetical Situation Question

[teacherman]

Not much going on right now, so thought I would ask this question.  We want to fly business class from DTW to CPT for a cruise next winter.  Hopefully, cruises will be happening by then.  The air fare is very expensive, but if we first fly to IAD, JFK, BOS, EWR, the day prior and stay overnight at an airport hotel, we can save thousands of dollars on the airfare..  I realize this first flight will be a separate ticket and has some risks attached to it.  We could even drive.  The issue is what would we do IF the required Covid testing is still in place.  Currently, the test is required to be actually administered 72 hours before the flight to CPT.  So, when would we test?  Before we leave home? How would we get the results if we were on our way to our departure airport in the other city?  Some of the flights could have long lay overs.  Just something to think about.  Hopefully, the Covid testing will no longer be required by then.  Just wondering what ideas you might have on this topic.  

[CruiserBruce]

I can only go on my Hawaii experience, which has a similar requirement, but don't know exactly how similar it is. And probably nobody knows for sure now because not very many people are flying internationally right now.

 

Again, based on my Hawaii experience, I would get one of the very rapid response tests 72 hours prior to your scheduled take off from your last US airport. You should get results within 20 or 30 minutes, and you print them off at home in plenty of time.

 

For Hawaii, you then load the results into your account on the Hawaii website, but your printed copy will also get you into the state. I don't know how any foreign country is handling this.

[bennybear]

This is a hard one to even guess about,  some countries such as Canada will only accept a PCR test and it has to be within 72 hours of arrival.  So if your flights are long and you have intermediate stops this may be an issue.   

[klfrodo]

What would I do?

 

Currently, many airports offer Covid testing on site with rapid turn around times.

 

Therefore, I would research which airports I might fly to first to stay over night. Then I would look to see what their hours of operation are. I would look to see what their turn around time is.

There is a price $$$ associated with this fast service though.

 

Then I would go from there.

Edited February 24, 2021 by klfrodo

[Hlitner]

The rapid antigen tests will not be sufficient to fly to South Africa  (some posters need to check before they post).   Assuming you could fly to CPT (you cannot) you would need to have a PCR test done within 72 hours of your arrival which would not be possible the way things currently exist.  At best, a PCR test takes about 24 hours to get results and even that is a stretch in most parts of the USA.    I assume you are also aware that the current rules in South Africa prohibit entry to anyone from North America.

 

Hank

[FlyerTalker]

Anyone who states, without equivocation, what the status of air travel rules will be 9-12 months from now is uninformed at best and, at worst, delusional.

 

No one knows for sure.  People have, again at best, a slightly educated guess highly influenced by personal point of view and emotions.

 

I am buying tickets for November, December and January right now.  It's on the expectation that travel procedures will be at least reasonable.  However, I am completely ready for it to go pear-shaped (to quote Globaliser) and will deal with that if I have to.

 

As Ben Franklin supposedly said, the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes.  And as the Boy Scouts said "Be Prepared".